A city of San Mateo public art program shut down entirely after one political artist’s depictions of police brutality stirred up controversy among the public and various city departments.
The Bay Area-based political artist, Diego Marcial Rios, says his art was censored after two of his 20 paintings hung up in San Mateo’s City Hall offended the San Mateo Police Department.
On July 17, Rios installed 20 paintings in City Hall in a single-artist gallery as part of the city’s Library Public Art Exhibit Program. Less than two days later, Rios said he received an email from a gallery organizer that there was a “problem” with some of his pieces, and they requested he swap them out.
The pieces in question were two 10-by-10-inch paintings — one of which shows a figure with his hands raised and demons behind them, with “Police Stop Killing Us” written on the bottom, and the other which depicts a skeleton police officer running, with “Will Kill Blacks and Mexicans Cheap!” written below it. The other artworks featured in the gallery were mostly pieces inspired by religious art, Mexican American culture and Latin history, said Rios.
Rios, who has had 500 exhibitions around the world, said that he has occasionally run into requests to swap out his paintings before, and he understands that his art can make other people uncomfortable. He said he expressed his willingness to switch out the paintings to city organizers.
“People object to my artwork all the time, because I’m a political artist, of course,” Rios said.
A few days later, his art was taken down entirely without warning, which is something he has never experienced, he said. And it wasn’t just his art — the two other exhibitions that were part of the program were also removed, and the city suspended the project.
City posts a response, deletes it
Upon request for comment, the San Mateo Police Department forwarded a statement posted on the city’s website, which has since been deleted, that confirms that the program has been suspended until further notice as the art selection committee reviews its policies and procedures. The city was “concerned by the paintings and their impact” on its staff and the public, according to the statement.
“While the artist was vetted through a joint community and library art selection committee, the paintings in question had not been reviewed by anyone prior to them being hung and were removed the next day, after the City suspended the entire program so we could revise our policies,” reads the statement.
Interim City Manager Christina Horrisberger said in a statement that Rios and other artists in the program were selected based on a small sample of their work. “Much” of his artwork hung at City Hall had not been seen by the selection committee, with “several pieces of work” including “strong political connotations,” she said.
She added that the city took a closer look at the library’s selection process after residents and “staff from several departments throughout the organization” raised concerns about Rios’ artwork. The city decided to suspend the entire program after finding the program did not have a process to “thoroughly vet the artwork,” she said.
“City Hall is intended to be a welcoming place where community members with diverse and often differing viewpoints can interact with their government and receive important services,” Horrisberger said. “It is also a workplace and we take pride in promoting an inclusive environment where employees with a variety of perspectives feel welcomed and respected.”
As a result of the controversy, Horrisberger said the city will refine its submission and selection criteria and define a direct oversight process so the program can “support a welcoming and respectful environment for people of all viewpoints.”
“What really happened was a couple of these officers got pissed off, they criticized the artwork and they demanded to take it down. This tells me that if the police department is that insecure and that sensitive towards criticism, what are they hiding?”
Diego Marcial Rios, artist
But Rios considers the removal to be a reflection of the city and its Police Department’s insecurities.
“What really happened was a couple of these officers got pissed off, they criticized the artwork and they demanded to take it down,” Rios said.
“This tells me that if the police department is that insecure and that sensitive towards criticism, what are they hiding?” he added.
He said that his artwork is meant to challenge people intellectually and prompt discussion and thought. Maybe his communication is not quite what the city wanted, he said.
“The reason for political artwork is to communicate struggle and issues. Apparently [the paintings] did their job — all 10 inches by 10 inches,” Rios said.