"Visual Voices: Public Art in the Sunshine State" at the St. Pete Museum of History

George Snow Hill Coast Guard
mural (1938)

The St. Pete Museum of History is now home to "Visual Voices: Public Art in the Sunshine State." It's a terrific exhibit that showcases St. Pete's long history of promoting public art. Even before the Depression and the creation of the WPA, artwork could be found in City Hall and other public spaces. But with the advent of WPA funding, more public art popped up across the city. Quite often, these works were created by George Snow Hill. 

Hill's resume includes representing the United States in the International Exhibit at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Let me digress here for a moment because my mind is kind of blown. Painting -- along with architecture, literature, music and sculpture -- were Olympic events from 1912-1948. The tie-in was that the work had to be inspired by some kind of athletic endeavor. The "Pentathlon of the Muses" was discontinued in large part because too many professional artists were participating. Um, couldn't there have just been a rule about this? For more on this slice of Olympic history, click here. Now back to St. Pete. 

The exhibit highlighted two of Hill's murals that became controversial long after they were created. The painting shown here was commissioned in 1938 for the Coast Guard Station in St. Pete. It was the companion mural (not included in the exhibit) that caused a stir four decades later because it showed a mermaid's breast. Was this something the sailors should be looking at while eating their meals? Would the men become titillated to the point they couldn't execute their jobs? Would the women be offended at this display of the human body? 

Experts were summoned to weigh in on the issue, including conservator C. Theodore Nightwine. As Nightwine aptly pointed out, "These are historic presentations and may only be viewed as offensive by those persons with no understanding of art history. If we are to ban the nude figure in art, we will have to go all the way back to the ancient Greeks." Both murals are still on view in City Hall today.

Another of Hill's works was even more controversial. "Picknicking at Pass-A-Grill" -- a portion of which is shown here -- hung for more than two decades in a prominent location in St. Pete's City Hall. During that time, the local branch of SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) made multiple requests that the artwork be removed on the basis that its representation of African-Americans was stereotypic and demeaning. These requests went unheeded. 

In 1966, a small group of men took the matter into their own hands, storming City Hall and tearing the painting down. The individual who physically removed the mural was arrested and went to jail for two years. That seems a bit extreme, but I guess the actions did constitute destruction of government property. And, well, racism. The wall was left empty for decades because the City couldn't decide on replacement artwork. Today a plaque can be found on the wall that explains the controversy. To see the offending work in its entirety, click here. 

"Jubilation" by Rose Bilal (1994)

Fast forward to 1994 and some less controversial artwork. That was the year St. Pete commissioned its first of seven murals for its Business Retention Target Area. The idea was that the artwork would both draw customers to the businesses in the area and create a more attractive environment for employees. One of those murals -- the only one no longer in existence -- was "Jubilation" by Rose Bilal. At least the work is being seen by visitors to the exhibit.  

This relatively small mural initiative paved the way for the St. Pete SHINE Festival. In 2012, artists Tes One, the Vitale Brothers and Chris "Palehorse" Parks created a large scale mural entitled "State Lines." Other artists quickly joined the movement, and murals began popping up on buildings up and down the 600 block of Central Avenue. Clearly a chord had been struck. 

In 2015, the artistic trio organized the first SHINE Festival. The goal of the Festival is to "transform [the] city into a vibrant, living canvas that reflects the soul of [the] community." More than 150 murals have been created since the inception of the Festival. That's a lot of walls! For more info on SHINE, click here. 

I'll leave you with a poster featuring Mr. Sun, a figure you're likely to come across if you spend time in St. Pete. Chad Mize created the poster, but he didn't create the character. Credit for that goes to Jack Swenningsen, who developed Mr. Sun back in the 1940s when he was working for a St. Pete advertising company. Mr. Sun's smiling face was seen on everything from tv ads to license plates to billboards. 

The image was never copyrighted (oops!), so Mize was free to use it for his own artwork. He has done that in a big way. In addition to murals and other artwork around town, Mr. Sun now graces the city's SunRunner buses. It seems fitting given the bus service's name. For more on Mize and Mr. Sun, click here. Be on the lookout for the character the next time you're in St. Pete. 

With that, I'll say once again what a treat it was to visit the St. Pete Museum of History. I don't know how often their exhibits change, but I'll definitely return. For more info on the Museum, click here. Let me know if you check it out!