Updated list of Sponsors and Speakers for Return Our Mural Press Conference on 4/4

some of the speakers and sponsors: (sponsors in bold)

Robert Shetterly and Natasha Mayers, Union of Maine Visual Artists
Maine College of Art (MECA)
Veterans For Peace, Maine Chapter 001
Worker from MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 (Christopher G. Quint Executive Director)
a statement from Charlie Scontras, labor historian
Bruce Gagnon, Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home
Codepink
Rachel Talbot or another representative from NAACP
Jose Joey Lopez, state director, Maine League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Ed Beem, writer, critic, The Forecaster
Rep. Bruce MacDonald, District 61
Lee Sharkey, Poet and Educator
Jeff Young/John Beal, lawyers
David Marshall, Portland city council, artist and art gallery owner
statement from Judy Taylor
The Jim Harney Chapter VFP 003
Aucocisco Gallery

BATTLE OVER CENSORSHIP OF MAINE MURALS PART OF A LARGER STRUGGLE FOR BASIC RIGHTS AND JUSTICE

The Huffington Post:
Battle Over Censorship of Maine Murals Part of a Larger Struggle for Basic Rights and Justice
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/post_1887_b_842993.html

RESCHEDULED PRESS CONFERENCE MONDAY, APRIL 4 AT NOON

RETURN OUR MURAL - RESTORE THE NAMES PRESS CONFERENCE
HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO MONDAY, APRIL 4TH AT NOON.

PLEASE SEE REVISED PRESS RELEASE BELOW FOR FULL DETAILS

All are urged to come one hour early, at 11 AM to attend another related news Conference & Rally, COMMUNITY LEADERS OFFER SOLUTIONS TO BUDGET CUTS
sponsored by The Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home, the Union of Maine Visual Artists, and others.

RESCHEDULED PRESS CONFERENCE!!!

RETURN OUR MURAL!, PRESS CONFERENCE MONDAY APRIL 4, HALL OF FLAGS,STATE HOUSE, AUGUSTA
Return Our Mural! Restore the names!

Press Conference

contact: Robert Shetterly, 326-8459 robert.shetterly@gmail.com
Natasha Mayers, 549-7516 mayersnatasha@gmail.com
Joan Braun, 585-2218 joanhenrybraun@yahoo.com
http://mainelabormural.blogspot.com/

WHEN: Monday April 4, 2011

WHERE: Hall of Flags, State House, Augusta
230 State St.

Augusta, ME 04330

TIME: 12:00 Noon


Artists, labor leaders, civil rights advocates, historians, and concerned citizens will convene in the Hall of Flags to demand the return of the "Maine Labor History" mural to its rightful place in the Maine Department of Labor. Governor Paul Le Page's seizure and hiding of a mural painted for the people of Maine is not merely presumptuous and disrespectful but also illegal and a breach of the state's contract with artist Judy Taylor.

All Mainers who are concerned about this governor's disregard of the rule of law and of the dignity of Maine's workers and their history are invited to attend. All Mainers who believe in supporting art that tells our history and who believe in organizing to defend our rights, please join us.

All are urged to come one hour early, at 11 AM to attend another related news Conference & Rally, COMMUNITY LEADERS OFFER SOLUTIONS TO BUDGET CUTS
sponsored by The Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home, the Union of Maine Visual Artists, and others.

Members of the Union of Maine Visual Artists (including Robert Shetterly and Natasha Mayers)will be on hand during the rally to help the public create images of where they believe our war $$ should be spent in Maine.
some of the speakers and sponsors: (sponsors in bold)


Robert Shetterly and Natasha Mayers, Union of Maine Visual Artists
Maine College of Art (MECA)
Veterans For Peace, Maine Chapter 001
Worker from MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 (Christopher G. Quint Executive Director)
a statement from Charlie Scontras, labor historian
Bruce Gagnon, Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home
Codepink
Rachel Talbot or another representative from NAACP
Jose Joey Lopez, state director, Maine League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Ed Beem, writer, critic, The Forecaster
Rep. Bruce MacDonald, District 61
Lee Sharkey
Jeff Young/John Beal, lawyers
David Marshall, Portland city council, artist and art gallery owner
statement from Judy Taylor
The Jim Harney Chapter VFP 003

SNOW DATE---SNOW DATE---SNOW DATE--RESCHEDULED PRESS CONFERENCE

RETURN OUR MURAL - RESTORE THE NAMES PRESS CONFERENCE
HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO MONDAY, APRIL 4TH AT NOON. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATED PRESS RELEASE!

Maine College of Art signs on a sponsor of Friday Press Conference!

Robert Shetterly and Natasha Mayers, Union of Maine Visual Artists
Maine College of Art (MECA)
Veterans For Peace, Maine Chapter 001
Worker from MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 (Christopher G. Quint Executive Director)
a statement from Charlie Scontras, labor historian
Bruce Gagnon, Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home
Codepink ,
Rachel Talbot or another representative from NAACP
Jose Joey Lopez, state director, Maine League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Ed Beem, writer, critic, The Forecaster
Rep. Bruce MacDonald, District 61
Lee Sharkey
Jeff Young/John Beal, lawyers
David Marshall, Portland city council, artist and art gallery owner
statement from Judy Taylor
The Jim Harney Chapter VFP 003

Location of Labor Mural Spurned by Gov. LePage is Divulged

http://www.mpbn.net/News/MPBNNews/tabid/1159/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3762/ItemId/15807/Default.aspx

THE WAY SIGNS SHOULD BE.... shared by Sara Hotchkiss

COMMUNITY LEADERS OFFER SOLUTIONS TO BUDGET CUTS

News Conference & Rally
April 4 Augusta - Hall of Flags






Contact: Bruce Gagnon 443-9502 or Lisa Savage 399-7623





The Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home has announced a news conference and rally inside the Hall of Flags at the capital in Augusta on Monday, April 4 at 11:00 am. The event will be held on the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. – killed exactly one year after his famous anti-Vietnam war speech was delivered.

The National Priorities Project reports that the total debt of all 50 state governments is now $130 billion. The U.S. will spend more than $170 billion on our wars in Iraq-Afghanistan-Pakistan-Libya this year. Maine’s share of war spending since 2001 has been $3.4 billion.



“Governor LePage and President Obama have it all wrong. Cutting taxes as a job creator is a known dead end street. Studies show that jobs are best created by state investment in education and infrastructure. There won’t be much recovery for Maine or any other state though until we Bring Our War $$ Home. We need to stop endless war spending if we hope to continue to support social progress. Interestingly, 65% of the people across the nation now favor withdrawal from Afghanistan, but it’s only going to happen if the public repeatedly demands it,” said Bruce Gagnon of Veterans for Peace.

Speakers at the event will include:



Michael Brennan – Former State Senator and social worker (Portland)
Alexandra Valente and Nicole Moreau – Student activists (UM-Farmington)
El Fadel Arbab – Immigrant advocate, Fur Cultural Revival (Portland)
Dud Hendrick – President, Maine Veterans for Peace (Deer Isle)
Lisa Savage – Public school teacher and CodePink Maine Coordinator (Solon)
Matt Hight – Union member (Biddeford)
Peter Woodruff – Union member (Arrowsic)
Natasha Mayers – Union of Maine Visual Artists (Whitefield)
Music by Raging Grannies

Members of the Union of Maine Visual Artists will be on hand after the rally to help the public create images of where they believe our war $$ should be spent in Maine.



“Nation-wide people are increasingly using the Bring Our War $$ Home message in their local organizing. Resolutions have passed in Deer Isle and Portland, Maine and also in Amherst and Northampton, Massachusetts and just this week in Hartford, Connecticut. Many other communities are considering resolutions right now and Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles has begun to help promote the message to mayors of other hard-hit U.S. cities,” said Lisa Savage coordinator of CodePink Maine.


See the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign web site at: http://www.bringourwardollarshome.org/index.html

MECA requests LePage to "Put the mural back."

March 30, 2011

Maine College of Art believes that art and artists play a critical role in society. The removal of the mural from the Department of Labor in Augusta illustrates just how powerful art can be: it can incite controversy, galvanize communities, inspire dialogue, and serve as a catalyst for social change.

As part of their arts education at MECA, our students learn to understand and respect process because it is a crucial component of any civil society.

Governor LePage’s demonstrated lack of respect for the process of commissioning artwork is an act of censorship.

In the original call for art, the Department of Labor asked for a mural in which “the value and dignity of workers and their critical role in creating the wealth of the state and nation should be emphasized. In essence, Maine workers should strongly be portrayed as more than an ‘impersonal cost of production.’” It was the responsibility of the art review committee, consisting of representatives from the Department of Labor, to select the proposal which best met these criteria. They selected Judy Taylor who created the site-specific artwork depicting the requested theme.

Four years later, newly elected Governor LePage reacted to the content of the mural calling it “one-sided” and had it removed it from the lobby of the Department of Labor and asked instead for a neutral decor. Art is not decoration, nor is it neutral. It is provocative and should elicit a response from individuals. It is not created to please all who view it. Art, like democracy, allows for differing opinions, for discourse, for expression of personal beliefs.

Art serves as a mirror that reflects a moment in time. This mural captures a piece of history. Governor LePage did not like what he saw. By removing the mural, he smashed that mirror – an attempt to rewrite history.

This public mural is meant for the people of Maine. Maine College of Art requests that Governor LePage respect the process by which the artwork was selected and installed. Put the mural back.


Donald L. Tuski, Ph.D.
President
Maine College of Art
Portland, Maine

This letter appears online at:
http://www.meca.edu/news#meca-responds-to-mural-removal

Judy Taylor Statement Maine Labor Mural March 30, 2011

As the artist who created the mural, people ask me how I feel about what's
happening and what I would like to see done. Like many of the people of
Maine, I want to see the mural displayed publicly as it was originally
intended. I want people to see it and connect to Maine's labor history. The
purpose of the mural is historical, the artistic intent to honor. It belongs
to the people of Maine and needs to be accessible to them.


Painting the mural is what I have trained my entire life to do. The theme of
figure and context is what I set out to chronicle in my career as an artist.
In fact, my first painting as a child was of my grandfather on his farm in
Nebraska, in the context of his work and life. I loved seeing my
grandparents work and followed my grandmother all over her farm and rode with
my grandfather as he delivered oil around the state.

I've always had a deep curiosity and passion for my family's history as well
as our nation's history, so when in 2007 I learned that the Maine Arts
Commissions was requesting submissions for a commissioned piece of artwork
detailing the history of labor in Maine, I immediately entered the
competition.

After a competitive process, I was awarded the commission and commenced upon
a year of research, preparation of archival materials, sketches of stories in
context based on historical fact and painting the panels. I added one
personal piece which was to include my mother and father as I had lost both
of them the previous year. My father is the young Army officer and my mother
the little girl in the Frances Perkins panel. My father served as a Forward
Observer during the Korean War and was awarded a Bronze Star. He was a man
who stood by every word he spoke, every letter he wrote. It was so
heartbreaking to learn that this controversy may have started with an
anonymous letter comparing this mural to a North Korean propaganda poster.
Perhaps we should hang my father's Bronze Star for his service in Korea in
the now empty reception area of the Maine Department of Labor until the mural
is returned, as a symbol of the importance of remembering our history, and
not shuttering it away.

UPDATE TO SPONSORS,SPEAKERS AND SINGERS AT APRIL 1 RALLY IN AUGUSTA

Robert Shetterly and Natasha Mayers, Union of Maine Visual Artists
Veterans For Peace, Maine Chapter 001
Bruce Gagnon, Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home
Codepink ,
Rachel Talbot or another representative from NAACP
Jose Joey Lopez, state director, Maine League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
a statement from Charlie Scontras, labor historian
Ed Beem, writer, critic, The Forecaster
Rep. Bruce MacDonald, District 61
Lee Sharkey
Jeff Young/John Beal, lawyers
Worker from MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 (Christopher G. Quint Executive Director)
David Marshall, Portland city council, artist and art gallery owner
statement from Judy Taylor
The Jim Harney Chapter VFP 003

Stephen Colbert on LePage: It's like comparing oranges to...

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

The Maine Department of Labor Mural Revised

Mt Holyoke President sees echoes of totalitarianism in LePage's action

From the Press Herald:

"In a letter faxed to LePage's office, Mount Holyoke College President Lynn Pasquarella said she has "grave concerns" about the decision to remove the mural, which includes a depiction of 1902 Mount Holyoke graduate and former U.S. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. The U.S Department of Labor in Washington is housed in the Frances Perkins Building, she said.

"I was particularly surprised to read that you were influenced by an anonymous fax comparing the 11-panel mural to North Korean political propaganda, because the act of removing images commemorating Maine's history itself conjures thoughts of rewriting history prevalent in totalitarian regimes," she wrote."

For the entire story, see: http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-LePage-mural-mount-holyoke-letter.html

Go vote in a poll about removing the mural

http://www.pressherald.com/news/labor-art-stashed-at-secret-location_2011-03-29.html

As of 1:50 p.m., 82% of responders think LePage was wrong to remove the mural.

RACHEL MADDOW COMMENTS ON THE REMOVAL...

http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/37725942

RETURN OUR MURAL!, PRESS CONFERENCE FRIDAY APRIL 1, HALL OF FLAGS,STATE HOUSE, AUGUSTA

 Return Our Mural!

                         

                     Press Conference

         

           contact: Robert Shetterly, 326-8459

                          Natasha Mayers, 549-7516

                         Joan Braun, 585-2218

                     http://mainelabormural.blogspot.com/

WHEN:  MONDAY,  April 4, 2011

WHERE: Hall of Flags, State House, Augusta

230 State St.
Augusta, ME 04330

TIME: 12:00 Noon 

Map data ©2011 Google - Terms of Use

1000 ft

200 m

 

Artists, labor leaders, civil rights advocates, historians, and concerned citizens  will convene in the Hall of Flags to demand the return of the  "Maine Labor History"  mural to its rightful place in the Maine Department of Labor. Governor Paul  Le Page's seizure  and hiding of a mural painted for the people of Maine is not merely presumptuous and disrespectful but also illegal and a breach of the state's contract with artist Judy Taylor. 

All Mainers who are concerned about this governor's disregard  of the rule of law and of the dignity of Maine's workers and their history are invited to attend. All Mainers who believe in supporting art that tells our history and who believe in organizing to defend our rights, please join us.

Sponsored by:

Union of Maine Visual Artists

Veterans For Peace, Maine Chapter 001

Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home

       NAACP

Call the Governor: Here's how

Here and the phone number and link to Governor LePage's office:

(207) 287-3531

Leave a message on  "The People's Comment".  You have 2 minutes to speak.

It's been created as a way for citizens to express concerns and comments.

Tell him what you think about his illegal seizing of the mural, breaking Judy Taylor's contract - or anything else.

http://www.maine.gov/governor/lepage/citizen_services/index.shtml

"You have nothing to lose but your heritage" Charlie Scontras, Labor Historian

I am saddened that a gifted artist, Judy Taylor, who created these kaleidoscopic  images of working Maine men, women and children featured in the Labor Mural, is ensnared in that seething cauldron of political conflict which has been known to claim its own innocent victims. 

Judy Taylor is not a “card carrying communist” and her clothing is not draped in pins bearing the hammer and sickle  Her work is a pure and innocent depiction of a slice of Maine cultural heritage. 

When I first viewed her images of workers, I felt as if I could  walk into any of the panels representing desperate workers and interact with them.  I sensed the indignities they suffered, their quest for a measure of economic security and dignity, and their cries protection against the arbitrary and capricious actions of their employers.  

I could sense the granite cutters going into the bowels of the earth to extract the granite, cut the granite, and polish the granite.  I could sense the sweat and pain of those who labored to lay down the ribbons of steel that crisscrossed the state, who built the locomotives that drove over them, and the engineers who piloted them.  I could experience the  travails of those who penetrated the darkness of the forests to extract its resources and of  the men, women, and children who labored in the textile mills where the cry for fresh air could be heard with monotones  regularity, and where the hours were so long that it was often said that did not see sunlight for they labored from darkness to darkness.

These are images of those who did and do the work of the world, Those who wove the cloth, made the shoes, harvested the crops, made the ships, loaded and unloaded the ships, and manned  the “floating prisons”  at sea, and all others who labored to provide the necessities, comforts, conveniences, and services.  In short, those who labored in the mills, factories,  mines, shops, quarries, etc., who helped to create the wealth of the state.

I was particularly disturbed by the images of child labor. Images of society’s most vulnerable members tethered to the machine and hobbled in their educational and physical health, victimized by the ravenous appetites of their parents or their employers, and doomed to an infinite variety of pathologies which threatened not  only their own welfare but also the welfare  of the community, provided citizens of the state with a sense of the human costs of unchecked industrial growth and the factory system.

A dramatic example ot the consequences of the search for profit in unbridled  unbridled economic order was the Triangle fire of 1911 that we tearfully remember here today.  Maine workers knew something of the meaning of that fire.   They too labored in multistoried building with out fire escapes.  They too knew of doors closed after they entered the  workplace.  Little wonder that some expressed anxiety about their safety.  The First Biennial Report of the Maine Department of Labor and Industry, 1911-1912, was published against the background of the Triangle fire.  It stated that it was “folly” to assume that our mills and factories offered workers security against fire.  It would appear to be axiomatic that no one be permitted pursue profit at the expense of the health or safety of another.

Looking at these images one is reminded that it was organized labor that helped to create the modern middle class by demanding a greater share of the wealth it helped to create;  that it was organized labor that brought democracy to the  workplace and provided workers with a voice is shaping the laws and workplace policies under which they labored and which  made them citizens at work rather than subjects; and that it was organized labor that insisted a measure of dignity in the workplace rather than treated as  impersonal  costs of  production to be found in the ledger along with taxes, insurance, raw materials, etc. and whose “value” was determined by the “laws” of the market place.

The Labor Mural should remain in the Labor Department.  Workers of Maine Unite!  You have nothing to lose but your heritage.

Letter to Maine Senate President Raye

Dear Senate President Raye,

I urge you to take whatever action is needed and appropriate to undo the removal of the mural in the Department of Labor building, as ordered by Governor LePage.  

The removal of the mural is a rash and petty gesture that alienates a large segment of Maine's population at a time when everyone should be pulling together to deal with the very serious challenges the State is facing.  It does nothing to create jobs -- I worked in private industry for thirty years and I cannot imagine a CEO saying, "Well, Maine would be an attractive place to site our new plant, except for that dreadful mural."  

The Governor, in his brief time in office, has done nothing constructive and has made Maine a national laughingstock.  Does he really have nothing more important to do with his time, and no better way to use scarce State resources, than to insult everyone with any tie to workers or to art?  I hope that you will at the very least dissociate yourself and the Republican party from this disgraceful act and this disgraceful man.

Very truly yours,

Neil Gallagher

4 Stowe Lane

Brunswick, Maine 04011

 

 

 

Not contacted, mural artist "stunned by the governor's decision"

In the Lewiston Sun Journal:

"Last week, a spokesman for LePage said the mural would remain at the Labor Department until the administration found a new home. But over the weekend the administration ordered workers to remove the piece and put it in storage.

The administration declined to reveal the mural's location. Dan Demeritt, a spokesman for LePage, said the removal did not cost the state any money because workers were already present at the facility.

Judy Taylor, the artist who made the mural, said she has no idea where the mural is being kept. Taylor said the governor's office has not contacted her since the controversy began."


To read the full story, see: http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/1006908

Maine Governor Moves Mural Depicting State's Labor History

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/28/134927412/maine-governor-moves-mural-depicting-states-labor-history

Maine Department Of Labor Quietly Removes Mural Over The Weekend

Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/maine-labor-mural-removes_n_841369.html

CNN: Maine governor removes pro-union mural

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/28/maine.mural.removed/

The federal money that paid for the mural is from the Reed Act...

http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL18-01.pdf

LE PAGE'S SECRET ADMIRER MADE THIS REVISION!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SFwhlG5eqgs

First posted at:

http://www.politicususa.com/en/lepage-rips-labor-mural

The Maine Arts Commissioner speaks up

So who really owns it?...

"From Donna McNeil, Director of the Maine Arts Commission:The Maine Arts Commission has received several inquires from the public and the press on the issue of the labor mural. In response we would like to share that the mural was not commissioned through Percent for Art but was privately funded by the Department of Labor. The mural is actually a series of paintings on panels which can easily be removed from the wall without damage. The State of Maine is actively seeking an appropriate place to reinstall the mural where it can be more fully enjoyed by the public."


http://www.maineartscene.com/Special-Arts-Events/Protest-to-Stop-LePage-From-Removing-a-Piece-of-Maine-Art-and-History.html

AP article quotes Robert Shetterly on not transferring the mural

Maine labor mural comes down on governor's orders

(AP) AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A mural depicting Maine's labor history was removed from the lobby of the state Department of Labor headquarters and put into storage over the weekend after a directive from the new Republican governor that it come down.


The 36-foot, 11-panel mural will be kept at an undisclosed location until a suitable spot can be found to put it on public display, said Adrienne Bennett, spokeswoman for Gov. Paul LePage.


The artwork was not appropriate for the Department of Labor because it is one-sided in favor of labor interests at the expense of business interests at a time when LePage is pushing a pro-business agenda, Bennett said.


The mural depicts Maine labor history with images that include a paper mill strike in the town of Jay, a strike at a shoe plant in Lewiston, women shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works and child laborers.


The LePage administration last week directed that the mural be taken down and that Department of Labor conference rooms named for labor leaders be renamed for mountains, counties or something else perceived as neutral. The rooms have yet to be renamed.


Plans to take down the mural have attracted state and national media attention at a time when legislatures in several cash-strapped states are considering measures to restrict collective bargaining by public workers.


Because of the scrutiny, the administration felt it was appropriate to remove the mural during the weekend rather than on a weekday, when state offices are open, Bennett said.


"We feel the mural controversy is counterproductive to the work the Department of Labor needs to focus on and our state as a whole needs to focus on," she said.


The mural, which was bolted to the walls, was created by artist Judy Taylor of Tremont using a $60,000 grant that came from the U.S. Department of Labor, said Maine Department of Labor spokesman Adam Fisher.


Bennett released an anonymous fax received by the governor's office and signed by "A Secret Admirer" that said the mural was propaganda in line with "communist North Korea where they use these murals to brainwash the masses."


Robert Shetterly, an artist from Brooksville and president of the Union of Maine Visual Artists, questioned whether something else was going on for LePage to "take this kind of political risk and expend this political capital" on a mural most people had never heard of or seen.


Shetterly called it "an exceptionally cowardly act" to move it over the weekend when no one would notice.


"If he really believed this was the right thing to do, he would ... be there himself, he would explain to Maine people why this was a good idea for Maine's democratic future and Maine's economic future."


The governor last week said an agreement had been reached for the mural to be moved to and displayed at Portland City Hall. But city officials and members of the City Council have yet to sign off on any such deal, said spokeswoman city spokeswoman Nicole Clegg.


If Portland turns down the offer, the Museum of Art at Bates College and Museum L-A in Lewiston have expressed an interest in exhibiting the work, said Darrell Bulmer, spokesman for the Maine Arts Commission.


While the mural sits in storage, labor groups and artists continued urging the governor to put it back up at the Department of Labor.


"We've seen an outpouring of opposition and bewilderment to the governor's action from business leaders, working people, citizens and his own party," Maine AFL-CIO President Don Berry said in a statement. "Yet he continues to take a my-way-or-the-highway approach."


Shetterly said nobody should display the mural because it would make them look "complicit" in the decision to take it down.


"I understand their motives to not have it kept in a closet, but I think the best outcome is for citizens to force it to be put back into the Department of Labor," he said.


Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ghLo79oqAr1ZVYxM3lu1yyDLKrjg?docId=bf39a5975b2e4d89a5b1590fcd75392d

Photo of space where the mural should be...

Note the patched walls...

http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/1006469

Sun Journal: Attorney: LePage doesn't have authority to remove mural

"Attorney: LePage doesn't have authority to remove mural

Posted By -UnBylined- On March 25, 2011 (12:17 pm) In Augusta, News, Politics, State

AUGUSTA, Maine — An attorney for the Maine Peoples Voting Coalition is claiming that Gov. Paul LePage is not authorized to remove the 36-foot mural at the Department of Labor.

The group issued a release this morning claiming that a petition could be filed with the State Museum Commission to stop LePage from moving the mural.

The administration plans to move the mural because LePage believes its depiction of Maine’s labor history is too one-sided toward organized labor.

According to MPVC, Jon Beal, a Portland attorney, the governor doesn’t have the authority to remove the mural without approval from the Museum Commission, the artwork’s current owner."

Read the full story at the Sun Journal.

Article taken from Bangor Daily News - http://new.bangordailynews.com
URL to article: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/03/25/politics/attorney-lepage-doesnt-have-authority-to-remove-mural/

BDN: LePage on protestors: "I’d laugh at them, the idiots."

Mural removed over weekend from Department of Labor offices

Posted By Kevin Miller On March 28, 2011 (10:22 am) In Augusta, News, Politics, State

AUGUSTA, Maine — A labor-themed mural that has become a flashpoint between Gov. Paul LePage, unions and Maine artists was removed from its prominent location in a state building over the weekend, administration officials confirmed Monday.

Administration spokespersons Dan Demeritt and Adrienne Bennett would not say when, exactly, crews took down the 11-panel mural depicting the history Maine’s labor movement.

“It is safely in storage and we are anticipating its relocation to a more appropriate location,” Demeritt said Monday morning.

Friday, more than 200 protesters gathered at the Department of Labor building in Augusta to show their opposition to the removal of the 3-year-old mural. Some in the crowd said they would employ non-violent tactics of civil disobedience to block the mural’s removal. LePage responded, in an interview with WCSH6, by saying if protesters formed a human chain around the mural as they were planning, “I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

“The Department of Labor has an important job to do for workers and employers and we just didn’t have time for distractions,” Demeritt said.

The LePage administration decided to remove the mural after receiving a handful of complaints from citizens and business owners who viewed it as too pro-union for a department that is responsible for working with both employers and employees. The painting’s defenders, meanwhile, describe it as a piece of art that depicts important events, themes and figures in Maine’s labor history.

Portland officials have indicated they might be willing to house the mural in City Hall, but such a move would have to be approved by the City Council.

Article taken from Bangor Daily News - http://new.bangordailynews.com
URL to article: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/03/28/politics/mural-removed-over-weekend-from-department-of-labor-offices/

Governor won't say where he stashed it

"Labor Dept. mural removed, put in storage

By Tom Bell tbell@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media State House Writer

AUGUSTA — The mural at the Maine Department of Labor was removed over the weekend and put into storage.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Paul LePage today declined to say where the mural is now located or why LePage decided to move it so quickly. LePage had previously said he would wait until he found a new home for the mural, which depicts the history of working people and labor unions in Maine.

"The mural has been removed and is in storage awaiting relocation to a more appropriate venue," said the governor's press secretary, Adrienne Bennett, in a statement. "Workers and employers need to work together to create opportunity for Maine's 50,000 unemployed. We understand that not everyone agrees with this decision, but the Maine Department of Labor has to be focused on the job at hand.""

http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-Labor-Dept-mural-lepage-storage-remove.html

Lewiston paper reports mural removed

"AUGUSTA — Last week a spokesman for Gov. Paul LePage said the

disputed mural at the state Department of Labor would remain there

until the administration found a new home.


Apparently the administration has had a change of heart.

The 36-foot mural depicting historical moments in Maine's work history

has been removed from the lobby in the Labor Department." (...)


For the complete story, visit: http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/1006469

Mural belongs to the federal government.

"Keeping with the intent of the “Percent for Art” law,

the Maine Department of Labor set aside funds to

furnish the workspace with artwork, including a mural depicting the history of labor in Maine.

The department used $60,000 in Federal funds, which could only be spent on buildings and

infrastructure to commission the work. The Maine Arts Commission assisted in the drafting of

a competitive RFP, which attracted several proposals by Maine artists. Acclaimed Tremont

artist, Judy Taylor, was selected to create and install the work."




The full, original press release can be linked to from the Portland Press Herald article under the link titled "Background on the Maine DOL murals:" http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-guv-remove-labor-mural-from-labor-dept-.html

Ed Beem in the Forecaster

http://www.theforecaster.net/content/pnms-beem-lepage-mural

State Library sites sources in response to request

Thank you for contacting the Law and Legislative Reference Library, an
office of the Maine Legislature.

Acording to several news articles we found online, in 2007 there was a
MAC juried competition to select an artist to produce the mural; they
selected Judy Taylor. In 2008 a federal grant of $60,000 paid for the
production of the mural. Here are a links to a few articles on the
subject:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51871.html (includes links to
several Maine articles)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/us/24lepage.html
On the Governor's website, there is a page of "latest news", including a
press release regarding the mural:
http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Gov+News&id=221620&v
=article2011

Donna McNeil of the Maine Arts Commission stated that the mural was not
funded by the Percent for Art but was privately funded by the Department
of Labor. This quote is available here:
http://www.maineartscene.com/Special-Arts-Events/Protest-to-Stop-LePage-
From-Removing-a-Piece-of-Maine-Art-and-History.html

We cannot find anything more regarding the ownership of the mural, but
you may want to contact the Department of Labor, who may be able to tell
you more. Their phone number is (207) 623-7900

An article in the Sun Journal published over the weekend stated that the
Department of Labor is referring all questions regarding the mural to
the Governor's office. This article can be found here:
http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/1006469

The Governor's office can be reached at 207-287-3531

If you have further questions please feel free to contact us again.

Julie Olson
Reference Librarian
Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library
email: lawlib.reference@legislature.maine.gov
website: http://www.legislature.maine.gov/lawlib
phone: 207 287-1600

GOVERNOR SEIZES ART: MURAL REMOVED OVER THE WEEKEND!

I just spoke to someone at the Department of Labor, the "Maine Labor History" mural was removed over the weekend.

THE GOVERNOR SEIZED THE ART.

LePage speaks out officially - and wrongly - and how to help

http://media-newswire.com/release_1146555.html


Governor LePage has released an official press release on the issue of the Maine Labor History mural, but he continues to deny simple reality.

LePage is quoted in the release: "“I appreciate the effort and talent Ms. Taylor devoted to the creation of her mural as well as the important history it represents. I am pleased that her work of art will be prominently displayed in Portland City Hall, the site of Maine’s first State House.”


It seems someone might have told LePage that the Portland City Council would have to approve the transfer - and the idea is not popular among Portland's arts community. The Council is meeting on April 4.


Councilman David Marshall was even at the Friday, noon protest and press conference in Augusta. LePage certainly won't have his support.


To contact any of the members of the City Council to let them know your opinion, visit this website (their names are email links):


http://www.portlandmaine.gov/council.htm


Don't be shy!

Open letter re legal challenge by Maine Peoples Voting Coalition

Ed Schlick
Acting Executive Director
Maine Peoples Voting Coalition
http://www.mainepage.com/
E-mail eschlick@roadrunner.com


DOES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL MAINE LABOR MURAL?

Since the start of the ongoing dispute over the attempt of Maine Governor Paul LePage to remove the labor mural in the Maine Department of Labor Building and possibly relocate it in the Portland City Hall many MPVC members and others have e-mailed me asking if MPVC would take any legal action to stop the relocation of the mural. Below is a clarification of what MPVC is currently working on to help define the legal ownership and control over the location of the mural.

FEDERAL GRANT PAID FOR MURAL

The labor mural in the current controversy was paid for with a $60,000 federal grant and the artist was selected by the Maine Arts Commission. We assume that the Maine Labor Department building built in 2007 was probably paid for largely, if not entirely, by federal funds. So as a practical matter we may have a federal mural in a federal building.

In looking at the question of art control and ownership in Maine public buildings the title to certain historical works of art or artifacts (such as the Maine Civil War flags) clearly rests with the Maine Museum Commission. However nothing is said in the applicable Maine law about where, when or how such art and artifacts can or should be displayed. The Maine law covers only the title to the ownership of the art.

In reference to the current dispute over location of the labor mural the State Museum director has apparently recently stated that the museum does not have control of “contemporary works of art” implying at least that the Museum Commission has no control over the labor mural now on display at the Maine Labor Department Building.

DEPRESSION ART FEDERALLY CONTROLED

We have done a very limited amount of research (via Google) on federal ownership and control of works of art. Several studies make it clear that the art work done and paid for under the various federal programs of the Great Depression in the 1930s is the property of the federal government and is controlled by the federal government not the various states in which the art was created and displayed. However, we were not able to find current law concerning such art created say in the last thirty or more years with federal funds/grants.

However, it would seem impossible that the federal agency that provided the $60,000 grant to create the labor mural just mailed the Maine Arts Commission a check for $60,000 with no paper work describing the conditions of the grant or that such issues were not made clear in the grant application. It seems equally impossible that the spending of such a significant amount of money would not fall under some general provisions of federal law as to ownership, display, removal, altering etc. of the art work being funded.

TWO QUESTIONS

The first question about removal of the labor mural is, what, if any, conditions were imposed on the use of the $60,000 grant money and the creation, mounting, ownership and display of the final piece of art?

The second question – are there general provisions of federal law that cover all such grant monies and art work.

For instance in the Bath post office there is a large mural river scene of historic Bath on the wall above the post office boxes. The post office is a federal building with art paid for by the federal government. What prevents the post master (or Governor LePage) from objecting to the art work and deciding to take it down or move it to another location? If the Maine Labor Department building was built with federal funds is it a federal building or (perhaps in some limited sense) a Maine building?

We think these questions (which we are currently unable to answer) should be immediately addressed and some answers obtained – certainly prior to the April 4 meeting of the Portland City Council – which is certain to be a contentious meeting. Why burden the council with such a difficult decision if investigation shows that control of the federally funded labor mural in a (perhaps) federal building rests firmly with the federal government and not with Governor LePage?

SUGGEST HELP FROM MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Since MPVC lacks funds to retain an attorney to research this matter we would suggest that in the coming week Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and/or Second District Congressman Mike Michaud be contacted and asked to help with clarification of the above questions. Either one or both are in a position to have easy access to the federal agencies involved and might well be helpful in resolving the questions. Hopefully this can be done in the coming week before the acrimony over Governor LePage’s personal, unnecessary and largely unsupported decision to remove the labor mural grows any stronger.

Obviously there is nationwide and even international interest and concern about this issue (a cursory Google search produced 48,900 media articles on the issue) and its resolution. Most of those objecting who have contacted me appear to see the issue as one of an completely uncalled for attack on Maine and national history and dictatorial censorship of work that displeases a “ruler” – not an elected official in a democracy.

Harlow Gallery Executive Director, Deb Fahy's open letter to the KJ

The process for selecting and placing public is a democratic one, especially when it is paid for by public money as Judy Taylor's "History of Maine Labor" mural was, under the Percent for Art Program.  With a little research online I discovered that the Maine Arts Commission released an RFP which resulted in over 100 submissions, and oversaw the process whereby Maine artist Judy Taylor was selected out of three finalists by a volunteer panel of arts professionals and community members.  The artist spent a full year designing and crafting the 7 foot high by 35 foot long mural.  She and Charles Scontras, a professor of history at the University of Maine, spent untold hours researching Maine’s labor history.   Press from the time of its installation in the summer of 2008, describe the mural as a source of pride and inspiration for staff at the Department of Labor. The subject matter is visual montage representing factual moments in history of labor in Maine.  It is an aesthetically excellent, beautifully crafted work of art.

Where is our democratic process when a few anonymous complaints can undo all of that?  The mural needs to stay right where it is, in the space it was designed for.

Deb Fahy

Executive Director

Harlow Gallery

Kennebec Valley Art Association

Maine Gov. Paul LePage Does It Again! Extends ‘Mural Ban’ To Other State Facilities "“WE’RE IMMEDIATELY REMOVING, FROM THE MATERNITY WARDS OF ALL-STATE-RUN HOSPITALS, ANY ARTWORK DEPICTING WOMEN IN LABOR.”

http://satiricalpolitical.com/2011/03/26/maine-paul-lepage-labor-department-mural/

The New York Times: He Dreamed He Saw Jong-il

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/opinion/28mon4.html?_r=1&ref=global

"As Republican governors vie to become the most anti-union executive in the land, Gov. Paul LePage of Maine has stooped to behavior worthy of the pharaohs’ chiseling historic truth from Egyptian monuments. Mr. LePage has ordered that a 36-foot-wide mural depicting workers’ history in Maine be removed from the lobby of the state’s Labor Department....

Content, panel by panel - according to artist Judy Taylor's website

Content by panel of the "History of Maine Labor" mural by Judy Taylor

1. The Apprentice : Here, a Cobbler trains his young Apprentice. In the background, are scenes from that era.
2. Lost Childhood : Child labor was common in Maine. They frequently performed dangerous tasks for long hours.
3. The Textile Workers : Young women were often sent to the mills by their families, who could not, or would not 
support them.

4. The Secret Ballot  :For the first time, workers were allowed to vote anonymously in 1891.
5. First Labor's Day : In 1884, Maine celebrated it's first  "Labor's Day", a day for the workers to celebrate.
6. The Woods Workers :A member of the IWW or "Wobblies" tries to organize the Maine woodsmen.

7. The 1937 Strike  :  Scenes from an unsuccessful strike attempt to create better conditions for women workers.

8. Francis Perkins  :  FDR's  Labor Secretary, and untiring labor activist, a Maine Labor icon.

9. Rosie the Riveter : Maine's version of WWII women workers participated as ship-builders.

10. The Strike of 1986 :  The   International Paper strike in Jay, Maine. One that still divides the town.

11. The Future of Labor in Maine :  A figure from the past offers a hammer to workers of the present, who are unsure 
of it's value in a changing world.




Images and content courtesy of Judy Taylor

Cynical Submissions: Contest for spoof submissions

The Portland Phoenix and the New England Journal of Aesthetic Research are sponsoring competition for spoof submissions about the effect of businesses on Maine. Winners will be published in the Phoenix and forwarded to the Governor.

http://gregcookland.com/journal/

New Jersey Editorial: Maine Erases Labor History

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2011/03/maine_erases_labor_history.html

LE PAGE'S SPIN: THIS IS NOT ACCURATE

http://media-newswire.com/release_1146555.html

This is in no way a done deal. The Portland City Council has to approve it on April 4th, and that is unlikely, given its composition. Good luck to the Art Commission in finding artists willing to contribute to this fiasco.
[comment by Joan Braun]

The New York Times: Mural of Maine’s Workers Becomes Political Target

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/us/24lepage.html?src=tptw

Diane Kruchkow: An Open Letter to Gov. LePage

Dear Governor LePage,

I am not an "idiot." *

And I am not to be "laugh[ed] at." *

Yes I was at the rally to save the mural on Friday--with hundreds of others. It was not trivial. Others have written about that event and the event here at UMF Thursday, and the earlier events and will write about  upcoming events which I'm sure you will foment.

You, sir, are a dangerous man.  Not because of your political beliefs.  Not even, perhaps, because of your moral beliefs.  But because as a person in power you feel you have the right to ignore the people of Maine. You mock what they believe, their commitments, their souls.  You have no right to do this, governor or not.  You have insulted this state and hurt its people.  This is not leadership:  this is street survival.  You are in our Blaine House; you work in our State House; you represent us to the rest of the country and the world.   The national media is mocking you, sir.   Grow up.

There are people all over the Middle East rising up against men who have used their power to walk all over the citizens. Maybe you should pay attention to this.

And yes I am part of the 61% who did not vote for you.  They are not idiots to be laughed at either.  Hopefully you will learn this lesson.  Otherwise all those obstacles you thought you have overcome are just hurdles in a race you will never finish. You will never win.  Do not fool yourself by thinking you have.

--Diane Kruchkow

   New Sharon

*tv interview..http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=856314011001