MORE MURALS, MORE PROBLEMS
Commission to vote on public art regulations
NORWALK — Two murals have been commissioned and painted over the weekend in the Wall Street neighborhood, reigniting the month’s long debate started last fall by provocative real estate developer Jason Milligan.
The two works were done by artists Action, of Norwalk, and Jeremy Sporbeck, of Danbury, over the course of several days. The first, which occupies the street-facing exterior wall of Milligan’s property at 11 Belden Ave., depicts an American flag, a bald eagle with an olive branch in its talons and the words “I believe in Norwalk.”
“The basic idea was a flag, an eagle and an olive branch,” said Action, who painted the mural. “It’s patriotic, we wanted to do something everyone could get behind.”
Around the corner, Sporbeck created a technicolor supernova with large splotches of red, yellow, blue and green on the side of the building at 5 Mott Ave.
“I wanted to make a supernova, instead of it being just plain star I wanted to do something colorful,” Sporbeck said.
“The amount of paint on that wall is insane,” Action said, standing with Sporbeck in front of the work Monday afternoon.
“This is the type of thing that makes people want to come here.” Developer Jason Milligan
As they did, cars slowed and pedestrians stopped to investigate the painting, which Milligan said is both an attempt to beautify the neighborhood and celebrate its artistic spirit.
“It’s a beautification effort. There’s a huge art and music scene that’s thriving on its own. This is the type of thing that makes people want to come here,” Milligan said.
These are not the first murals Milligan has had commissioned in the area. In October, the developer was in hot water after having murals painted on the sides of buildings on Isaacs and Wall streets. Two were homages to the city — one is a view from Mill Hill looking over the Norwalk Harbor as it looked in the 1700s and the other shows the intersection of the streets and several businesses. A third, however, featured a ghoulish character that bore a resemblance to Mayor Harry Rilling, though Milligan maintains that whether or not it’s meant to be the city’s chief executive is up for interpretation.
Shortly after their completion, the city began issuing fines to Milligan for the murals because they did not adhere to the city’s regulations for public art, which control the size and content of what can be displayed on buildings. Other property owners, not related to Milligan, with murals on their buildings were also cited. A petition was launched to save the murals and, in November, Planning and Zoning Director Steven Kleppin told Milligan that the city would work with the Arts Commission to review and upgrade the public art regulations.
In May, the city took a step forward to make the Arts Commission the approving body in the case of public art, rather than Planning and Zoning, though city departments would be consulted in the process.
“The proposed amendment to the zoning regulations regarding murals stipulates that the Arts Commission shall review the size and content of the murals, while zoning will ensure that step has occurred, so that the City can maintain regulatory enforcement should someone not obtain the Arts Commission approval or install a mural that doesn’t conform with the approved design,” Kleppin explained Monday.
Though the policy shift appears imminent, Marc Alan, co-chairman of the Arts Commission and a member of the Wall Street Neighborhood Association, said a vote to change the regulations has not yet been held.
“It’s still legally in the hands of zoning and it all depends on what happens with that vote. At this time, the Arts Commission still has no jurisdiction on murals,” Alan said.
Whether or not zoning will cite Milligan for the latest murals is unclear, though he said on Monday that he hadn’t heard from the city. His belief, he said, was that amendments to the Central Business Design District’s regulations that seeks to define public art. It was after that meeting that he reached out to Action, who did the historic Mill Hill mural, and Sporbeck.
“Mr. Milligan is fully aware that the Arts Commission is going to be more involved in this process after the City updates its regulations on murals. He did not seek their input and instead rushed to have new murals painted before these regulations take effect,” said Spokesman for the Mayor Josh Morgan. “As usual, Mr. Milligan is out for himself and looking for attention. His actions are disrespectful to the Arts Commission, City staff, and the people who live and work in Norwalk.”
According to Kleppin, the change to public art regulations will likely be voted on by the Zoning Commission next week.