The Rialto Theatre first hired Joe Pagac to put up a mural on the eastside of the theatre in October 2009 for the Calexico concert after last year’s All Souls Procession. Since then, Pagac has provided downtown with a visual feast of art that also happens to promote the bands that are going to play at the nonprofit venue.
Well, evidently someone downtown doesn’t like art.
The Rialto Theatre was served with a notice of violation by the city of Tucson for having a sign without a permit.
According to Doug Biggers, Rialto’s executive director (and former publisher of the Tucson Weekly), considering the murals have been going up consistently since last October, he’s amazed that it took a year for someone to decide the concert palace is in violation of city code.
“Why, now, they decide to tell us we are in violation is anyone’s guess,” Biggers responded by e-mail. “… We have been told that we can put together an appeal and present it to the City’s SCAB (Sign Code Advisory Board) and ask for some kind of variance. … From what I’ve been told by the city official in charge of the process, it requires quite a bit of effort, and we have our hands full right now just keeping the Rialto’s doors open (because of the SB 1070 boycott and economic recession).”
Biggers said he’s directed Pagac to paint a “pure mural” rather than paint over the existing concert murals to celebrate the venue’s “nine decades of cultural history and the free expression of ideas. He’s painting it as I type, and it should be done by Sunday.”
“Of course, what we’d love is for the City Council to pass an immediate emergency resolution that the Rialto Theatre’s murals are a beloved and creative addition to downtown’s aesthetic environment,” but Biggers knows from experience that could be a great challenge.
The Range called Glenn Moyer, a planner with the City of Tucson, for comment regarding the violation. We will update if he calls back. The Range was told that someone made a complaint to the city that the murals were in violation of the city code. Of course, we’re left wondering what asshat just didn’t like those beautiful murals.
And we’re also left wondering why Tucson just doesn’t seem to ever get it.
The violation notice is here: violation__1_.pdf
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.
“Why, now, they decide to tell us we are in violation is anyone’s guess,” Biggers responded by e-mail. “… We have been told that we can put together an appeal and present it to the City’s SCAB (Sign Code Advisory Board) and ask for some kind of variance. … From what I’ve been told by the city official in charge of the process, it requires quite a bit of effort, and we have our hands full right now just keeping the Rialto’s doors open (because of the SB 1070 boycott )
BULL ON BLAME OF THE BOYCOTT!
WITH THAT SAID I WILL NOT GO INTO THE RIALTO !!!!
tucsonsam: Whether you agree or not with SB 1070, the Rialto has been demonstrably hurt by musicians declining to play in Arizona due to SB 1070. Your shouting–in addition to being against our comments policy–is off base.
I have a feeling that someone was ‘offended’ by seeing the word pornographers on the side of the building a while back and called in to complain to the city. The city, which obviously has nothing better to do, is going after the theater. Ridiculous.
And tucsonsam: The Rialto and other venues are suffering from boycotts from musicians and other artists.
Lessee, CoT taking out another downtown artist. Nothing unusual there. Those greed-heads couldn’t tell art from signage if it were jammed… well, you get my drift.
The city has a long, sad history of following artists down the money trail, adopting it, and killing it. Once they start to understand that a downtown scene (look at San Antonio, Austin, Santa Fe, NYC, whatever, grows from the dreams of the creative people. And those people don’t do well in captivity. Farming artist always results in a dead art scene.
Someone at City Hall should grow a pair, and tell the next crank caller to lump it, it’s beautiful, we’re letting them keep it.
It is indeed beautiful but its not like they are really going to keep it psyd it really is a constantly revolving billboard in that way. The law itself needs to be changed to distinguish between ‘art ads’ and ‘vapid commercial ads”but until then there really should be equal application of the law. Not sure why this is happening now (maybe tucsonsam knows) but the sign code has always been what it is.
Another non-profit theatre downtown has to pay a sign permit just to have its name painted on its building. I can understand sign permit fees as a way for the city to get revenue, but why not give a break to non-profit companies that are trying to breath some life into the city?