Where is the line between art, and advertising? The unresolved question is testing the direct democracy of a small New England town, where a painting of pastries has led to zoning dispute, a First Amendment lawsuit and a local vote.
argues that the town is unconstitutionally discriminating against him. He asked a judge to prevent the town from enforcing its sign code.Long before the pastry painting was installed, the town had allowed other murals at a local shopping center, but in December the town found that three of those artworks are, indeed, signs that violate size limits. They go before the zoning board on Wednesday.
“As Conway officials have confirmed, the town does not consider a painting to be a “sign” if it does not convey what town officials perceive to be a commercial message,” the lawsuit says. “But the town’s perception is that any mural depicting anything related to a business is a ‘sign.’ This is governmental discrimination based on the content of the speech" and the speaker's identity, it said.
Board member Luigi Bartolomeo said he thinks the pastry painting is art, not advertising. He read the definition out loud , and said he agrees with a local attorney who called it “unconstitutionally vague.” “If they had done a seasonal mural on the wall — covered bridges and sunflowers and what have you — and it did not represent what your business is in, then it would be more likely to be a well-respected piece of art and not construed as a sign,” Colbath said at the August meeting.
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