January 23, 2002

A non-artist looks at the Art Guild situation

Though I was once honored in a national competition by the giant McGraw-Hill Publishing Company for my abstract painting "The Soul in Hell", I'm not a painter. Which may explain why I've never gotten involved with the Art Guild of Pacifica. For the most part, in my 38 years in Pacifica those folks have been either strangers or casual acquaintances at best. To the extent I gave thought to the Art Guild, my impression was of a genteel, well-behaved group who treated each other and the world with civility, magnanimity and courtesy. I thought each and every member would be the kind of person who would defer to the wishes of every other member. Imagine my shock when I saw the front page headlines last week, and especially when I talked to a member about some of the Chicago-style politics she believed were going on in an organization I'd long appreciated for its civilized character.

I'm not an investigative reporter. I'm no good at covert operations, or undercover surveillance, so it's unlikely I'll ever know the full facts behind this artistic dustup. However, it was highly interesting to be told there'd been a concert which featured, among other things, singling out council member Cal Hinton and your humble servant for criticism, right from the stage, I was told. I've no idea why they singled out Cal. Perhaps it was his white hair. Perhaps because he's good at putting out fires. I have to guess I was singled out because I came out in favor of a little patriotism in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and criticized some who chose not to do the same. I made the "mistake" of waving the flag, and criticizing some local Berkeley-style liberals who couldn't bring themselves to do the same even with the extreme provocation furnished by Osama Bin Laden. The wonderful thing about the First Amendment is that both Nancy Hall and I are entitled to our say. Either or both of us may have our facts wrong. Either or both of us may be involved in sedition. As long as the sedition is peaceful, it is our right to practice it. Peaceful sedition is truly one of our cherished rights as Americans.

However, I hope that what I was told is not true. I hope the membership roster of the Art Guild was not stacked with a bunch of non-artists, concert-goers who were recruited into the Art Guild for the purpose of overwhelming the votes of the longtime, legitimate, artistic members. Small organizations can sometimes be taken over by determined, ruthless minority groups. It's been known to happen to unions, fraternal organizations, chambers of commerce, political clubs. This can happen especially when the small organization has new access to money, power or a combination of the two. A large but complacent membership majority can be outfoxed and outmaneuvered. Perhaps there's more to control of the Sanchez Art Center than meets the eye.

Though I'm officially retired, for the past four years or so I've helped the San Mateo County Elections division before elections as a proofreader and in other ways. I admire the scrupulous care that must be taken to avoid even the appearance of unfairness in the electoral process. Random alphabets are chosen. Candidates names are rotated from district to district, all in an effort to be as impartial as possible. I hope the next Art Guild election will be at least as fair and impartial as the recent warehouseman's union election in which I was employed as an impartial observer and guardian of the ballot box.

E mail Paul Azevedo at Paul@thereactor.net. Check his website at http://www.thereactor.net.