100 signatures reached
To: The citizens of the town of Rockland, New York
Support free speech! Stop the censorship of a contemporary art mural in Roscoe, NY!
This summer, Sunday Home, a furniture store, commissioned artist Seth Carnes to create a mural on the side of their building. They had permission from the building’s owner and a signed contract. The words “time to unperson” were to be painted in large white letters on a black wall, part of the artist’s ongoing project.
After four days of painting, a local man approached Carnes and ordered him off the scaffold. He called the mural “vulgar” without explanation, and threatened to paint over the mural immediately. This man is not a town official and has no financial interest in the building.
A report was filed with the NY State Police against the man. To protect the mural from vandalism, surveillance cameras were installed and signs have been posted.
Since then, the mural remains unfinished, with continuing threats and efforts to censor and remove the mural by those who find it objectionable.
Carnes has been issued a citation from the town claiming the mural is commercial signage which requires a permit. The citation includes a threat of fines and imprisonment.
Since then, the mural remains unfinished, with continuing threats and efforts to censor and remove the mural by those who find it objectionable.
Carnes has been issued a citation from the town claiming the mural is commercial signage which requires a permit. The citation includes a threat of fines and imprisonment.
This mural is artwork. It is not a commercial sign. It is simply paint on a wall.
The phrase “time to unperson” does not discriminate against any protected class.
The phrase “time to unperson” does not discriminate against any protected class.
Misinterpreting an artwork as objectionable should not lead to censorship . Questions of meaning, or perceived offense should be a matter of discussion and tolerance, not brazen aggression.
We believe this censorship is a violation of the artist’s First Amendment rights.
If you believe in freedom of speech, tolerance, and 1st amendment rights for artists under the US Constitution, please sign this petition!
BACKGROUND ON THE ARTWORK AND ARTIST
This mural is part of the Miniluv project, created by Seth Indigo Carnes and originally co-curated as an intervention in 2023 with Rodney Harder at the Deep Water Literary Festival in Narrowsburg, New York, with the work of George Orwell as a theme.
Similar versions of the same artwork, with the same wording have been displayed over the last two years in nearby public places like Narrowsburg, NY without complaints.
The word “unperson” comes from the George Orwell novel 1984, a fictional depiction of an oppressive government using language to control citizens.
Carnes takes an interpretive approach to the invented poetic phrase “time to unperson,” which combines the language of Orwell, advertising, self-help, escapism, and social media, with an intention that meaning will form in the eye of the beholder, where art acts as a mirror.
Here’s what Seth Carnes writes in his artist statement:
One of the concepts in 1984 was called doublethink, where words and phrases contain contradictory meanings and people may hold both to be true…
Some invented words in the novel, such as ‘unperson’, suggest a meaning, but it is never clear, only implied. In this imaginary world, without free speech and open public discourse, there is no established meaning, only constant edits, censorship, and control by those in power… Art and poetry often feature a related but less severe effect, where symbolism, metaphor, irony, and play with language leave the work open to multiple interpretations.
MORE INFORMATION:
“Un-muraled: Community backlash leaves mural half-finished in Roscoe”, River Reporter
https://riverreporter.com/stories/un-muraled-community-backlash-leaves-mural-half-finished-in-roscoe,210127
Artist Website:
www.sic.studio
If you believe in freedom of speech, tolerance, and 1st amendment rights for artists under the US Constitution, please sign this petition!
BACKGROUND ON THE ARTWORK AND ARTIST
This mural is part of the Miniluv project, created by Seth Indigo Carnes and originally co-curated as an intervention in 2023 with Rodney Harder at the Deep Water Literary Festival in Narrowsburg, New York, with the work of George Orwell as a theme.
Similar versions of the same artwork, with the same wording have been displayed over the last two years in nearby public places like Narrowsburg, NY without complaints.
The word “unperson” comes from the George Orwell novel 1984, a fictional depiction of an oppressive government using language to control citizens.
Carnes takes an interpretive approach to the invented poetic phrase “time to unperson,” which combines the language of Orwell, advertising, self-help, escapism, and social media, with an intention that meaning will form in the eye of the beholder, where art acts as a mirror.
Here’s what Seth Carnes writes in his artist statement:
One of the concepts in 1984 was called doublethink, where words and phrases contain contradictory meanings and people may hold both to be true…
Some invented words in the novel, such as ‘unperson’, suggest a meaning, but it is never clear, only implied. In this imaginary world, without free speech and open public discourse, there is no established meaning, only constant edits, censorship, and control by those in power… Art and poetry often feature a related but less severe effect, where symbolism, metaphor, irony, and play with language leave the work open to multiple interpretations.
MORE INFORMATION:
“Un-muraled: Community backlash leaves mural half-finished in Roscoe”, River Reporter
https://riverreporter.com/stories/un-muraled-community-backlash-leaves-mural-half-finished-in-roscoe,210127
Artist Website:
www.sic.studio
Why is this important?
This isn't just about one mural in one town. This is about the First Amendment and everyone's constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.