Clarksdale will wait two more weeks to determine if the city will step in to establish a policy and procedure to monitor murals that go up around town.
The Clarksdale Board of Mayor and Commissioners wrestled with three options before tabling a vote until their Monday, Nov. 11 meeting at 4 p.m. at City Hall.
Board attorney Melvin Miller said he had been asked to review the issue and presented his views and findings.
The first option asked anyone seeking to put up public art downtown to come before the board with their plan. This option did not say the city would vote on the work to be erected. The second option sought to form a committee or commission that would review proposed work before it was painted. The five member board would see the city four councilmen and mayor each appoint a person to this panel.
The third option was to not deal with regulate any work of art that went up in Clarksdale that was not already defined by the city’s ordinance and zoning regulations.
Ward 1 Councilman Bo Plunk said he met at length with Miller and felt the city should form a panel to review work and set community standards for what was acceptable for Clarksdale.
“I have said from the beginning I am not trying to stop anyone, but I am trying to take the politics out of this,” said Plunk. “A homeowner can go and paint a house five different colors and call it art. This board needs to set the rules and determine how this city grows.”
Opponents to any form or regulation of murals would stifle the creativity of artists and infringe on their First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
Ward 2 Commissioner Ken Murphey pointed to a lawsuit in New Orleans and he felt the city was treading on shaky ground.
“If we get sued, who is going to pay for it,” said Murphey. “I can’t vote for this. Once you get board members putting people on this committee it gets political.
Murphey said he was not for graffiti all over the city and felt the city’s ordinances would allow them to enforce a ban on nudity, foul words and radical art.
Plunk made the motion to table the vote and it was seconded by Ward 3 Commissioner Willie Turner. The vote passed with Murphey voting against the measure
Plunk urged commissioners to get with the board attorney to find out the city’s legal bounds, but Miller said he could not meet with commissioners to discuss the legality of an issue unless it was an open meeting.
The issue of monitoring artwork on public streets and alleys came to a head after out-of-town artists with Paint the Town painted several walls in downtown Clarksdale with artwork that contains a political message.
