Jun 18, 2008

ACLU quells art censorship spat

City backs off plan to remove public art display at Caltain station

By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer

The cartoon nudes will live on in San Mateo after an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union convinced the city not to take down several contested works of public art.

"We've agreed to allow the art that was being displayed at the transit center building to stay until the end of September," said City Attorney Shawn Mason. "After that, the city will be able to decide what it wants do with that space, whether it be for art or for announcing civic events or nothing."

The decision doesn't completely satisfy local art advocate Sinem Banna, who was originally told she could curate art exhibits at the downtown Caltrain station indefinitely.

Still, it calms a brewing tempest in which San Mateo was called out by multiple national organizations for allegedly censoring public art. On Monday, for instance, the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a "censorship alert" to its members urging them to contact the city in defense of free speech.

Mason said the situation was essentially a misunderstanding, not a case of censorship. The city hopes to form an independent arts commission soon that will deal with such issues in the future.

It all started when a local business owner called a city employee about two unusual drawings in the display cases facing the train tracks. The works, by artist Ruth Santee, included cartoonish human figures, along with dogs, rats and a giant flea poised above the United States Capitol.

Associate City Planner Julia Yeh followed up on the complaint by asking Banna if the works could be taken down. But Banna was already fed up with the city. Just weeks before, city officials had removed a work from an exhibit she organized at City Hall. Then they had relieved her of her informal position as volunteer public art coordinator.

After consulting with Santee, an art professor at Bakersfield College, Banna told Yeh she wouldn't take down the pieces. After all, the artists argued, the nudity was incidental and hardly lifelike. The pieces were intended as a commentary on different cultures.

Lacking an independent arts commission or anyone in charge of public art, the city fumbled with what to do next. It eventually decided not to immediately remove the two contested works, but to take down the whole exhibit in July and replace the art with advertisements.

That further angered Banna, who had gotten clearance from another city employee to schedule the exhibit through September. She had even lined up other artists to show their work in the transit center for months after that.

Santee contacted California Lawyers for the Arts, which referred her to the ACLU of Northern California. Staff attorney Julia Harumi Mass reviewed the case and called up the San Mateo city attorney.

Earlier, city officials had told the Daily News the situation was the result of a miscommunication, not censorship. They had planned all along to remove the art after a few months and replace it with advertising.

However, Banna forwarded to the ACLU e-mails showing that city planning official Miriam Clifford had promised her the space indefinitely. The ACLU duly presented those to Mason, the city attorney, who said he hadn't seen them before.

Confronted with the new evidence, Mason said, "We wanted to live up to those agreements and get this matter past us."

Agreements aside, Mason said he has seen the works and has no problem with them.

"I'd be the last person to judge art based on quality," he said, "but I didn't see that the (subject) matter would be considered harmful."

On Friday, Mason signed a letter drafted by the ACLU agreeing to leave Santee's work in place until Sept. 26. After that, he and the ACLU agreed it would be up to the city to decide whether to continue showing art in the space.

With few other outlets in the city, Banna is pushing for the transit center to become a permanent venue for public art.

That would be fine with Kelly Mitter, president of the city's downtown business association. Then again, he said, it's also a pretty good spot for advertising local events such as the Wine Walk and the Central Park Music Series.

"To me it all feels like a bit much ado about nothing," Mitter said of the controversy, noting he hasn't received any complaints about Santee's work from his members. "Compared to what pops up in my e-mail inbox every day, none of this stuff is very offensive."



E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.