City Censorship?
Local Artist Ruffles Feathers at Miami Beach City Hall
By Terence Cantarella
Artist Franklin Sinanan delivered six paintings and one sculpture to Miami Beach City Hall early last month. His work was put on display there as part of a Black History Month art exhibit.
Since dropping off his artwork, however, Sinanan has revisited City Hall twice to remove pieces the city later decided were inappropriate.
Born in Trinidad and raised in Canada, Sinanan’s work has taken on a distinct Afro-Caribbean flair since moving to Miami two years ago. “In Canada,” he says, “my work never looked like this. It was just a lot of white faces.”
Now, some people are afraid to step into his Lincoln Road studio because of the voodoo-like elements in his work. He’s been called a witch doctor. Some visitors ask to be healed. One woman wanted his blessing to help her land a large sum of money.
City officials, who initially approved the exhibition of Sinanan’s work in their fourth-floor public gallery at 1700 Convention Center Drive, later asked him to remove a sculpture entitled “Rituals” after receiving complaints from city staff.
With votive candles, feathers, rope, baby dolls and skull-like heads atop crucifixes, Sinanan admits the sculpture looks “voodoo-ish.” Yet, he puzzles over why it needed to be removed. “This is Miami. It’s part of the local culture, right? Why should anyone take offense?”
Three days after installing it, however, he complied with the city’s request, and replaced it with a less controversial piece: an abstract painting entitled “Rwanda.”
A few days later, however, he got another call from the city. His painting of a rooster, they decided, also needed to go. The crucifix dangling from one corner of the canvas and the votive candles that lined a bottom shelf, Sinanan suspects, were to blame. “Still,” the artist says, perplexed by the back and forth, “it’s just a chicken.”
City of Miami Beach officials, who refused to comment for this story, clearly disagree.READ MORE |
