Illinois State Museum Chicago Art Patch Project
Photos by Ron Grenko
Text by C. Drew
The State of Illinois through its Cook County State’s Attorney is attempting to put me in jail for up to 15 years for audio-recording my own arrest for the misdemeanor of selling art in public.
The Illinois State Museum had an opening, “Pathways and Portals: Art, Nature and Science”, with 15 artists represented. I knew two of the artists, Robert Wapahi and Sharon Skolnick. It seemed like an opportunity to take my case to the State level, or at least level two of the State of Illinois Center where the Illinois State Museum of Chicago is located. I had a new screen of Sharon Skolnicks art, “Courage is like a wild horse.”
Twenty years of giving in the community arts has won me friends at the ISM Gallery.
I entered the State of Illinois Center just before 6:00pm. Inside the enormous glass palace, I road up the escalator, and saw just inside the door of the Illinois State Museum Gallery Sharon Skolnick talking with someone important. “Sharon” I opened my leather bag to show her the new screen. It was a total surprise. She squealed like a school girl. “Do you give me permission to print it?” I asked.
I brought art patches by exhibiting artist Robert Wapahi and and a screen to print by exhibiting artist Sharon Skolnick.
“I would,” she said “but I’m not in charge.”
The Art Patch Project gives the art of a growing number of Chicago artists away free to educate the public that artists speech rights are violated by the City of Chicago.
“That’s ok,” I said because I saw a person in charge that I knew. Twenty years of working as a volunteer Executive Director of a community art center provide me with contacts throughout the arts community. In a moment I had permission from the artist and an establishment authority to add a feature to their exhibit – the Art Patch Project. I setup to print “Courage is like a Wild Horse” and gave away many free art patches including all of Robert Wapahi’s art-patches which I had brought preprinted and pinned with our literature.
For three years I gave art away on the street free while documenting my activity on this blog.
I believe in freedom and would like to live as if the First Amendment actually applies to me. Although, I have yet to gain my full speech rights to sell art in public it is still legal to give art away. The 1st class felony charge does not cripple me, yet, from speaking out. Let me give away as much art as I can while I am still allowed to do even this in the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago. And if they decide artists who speak out are one step short of the worst criminals in their system, then I will take it as a complement that our voices frighten them that much.
When I tested the misdemeanor peddlers license law by breaking it, they charged me with a 1st class felony for audio-recording my own arrest in public.
Our voices include the voices of all the artists who have contributed designs to the Art Patch Project. My claim is “your voices” are powerful because it is the body of art that artists like yourself and others you know who have submitted art to the Art Patch Project that is catching the public eye. The Art Patch Project is seventy designs and growing. The public eye is on us. Yes we are in the spotlight. The mounting publicity that this outrageous 1st class felony charge is giving our artists’ speech rights cause combined our with the Art Patch Project art-give-aways are creating the community conversation that we need to change Chicago.
To protect myself from the immense power of the State and to change Chicago I am printing and giving away humble art-patches to promote freedom in the USA.
We made our point at the Illinois State Museum on the evening of 2/11/10. I explained our intention to change Chicago and the State of Illinois by challenging the peddlers license and the eavesdropping law that compromise our rights.
It took me three years to find a First Amendment attorney in Mark Weinberg before testing the peddlers license law.
If you are an artist, submit a design and get in on this publicity. If you are among the public who enjoys art – collect our art-patches, share the story of our struggle to make Chicago more friendly to artists and participate in this historic art action.
When Mark Weinberg heard about the eavesdropping charge he volunteered to represent me. Thanks Mark!
Chicago community artists who submitted designs to the Art Patch Project exhibiting at the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery in the “Pathways and Portals: Art, Nature and Science” exhibit are are Sharon (Okee-Chee) Skolnick and Robert Wapahi. Other artists in this exhibit are Granite Amit, Artn with Donna Cox and Ellen Sandor, AnnMarie Cernoch, Michele Corazzo, Shawn Decker, Indira Johnson, James Mesple, Kelly Quinn, Dusty Seno, Gene Skala, Michelle Stone, Joan Truckenbrod
The Art Patch Project will grow and grow until the City and State give us our full speech rights to sell art in public.
The exhibition runs through Friday, May 7, 2010.