Wisdom is the hardest thing to come by in life, and oftentimes wisdom and clarity in situations rife with rancor come only when one steps away and views a situation with the benefit of perspective.

That certainly seems to be the case with the lingering controversy of the Maine labor mural held hostage.

As far as we know, Judy Taylor’s “Maine Labor Mural Cycle” remains in storage in an Augusta office building, and the chorus of voices demanding its return to the Department of Labor grows by the day.

We’ve heard from artists, labor leaders, college presidents and museum directors — all almost uniform in their belief that Gov. Paul LePage overstepped his legal and moral authority by ordering the mural be removed in an attempt to have the Department of Labor perceived as more friendly to business.

We will hear more protestations on Monday, when the Union of Maine Visual Artists gathers the masses in the Hall of Flags at the Capitol to make their voices heard yet again.

Some of you may be tired of this story, but it’s not going away. LePage lit a fire the likes of which many people around the arts community have never seen.

Carlo Pittore, the godfather of the Union of Maine Visual Artists who died a few years ago, would not be happy with this turn of events, but he very likely would be proud of the organization’s steadfast response.

Dare I suggest it’s the best thing that’s happened to the arts in Maine in a long time?

As someone who has written about the arts in Maine for almost a decade now — a short-timer, I admit — I cannot recall a situation that has unified people more and emboldened them to speak out. Artists are a difficult group to bring together. By the nature of their work, they are solitary figures. But for the past two weeks, they have grown stronger in number and almost uniform in voice.

God help Paul LePage, because hell hath no fury like an artist scorned.

This story did not begin as an arts story, and I am certain it will not end as an arts story. It is much bigger than an arts story.

It was first a labor story, with LePage falling in line with his Republican brethren from Wisconsin and Ohio to diminish the power of organized labor to achieve economic goals. At the time, the removal of the mural seemed little more than a symbolic act in the process of making Maine more business-friendly. It became a political story, and now it has become a story about fear and recrimination.

And that is where LePage may have miscalculated and misjudged the people who feel most maligned. They will not stand for intimidation, and they will not back down. This mural has become a handle that people can hang onto and ride.

With each passing day, more and more people are grabbing hold, determined not to let go. If you think this is an overblown local story, think again. It is getting coverage across the world.

Why?

Because leaders of open societies do not tear down art. Dictators do, usually in Third World countries going through regime change.

As Portland Museum of Art Director Mark Bessire noted last week, Maine is renowned for its arts-friendly heritage. As it is being told around the world, this story means that Maine’s reputation “as a place of storied creativity” is tarnished, he said.

I don’t want to be the one to call LePage a dictator. I will say simply that the actions of his administration will demonstrate the truth in time.

Consider this: In researching this column, I could not get a single person who has even peripheral ties to state government to talk on the record. They are fearful of retribution.

Historically, fear and retribution have not served open societies well.

But that seems to be the path we’re on. If you do not like what your elected representative stands for, shoot her in the head. If you don’t want labor to stand in the way of your agenda, strip them of their legal rights. If you don’t like art that was legally commissioned and vetted by a nonpartisan selection committee, take it down.

Is this what we have become as a society? Really?

The artists in Maine have stepped up and said no, and they are not backing down.

Now, before you bring up the public art piece in Portland called “Tracing the Fore” — the city of Portland recently voted to remove the piece from Boothby Square — keep in mind that the city has a policy for the removal of public art, and it was followed to a “T.”

It didn’t happen over the weekend when no one was looking. It was debated for months in an open forum, with ample opportunity for people on all sides of the issue to voice an opinion. The votes of both the Public Art Committee and the City Council were in open public meetings.

The turn of this story from labor to politics to art to something much bigger cannot bode well for the governor. He can win the labor debate, and he certainly has the clout and the support of the people to win an economic debate. But when it comes to making unilateral decisions about public art, he’s on the losing end of public opinion.

This one will cost him. This is not how we act in a civilized society.

Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:

bkeyes@pressherald.com

Follow him on Twitter at:

twitter.com/pphbkeyes

 

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