Bridgewater Town Council will decide if art is dangerous or unsightly.
Brian MacNevin bought a piece of the hull containing the name plate from the Farley Mowat after the vessel was removed from Shelburne Harbour and cut up.
The town received complaints after MacNevin put the hull on display at his property along King Street and issued an order to have it removed.
Brian MacNevin has been ordered by @TownBridgewater to remove this remnant of the MV Farley Mowat from his lawn. MacNevin says it’s not unsightly, it’s art. pic.twitter.com/nfIjG5ZaZO
— Ed Halverson (@edwardhalverson) November 12, 2018
MacNevin is appealing that order on the grounds that the hull with the nameplate has significant cultural, historical and artistic value.
And his property was the only place available to him to display the piece.
“The museum wasn’t interested in the sculpture and they have a big field up there. I would’ve been happy to put it back in the woods there. I’m open to suggestions of where this piece might find a home.”
MacNevin is a founder of the International Current Art Research & Development Institute.
He says the hull helps to spark discussion around the value of current art versus historic art.
And that art doesn’t need to be beautiful, in fact, sometimes its lack of beauty can be what makes a piece artistic.
MacNevin says to him, the work functions in the same way as the piece of the Berlin Wall currently on display in Lunenburg.
“It’s the memories that these objects hold,and the stories that they hold and the intellectual content that could be derived from giving the work a chance.”
MacNevin has hired a lawyer to appeal the town’s order.
Meanwhile,
Bridgewater’s mayor says in his ten years on council, this is the first time he’s heard an appeal using art as a defence.
David Mitchell says an order to remove unsightly or dangerous objects usually involves issues like properties strewn with garbage or vehicles being left to rot.
“Certainly there’s been a number of appeals for unsightly. It’s usually not on the basis of art. It’s usually someone who has some issues with their house or their front lawn.
MacNevin says since receiving the @TownBridgewater order he has addressed safety concerns by reinforcing the structure with railroad track. pic.twitter.com/ttcvpjX8py
— Ed Halverson (@edwardhalverson) November 12, 2018
Mitchell says residents are then given a set time to clean up the area.
“Usually when they appeal, it’s not that they think it should stay, it’s that they need more time to remove it. Because, once we say you have to do it, you have a set number of days to get it done, or we get it done and you have to pay for it.”
Mitchell says whether we like it or not, there is a process staff needs to follow when they receive a complaint.
Bridgewater Town Council will hear the appeal at their next meeting Tuesday night.
And Mitchell says this situation is so unique, he couldn’t guess as to how council will proceed.
Reported by: Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca
