Censored political art in Berkeley

California has a reputation as one of the most liberal places in the U.S.

Berkeley is considered to be its liberal capital, where free thinking and self expression are encouraged, and sometimes even taken to extremes. Considering this, some might find it strange to hear that the city government is supporting the censorship of art in Berkeley.

Art Hazelwood, a co-founder of the "Art of Democracy" coalition along with Stephen Fredericks, said that they came up with the idea of a political show in 2006 during the midterm elections when things, as he said, "were looking pretty bleak, politically."

By setting out to look for artists interested to participate, they built up a network of many all over the world who wanted to create art with a message. The exhibition has been organized to be nationwide.

Many posters are charged with strong messages about the deterioration of democracy, immigrant rights, police brutality, loss of freedoms, war, and corrupted government.

For example, one piece encourages people to use their heads when voting, saying, "Vote issues, not image."

One of the shows was the Addison Street Window Gallery in Berkeley, a city- sponsored art gallery. Its curator was employed by the Arts Commission under Berkeley City Council.

Without consulting the other members, this curator decided that some of the posters could not be displayed because the depictions of guns would be inappropriate for children.

When Hazelwood asked the artists what they wanted to do, they decided to appeal to the Arts Commission, "They told me it was all or none of them, a package deal," Hazewood said.

The Arts Commission agreed to have a meeting to discuss the four posters in question and reconsider its display. "They never had the meeting and the show never happened," Hazelwood said.

Ironically, this happened after the city sponsored the most expensive piece of public art ever to be commissioned there: a sculpture dedicated to free speech.

"It seems very ironic to me that Berkeley, a city so proud of its progressiveness, was the only city in the entire country to have a show censored. Even the people in the most conservative states allowed these posters to be displayed."

It turns out that Art of Democracy is not the first censored show at this gallery. Hazelwood discovered that many other artists' work have been censored there. However, the artists are fighting back.

Hazelwood said, "What's nice about this struggle, is that we have something that is not easy to find these days, a network of political artists who are working together to make a change and take a stand for their freedoms rather than groveling to get a show."

Along with fellow artists in the "Art of Democracy" exhibit, Hazelwood is hoping that with a little persistence, they can change the policy of censorship.

"Fear of offending people does not make for good art," he said, in hopes that one day Berkeley will be able to live up to its reputation as a place where people can express themselves freely.

The "Art of Democracy" is currently being displayed at many other locations throughout the Bay Area, including San Leandro, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco.

For more information on the art, the coalition, and locations of exhibits, go to http://artofdemocracy.org.