>>Why would it have to come down?
I dunno maybe the old "one person complained and we don't want to offend them" deal, or maybe there are rules about what goes on sides of buildings (ads, etc.)
>>Why would it have to come down?
I dunno maybe the old "one person complained and we don't want to offend them" deal, or maybe there are rules about what goes on sides of buildings (ads, etc.)
more from a local paper—”it’s a political sign”...
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x1913819990/Quincy-orders-Hendrix-Obama-hybrid-mural-removed
>>QUINCY —
The city has ordered a Quincy Center bar to remove a mural on the side of its building that blends images of President Barack Obama and Jimi Hendrix playing guitar.
The mural was painted by a local artist last week on the outside wall of the Presidents Rock Club on Hancock Street. The bar was formerly Bad Abbots.
The mural faces an alley and is signed “Brandalizm.”
The bar’s assistant manager said the mural brings together the “Presidents” and “Rock” elements of the bar’s name, in the same vein as images of guitar-toting John and John Quincy Adams on the bar’s entrance sign.
A resident called the city’s building department to complain that the mural, which also features President Obama’s “FORWARD” campaign logo, is a political sign. Prior to a rewriting of the zoning code last year, Quincy limited the number and size of political signs.
Jay Duca, Quincy’s inspectional services director, said the content of the mural isn’t the problem, but bar owner David Keville didn’t apply for a required permit from the planning board. Duca said the owner told him that he didn’t give permission for the painting and has agreed to remove it.
“We anticipate it to be gone by the end of the week,” Duca said. “No one’s taken responsibility. That’s fine, as long as the owner is stepping up to the plate and is taking care of it.”
Colin Campbell, an assistant manager at Presidents Rock Club, said the mural spruced up a decrepit alleyway and added life to the area after the Bad Abbotts mural, which depicted monks making beer, was removed.
“It was a building in decay and now it’s an awesome talking piece,” Campbell said.
Campbell also said he didn’t give the artist express permission to paint the mural, but wants to keep it. He plans to apply for a permit and, if denied, will start a signature petition and speak to the mayor about letting it remain.
“I think it’s really cool,” he said. “Great art is something to be talked about, it’s something that causes you to talk about it, to think about what it is. And this is a great piece of art. It really draws people’s attention.”
Duca said that while businesses are allowed to alter existing signs without permits, the mural in question is more than a sign and represents a change in message and aesthetics, which the special permit process is designed to vet.
“There’s really no criteria except that it’s done appropriately and tastefully,” Duca said of the mural requirements. “I would imagine any mural that is proposed that was political in nature would not survive a special permit. I don’t see that happening.”