海角大神

When Sean Young offered up the wall of his bakery as a canvas for the art class at the local high school, he didn鈥檛 think much of it. Three students went to work, creating a colorful mural of the sun rising over the White Mountains, depicted as muffins and doughnuts. Mr. Young loved it, he says. His staff at Leavitt鈥檚 Country Bakery loved it, and customers loved it.

The town of Conway, New Hampshire, however, did not. The painting was cited by the town code enforcement officer in June 2022 for violating the sign ordinance for its size. The painting depicts baked goods, which opponents say makes it not art 鈥� which is protected by free speech 鈥� but advertisement.

Mr. Young鈥檚 application for a variance was denied, and a Virginia-based law firm, the Institute for Justice, picked up his case.

A classic New England town hall debate ensued 鈥� one about free speech, private property, and local governance. Locals flocked to attend meetings for both the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board to voice their views on the mural, or sign. It鈥檚 a question of when art becomes advertisement. And on April 11, citizens voted 788-736 against a proposed change to the sign ordinance that would have incorporated murals and works of art.

There鈥檚 no clear division between art and advertisement, says Michele Bogart, professor emeritus at Stony Brook University. (Take, for example, Andy Warhol鈥檚 Campbell Soup canvases.)

鈥淸Leavitt鈥檚] is a very interesting, complicated case about taste and property rights and ... an interpretation that this is advertising versus a case of it being community art,鈥� says Dr. Bogart, whose specialties include the social history of public art.

It鈥檚 not the object of public art that matters in the end as much as the process of making it and who that involves. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not simply what the work looks like. It鈥檚 what it embodies,鈥� she says.

Since fighting for the right to display what Mr. Young maintains is a mural, Leavitt鈥檚 has become an advocate for the arts. The bakery recently began selling T-shirts with the mural on the front above the words 鈥渢his is art,鈥� and the Leavitt鈥檚 sign on the back with, 鈥渢his is a sign.鈥� Proceeds benefit the Kennett High School art department. And with the help of a local philanthropist, Leavitt鈥檚 is co-sponsoring a scholarship for one student a year from Kennett High who wants to pursue the arts.

鈥淚鈥檓 not taking it down because it鈥檚 the kids鈥� artwork,鈥� Mr. Young says.

For now, the painting stays. As long as the town interprets its sign ordinance in a way that outlaws the painting, the Institute for Justice plans to move forward with its federal case against the town on Mr. Young's behalf.

The town stands by its decision to cite the bakery, says town manager John Eastman. 鈥淭he ordinance is lawful, and it is based on size, not content.鈥�

If locals don鈥檛 like the ordinance, he says, they should submit a petition to change it 鈥� as was on the ballot. 鈥淭he ordinance was voted in by the people. [Government] didn鈥檛 just arbitrarily make this up to hurt people.鈥�

Although the town says its enforcement is now based on size, not content, Leavitt鈥檚 and the Institute for Justice maintain the opposite, saying the town鈥檚 focus was at first on content. 鈥淢r. Hebert asked if the town鈥檚 position was solely on the graphic of the donuts and the muffins. Mr. Gibbs answered in the affirmative,鈥� read the minutes from an Aug. 17 meeting,聽reflecting an exchange between a member of the board and the code enforcement officer.

Mr. Young bought Leavitt鈥檚 a year ago from the original owners. A local fixture famed for its hand-cut doughnuts, lines go out the door in peak season and employees have memorized the orders of regulars.聽

Public art is important for many reasons, not least of which is that it creates a sense of place, says Boston-based muralist Caleb Neelon. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like remembering the color of your kitchen when you鈥檙e growing up,鈥� says Mr. Neelon. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be something that means home.鈥�

Luminaries like Banksy or Diego Rivera aside, there are two general types of public art, says Mr. Neelon. There are the projects that receive funding and go through a public approval process (think: the much-debated Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King memorial in Boston), and there is the grassroots type, which is often a property owner offering up a wall as Leavitt鈥檚 did.

The latter type 鈥渢ends to be something where people like seeing them and they are fun, a little bit contagious in the sense that people like to paint big and it鈥檚 fun to do,鈥� he says.

Emma Gallant, one of the students who painted the mural, is a junior at Kennett High and now works at Leavitt鈥檚.

鈥淚鈥檝e always really loved art. It鈥檚 something that I plan on doing throughout my life, even after I graduate,鈥� says Emma. 鈥淲hen my art teacher told me that we had an opportunity within the community to paint a big piece for a local bakery, I got really excited.鈥�

The students weren鈥檛 told what to paint, Emma says. The three of them came up with the concept after a week of brainstorming. So the debate over whether to remove the mural 鈥渒ind of hurts,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wish art could just be art.鈥�

A mother of three, Autumn Santagata says she is concerned about the impact the pandemic had on students鈥� mental health. She sees the mural as the type of action that should be supported 鈥� 鈥渓et鈥檚 keep them on the right path.鈥�

鈥淲e should lift them up,鈥� not tear them down, says the bakery employee.

Many Conway voters walking into the town鈥檚 polling place Tuesday say they are fans of the painting. Others, however, feel the ordinance is fair and that Leavitt鈥檚 should comply.

Mark Hounsell, a member of the planning board who voted in favor of the proposed change, was debating with Carl Thibodeau, a member of the board of selectmen.

The ordinance as it stands is not enforceable, says Mr. Hounsell. The selectmen can suspend enforcement if they believe something is unjust, he says, and he believes they should have done so.

Mr. Thibodeau agrees that the sign ordinance needs to be rewritten, but the changes suggested were 鈥渢oo ambiguous.鈥�

鈥淭he other side of it is that if they start putting up these giant murals all over town, and if you can鈥檛 call them a sign, then you can鈥檛 stop them, and I don鈥檛 know that anybody wants that,鈥� he says.

鈥淣o,鈥� agrees Mr. Hounsell, 鈥渂ut I don鈥檛 think anybody wants what we have.鈥�

Most Conway residents are happy to talk about the bakery. 鈥淚 love the mural,鈥� says Jeanne Twehous, a nurse at the high school. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see any downsides to it, and I鈥檓 still not sure why it became an issue.鈥�

鈥淧ersonally, I think it鈥檚 not a sign,鈥� says Dino Scaletti, who has split most of his adult life between Conway and Maryland, where he worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 鈥淲hether he makes bagels or doughnuts doesn鈥檛 make any difference to me.鈥�

Deborah Fauver, a retired lawyer, is more conflicted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough problem,鈥� she says, saying that while she likes Leavitt鈥檚 mural, specifically, she is concerned about enabling billboards.

This is about the freedom to display art, though, says Betsy Sanz, an attorney for the libertarian Institute for Justice, the firm representing Mr. Young. 鈥淎rt is expression that is protected.鈥�

鈥淯nder the First Amendment, a government can鈥檛 regulate content,鈥� says Ms. Sanz. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 think that five people on the zoning board are the ultimate arbiters of art and expression.鈥�

To Mr. Hounsell, a 12th-generation New Hampshire native, this town debate over what qualifies as an art is a uniquely New Hampshire, uniquely American story about self-determination.

鈥淭his is how you do it, this is how you live free,鈥� he says, invoking the state鈥檚 motto. 鈥淵ou confront the issue of the day from an honest, transparent position and you welcome the debate. And it鈥檚 not about agreement, it鈥檚 about engagement. The more we can talk, the better we鈥檒l see a way clear to do the right thing.鈥�

鈥淭his is how government works. Being an American is an action verb,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 be free if you can鈥檛 govern yourself.鈥�