And Then They Came for the Art

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"Seat Nude Drying Her Foot" by Picasso (1921)

During Hitler's reign, responsibility for the promotion of Hitler's worldview fell to Joseph Goebbels. Among other roles, he was tapped to lead the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The mission of the department was right there in its title -- to manipulate the public to get on board with Nazi values and objectives.Visual art fell within Goebbels' purview. One of the ways he attempted to mold public opinion was by mounting two contrasting exhibitions in 1937 -- the Great German Art Exhibition and the Degenerate Art Exhibition. 

The goal of the exhibits was to show the clear superiority of Nazi-approved art (think depictions of white -- often heroic -- people and beautiful vistas) over "degenerate art" (works created by Jews or Communists or made in the modern style). Picasso's "Seated Nude Drying Her Foot" was one of the 600+ works that could be seen in the Degenerate Art Exhibition. Other well-known artists in the show included Van Gogh, Chagall and Mondrian. 

"Refugees Crossing the Border" by Rigoberto Gonzalex

Fast forward to 2025 and Trump's review of works in the Smithsonian to ensure that their message is consistent with his world view. "The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country, are, essentially, the last remaining segment of 'WOKE,'" Trump said in a post in the ironically named Truth Social. "The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL," he continued, "Where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been." In accordance with his wishes, works deemed too 'divisive or partison' will be removed from display. 

Rigoberto A. Gonzales' "Refugees Crossing the Border" is included in a list of seven artworks Trump has specifically targeted for removal. Its inclusion in the list got my attention because I've seen the painting, and it's incredibly powerful. I'm actually a bit surprised Trump didn't want to showcase this work as an example of how immigrants are illegally entering the country. For the other works included in Trump's initial hit list, click here. 

Not surprisingly, this wasn't the end of Trump's imposition of his views on the Smithsonian's programming. On August 12th, the Administration issued a public letter to the head of the Smithsonian stating that there would be a comprehensive look at current and planned exhibits, wall text and social media "to assess tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals." The letter went on to say that the objective was to replace "divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions." The clock is ticking on the Smithsonian's 120 day window to conduct this review and take action. 

"Pride Walk" removed from intersection of 2nd Street,
Cocoanut Avenue and Pineapple Avenue in Sarasota

While this is all quite disturbing, you might wonder why I'm writing about the issue here. Taking their cue from Trump, DeSantis et al have launched an attack on public art in Florida. The Florida Senate recently passed what might have been a run-of-the-mill bill relating to transportation issues. Buried in the 87 page document is a reference to the removal of "noncompliant street markings." Safety first, you might think about the bans imposed on pavement art in response to this provision. Well, it turns out that studies such as the Bloomberg Asphalt Safety Study have shown there has been a significant reduction in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists in locations with street art. Still, the Florida Department of Transportation mandated that cities had to remove all pavement art -- be it on streets, crosswalks or sidewalks -- by September 4 or risk the loss of state funding.  

As you probably know, rainbow-colored Pride Walks have popped up across the country in support of LGBTQ+ rights. You might think these works of art would be exempt from the DOT rule as a form of protected speech under the First Amendment. Nope -- at least not in the view of the DeSantis Administration. The DOT guidance took pains to specify that the ban covers art that is "associated with social, political or ideological messages or images." Just in case there was any doubt, DeSantis went on record as saying, "We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes." 

The most controversial street mural removal has been the Pride Walk painted in honor of the 49 victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Knowing this removal would be disputed, the DOT went in and painted over it rather than leave it to local government to comply. Four LGBTQ+ advocates were arrested when they tried to recreate the mural in chalk. (They were released without charges being brought.) Sarasota's own Pride Walk has also been painted over, including the quotes that anchored the work. These quotes included former President Obama's statement that, "No one should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding hands." How times have changed. 

Removal of sidewalk paintings on Avenue of Art

I would be remiss not to mention that the sidewalk paintings on the Avenue of Art in Burns Square have also been removed in response to this mandate. The project featured paintings memorializing Sarasota and its history by more than 200 artists. You could learn the stories behind the paintings by clicking on their QR codes. Having written dozens of these descriptions on topics as varied as the contributions of people such as Bertha Palmer and Lewis and Irene Colson to Florida's Grapefruit League to the Casperson Beach Wade In, I feel a personal affront at the removal of these works of art. Heartbroken would really be a more accurate description. To see all of the works of art that were removed, click here. 

Sarasota Deco by Rob Lorenson

I'll leave you with one more art-related tidbit. As of July 1, Florida law prohibits local governments from requiring developers to support public art in order to obtain a development permit. Since 1989, developers of commercial and multi-family projects in Sarasota have been required to either install a publicly accessible work of art onsite or contribute one-half of one percent of the construction cost to the public art fund. It's a big reason our city is so full of wonderful public art. The loss of these developers' dollars will unquestionably impact the growth of public art here. It's just the icing on the top of a very unappetizing cake.