The state conference of the NAACP has demanded that Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold rescind his refusal to display a mural depicting a black man breaking free from bondage on the exterior of the county government's headquarters in Annapolis.
The mural, which would include a montage of local children's paintings, is one of a series of public artworks commissioned by a nonprofit group to mark the 300th anniversary of the city's public charter. The design was approved by Leopold's predecessor, Janet S. Owens, before she left office in 2006, and the finished piece by African-American artist George "Lassie" Belt was scheduled to be mounted in December.
But Leopold, who said yesterday the agreement with ArtWalk officials was never cemented, called the piece "inappropriate and too busy." Leopold said he is willing to exhibit the children's artwork in the Arundel Center's lobby, but that displaying any artwork on a county building would set a precedent.
"I have a responsibility to ensure that the building maintains a certain look," said Leopold. He said he is sensitive to artistic freedom, having dabbled in oil painting before entering politics.
"If you look at the other governmental buildings in the area ... you will not see artwork displayed on their exteriors," he said. "I don't feel comfortable using the exterior of the building for any artwork."
Gerald G. Stansbury, president of the Maryland State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, sent out a news release Sunday night calling for Leopold to reconsider, after an article on the subject appeared in The Capital. He described Leopold's actions as "some sort of censorship."
"There is nothing offensive" about the artwork, Stansbury said. "It's supposed to be busy. Children are busy. It's a shame that he feels that way, and he's going to dictate what kind of art goes up, based on his personal feelings."
Sponsored through a $70,000 city grant, ArtWalk has sought to put temporary murals on six sites in Annapolis. Artwork has already been installed on the Naval Academy seawall, an inner West Street restaurant, the Annapolis harbormaster's building at City Dock and the Severn Savings Bank on Westgate Circle; the remaining sites are the Arundel Center on Calvert Street near the historically African-American Clay Street community and a Compromise Street playground.
