Plant City (Florida) officials banned new murals in downtown after confusing an arm rest in a public mural with a man's sex organ. But the artist, Blake Emory who helped create the mural, claims that it was just an armrest.

The mural was made by  three artists who call themselves the Dr. Brothers - David Rothman, 27, Blake Emory, 26, and James Emory, 29. The mural, a take on Norman Rockwell's 1943 April Fool's Day cover for the Saturday Evening Post.

The mural was retouched to take the armrest out. But that was not enough, ity commissioners voted 4-1 Monday to essentially ban new outdoor paintings from historic downtown.

Sparkman said the ban was needed to be in place.

"We have an obligation to protect our kids, or citizens, and this community from things that are not of our character, and things we do not want in our community. To think we could allow this kind of trash is ludicrous," Sparkman said, holding a picture of the mural toward Dodson, "We have to stop it and we have to stop it now."

 

"The city has been up in arms over the Plant City mural from the first time it was presented to them," Emory said. "We went through the proper channels and did everything we were supposed to do. The offending area in the mural was part of an arm chair, nothing more. But when it was pointed out to me I had it painted over immediately. As far as the rest of the mural is concerned I will be glad to talk to anyone about its content. But no one from the city has asked."

 

On Tuesday, Edward Haynes, the owner of Hannas Antiques, who paid for the offending mural, was aggravated by the turmoil created by what he called an artists mistake.

"If I thought there was anything indecent or immoral in the mural I would have painted over it myself," Haynes said. "I didn't notice anything wrong and the artist painted over the part thought to be indecent without an argument. If the city was so interested in the moral character of the city why don't they do something about the prostitutes soliciting on the city streets, or the bums sleeping in vacant lots at night? I'm all for decency. I have a family too. But let's not get so upset and misplace our energy when it is needed elsewhere."

Source: www2.tbo.com

What do you all think? Indecency, art or just plain stupidity?