Artists fight for right to display work in public

Every Saturday, you can find a group of half a dozen artists with their works set up on the grass in front of the Carson City Community Center, at the corner of Roop and William streets.

The fact they are able to offer their art for sale in this place is because of the efforts of a couple of artists who battled through courts and legislative action to secure their rights to free expression.

Steven White has been a traveling artist for more than 40 years, and splits his time between Silver Springs and Arizona, selling his signature oval oil paintings wherever he can.

But rules in many cities prevented him from displaying or selling art in public parks, or required expensive permits. In 1996, White became aware of a court ruling that struck down a New York City law requiring business permits for artists selling on public property, and he wanted to try to spread this ruling to other cities.

In 1998, he began trying to set up his first free art show in a park next to a high school in Littleton, Colo. A few months later, his efforts took on a whole new meaning.

"I was invited to talk to some Boy Scouts at a local church about their rights to go do art shows," White recalled.

The next day, many of those Boy Scouts were subjected to a nightmare, and the world learned the name of that high school next to the park where White was setting up his free art shows: Columbine.

"That's what set me on this mission, to challenge city governments and give the gift of art back to the children of our country, a gift for the children that died at Columbine," White said. "That's what started the whole thing."

White's mission took him farther west until he ended up in Carson City in 2002. But it was a challenge to the city of Sparks that resulted in a court decision bearing his name in 2007. In White v. City of Sparks, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that artists have a First Amendment right to display and sell original works on public property, without needing licenses or paying fees.

"The federal courts came back and ruled that fine art is fully protected expression when it is being displayed by the person who created it," White said. "And because it rises to the full level of protection under the First Amendment, the right to sell it is also protected."

The ruling also helped define what constitutes art that is protected on free speech grounds.

"The reason why these things are fully protected are, one, they are self-expression. It can't be somebody else's," White said. "Rule two is that fine art has no other purpose other than being aesthetic. You can't paint a picture on a T-shirt, because that has a function. For it to be protected art, all you can do is look at it, and absorb the message that is coming from the artist that created it."

That ruling was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to review the case. Since then, White has used that ruling to overturn rules in many cities restricting where artists can display and sell their work.

Another artist involved in this effort is sculptor Ben Klinefelter. While White was fighting his battle in the courts, Klinefelter went through the Nevada Legislature.

"I was at an art show in front of the Capitol, and I caught the ear of a legislator about not being able to come out to the park with my work," Klinefelter said. "And we worked together and got a bill through the Legislature for arts in the park."

Assembly Bill 351 was approved in 2005, encouraging state and local park authorities to adopt regulations recognizing artists' rights and allowing them to display and sell their works in public parks.

Now that the legal wrangling is over, White and Klinefelter are working on building up their Saturday art shows, to spread the word to artists and art lovers alike to partake in these events.

"Most important to me, it's about creating opportunities for young artists," White said. "A lot of these kids, they are super talented, and they have nowhere to show their artwork."

"There was one lady here last week that had never shown her art before," Klinefelter added. "And it was fantastic."

Besides the Saturday shows, they are also setting up their works on Thursdays in the same spot, and inviting others to do the same, be they painters, photographers, musicians, performers or anyone creating original art.

"We are working to create this, and establish the rules, about what can and can't be done," White added. "We want to create a positive experience for the entire community to show them that art can truly be a part of the recreational experience."