Artist Sues After 'Too Religious' Paintings Removed (gimme a break...)

[The Straight Story]

Artist Sues After 'Too Religious' Paintings Removed

POSTED: 6:40 pm EST February 15, 2006
UPDATED: 8:07 am EST February 16, 2006

An artist in Deltona, Fla., is suing after being forced to remove his paintings from a display for Black History Month over complaints that they were too religious, according to a Local 6 News report.

Lloyd Marcus' paintings were recently taken down from City Hall in Deltona after people complained about the image of a Bible and the word Jesus on some of the paintings.

"These paintings, these nice little pictures are banned?" artist Lloyd Marcus said. "To me that is just way over the edge and yes, that made me angry. Oh, a Bible -- so what? It is art."

Marcus' attorney said the artwork is protected by the U.S. Constitution, Local 6 News reported.

http://www.local6.com/news/7092868/detail.html



after people complained about the image of a Bible and the word Jesus on some of the paintings


I mean really, do people have nothing better to do than find things to whine about? If it was a display about the holocaust and there were stars of david and someone holding a torah would they still be freaked out? Religion is a part of the culture, art reflects culture (well sometimes), and so it seems obvious that it (along with nudity, etc) would be a natural part of art.

[The Witch]

1. Oh, brother.

:eyes: This sort of story annoys the hell out of me. :eyes:
Folks who do this are not liberals, I don't know what they are...

[noonwitch]

9. They are cranks

People who have a bug up their butt about something.

I always draw the line between free expression of individuals and government sponsorships of religion. Like in public school, it's okay for kids to have a prayer group that meets before or after classes, or during lunch, but it's not okay to have teachers lead the kids in prayer during class time. If a teacher asks the class to write papers about the most important thing in their lives, well, that teacher better expect some of those papers to be about God. But the teacher shouldn't ask the students to write papers about their relationships with God.

You're right-it's not a liberal who is making this type of silly complaint, it's someone who has too much time on his hands and an exaggerated sense of his own importance.

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. When I see someone accuse "they want to take it out of the public square"

it's usually a bee-line to followers of Falwell and Robertson. When I saw this on the AP this morning, it was evident that he is part of the extreme Right trying to impose his views. Plus, he's being backed by the Liberty Counsel.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ART_DISPUTE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

"Artist Lloyd Marcus said Wednesday the artwork is merely based on childhood memories of his father's Baltimore church and is not intended to make a political statement.

"I feel like we are asked to tolerate every religion but anything with Jesus or any hint of Christianity is banned from the public square," Marcus said.

The Liberty Counsel, a conservative legal advocacy group, said it plans to file a lawsuit later this week."

[Richard Steele]

7. So who, exactly, complained about this?

I agree with you-
this sounds like some phoney complaints
were filed to generate a phoney controversy
resulting in a phoney lawsuit
to generate publicity for a bunch of phoney people.
This is STANDARD PRACTICE for fringe groups like the 'Liberty Council'.

One face wearing an "I heart Jesus" hat in a crowd scene
does NOT constitute religious art!

I KNOW religious art,
I have worked with religious art...
and that is NO religious art!

Pfft~!

[lapfog_1]

10. religious art is like pornography...

"I know it when I see it."

[egadsbrain]

3. This doesn't seem possible somehow...

I wouldn't be surprised if it was some right-winger trying to make liberals look bad by setting them up. Have the complainers identified themselves?
:grr:

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Yep! The Liberty Counsel's filing for him. See #2 above. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

6. Lloyd Marcus bills himself as a Conservative.

Here's his website; you can purchase his Tribute to Ronald Reagan! Check out the links, while you're there.

www.lloydmarcus.net/index.html

[sam sarrha]

4. oppression is addictive, if it worked for the Islamists, it works for any

other power hungery fanatic control freak.. we need to know who did the dirty deed.. and show his picture and tell all about him on CNN at 8 pm..

[JDPriestly]

8. What's to object to in those pictures?

They are cultural, but not particularly religious. This story does not make sense.