TIME TO UNPAINT Artist Seth Carnes’ mural, “time to unperson,” which he began painting on the side of the Sunday Home shop in Roscoe, was left uncompleted in September, above right, after he was issued a citation. Carnes has filed a lawsuit against the town, and the mural has since been painted over, below right. Manor Ink photos
Artist, claiming free speech violation, sues Rockland
By Manor Ink Staff
Roscoe, NY – Seth Indigo Carnes, the artist who painted the unfinished “time to unperson” mural on the side of the Sunday Home building on Stewart Avenue in Roscoe, has filed suit in the US District Court against the Town of Rockland, Town Supervisor Rob Eggleton and Code Enforcement Officer Glenn Gabbard, alleging that a citation issued against the building owner over the mural constitutes an illegal interference with Carnes’ free speech rights and has caused Carnes significant emotional and financial injury.
Carnes alleges that the citation, which charged the owner of the building for the failure to procure a sign permit, was issued despite the fact the town’s ordinance does not cover an artistic mural and expressly exempts political and personal statements of opinion, and that similarly sized murals within the town did not obtain permits. Carnes also cites threats made by members of the public against the work and, it is alleged, such persons pressured town officials to take enforcement action.
The complaint notes that the term “unperson” is drawn from George Orwell’s novel 1984 which features an imagined totalitarian state that ruthlessly censors its citizens.
The complaint states that Carnes had a contract with the owners of Sunday Home to create the mural in which Carnes would bear 93 percent of the work’s costs in exchange for an artist’s fee, and that the mural would remain in place for at least two years. Carnes alleges that the defendants’ actions resulted in him having to cease work on the mural and further that the actions of authorities caused him to move out of town, as the Town of Rockland was threatening the building owner, who was also Carnes’ landlord, with possible additional enforcement actions.
Carnes seeks an injunction against the Town from enforcing the sign ordinance against the mural and compensatory damages for loss of expressive opportunity, emotional distress and other injuries.
Calls to the building owner and the Town of Rockland’s counsel by Manor Ink were not returned.
To further complicate the issue, since the filing of the lawsuit the artist’s mural has been completely painted over.