In 1989 Senator Jesse Helms held up the work of two artists, a young Puerto Rican, Andres Serranno and the flamboyantly gay Robert Maplethorpe as clear signs of how decadent the arts in America had become. He knew the majority of Americans would agree with him. He wanted to cut all funding for the Arts. The cloud of fear Helms placed over the art world remains today.

The neocons have done a good job expanding Helms’ mandate. While a large percentage of internet traffic surfs for pornography, it has become almost impossible to find an artistic nude in a public art space. Attorney General Ashcroft’s curtain over the statue of Justice–with her bare breast–was a symbol of how little tolerance would exist in public spaces. This contradiction played itself out in the removal of a photograph from the Addison Street Windows in Berkeley. The photo was of naked marchers from the “How Berkeley Can You Be” festival. It was OK to march naked in the street but you couldn’t show a photo of it two blocks away at the art display.

On the whole, directors and curators of publicly funded Art spaces have become conflict averse. Very few are willing to protect artistic freedom and show controversial work. A single complaint from the public about a work of art is usually enough to get it removed Needless to say art with content is seen less and less in public spaces. Art can be very powerful in swaying opinion. The neocons knew this when they covered a tapestry of Picasso’s Guernica at the UN before Colin Powell walked by it on his way to make his infamous call for war with Iraq. Imagine if the curators of the Paris International Exhibition–where this anti-war masterpiece was first shown–said “We can’t show this it will scare the children and offend the Nazi’s.

Recently I was a participant in a national art exhibit of political posters “Art of Democracy”, intended to coincide with the elections. This exhibit presented the works of over a hundred artists in 54 venues across the country. Ironically, incredibly, the only venue which has censored this exhibit was here in Berkeley. In our “home of free speech,” my work and the work of three other artists was deemed not fit to be seen. The Art of Democracy posters were put up in conservative Muncie, Indiana, in the front windows of the Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco, the Two Walls Gallery in Seattle, these windows also look out into busy thoroughfares. Across the country they received no complaints and the children were not traumatized.

It seems that the curator of the Addison Street Windows, has implemented a policy to greatly narrow the type of art it shows with its “No Guns” rule. It is a very bad, shortsighted rule. There are too many historically important works of art, which depict guns and are clearly anti-violence and anti-war to mention here. Since this issue has come to light I have heard of a half dozen other incidents of artwork removed from display or not allowed to be shown but more important there has been an unfair application of exhibition rules at the Windows. There are at least two recent exhibits in which artists were allowed to show images of guns. Six months ago I left the Art Commission after having served for six years, previously I spent 5 years on the commission as Mayor Hancock’s appointment. During that time Brenda Praeger–a friend and fellow commissioner curated the windows. I stood in a few times for Brenda when she could not make the sidewalk openings. I made the sign for the windows, which is still there. Under Brenda’s curatorship the shows were dynamic and very often challenging. I never heard of any complaints.

Art Hazelwood, the curator of Art of Democracy, and I met with the Berkeley Art Commission and City staff for over 2 hours last month. We made a good faith effort to solve this problem without confrontation. The Arts commission agreed at this meeting the show would, if possible, be installed and at a follow-up meeting to be held within a week, the curatorial policies would be discussed and hopefully challenged. We were contacted three days later and informed a replacement show was going up in the windows. The meeting has still not taken place. The Potter’s Guild, which was the replacement show, said they would not have put up their exhibit if they had known the circumstances.

Initially I believed this problem could be easily solved. But we have been met by incredible stubbornness by Mary Ann Merker and the curator Carol Brighton. Art Hazelwood has been repeatedly called a liar because he initially agreed to the no guns ban and then refused to self-censor the show. Mary Ann went to the City Attorney to force Art Commissioner Robbin Henderson, to recuse herself from discussion of the new guidelines. Why was an articulate, highly experienced expert removed from contributing exactly where her experience would be most valuable to Berkeley? We have been told over and over that all cities have these kinds of rules and the curator can do whatever she wants. I strongly recommend they read the First Amendment of the Constitution. These won’t be the first bad rules it has trumped. Clearly no common sense has been shown.

I am here to ask Council and Mayor to help solve this problem. I know the Mayor, from direct experience, has stood up to censorship, even when it was potentially politically damaging. I trust the Arts Commission– without staff interference– to be able to come up with good guidelines, which will suit Berkeley and change these bad exhibition policies. I strongly believe we should be encouraging artists who make challenging political art instead of restricting their speech.

Thank You
Jos Sances
11/18/08