'Violent' cartoon mural at the heart of a struggle in Eau Gallie over art, politics, culture

MELBOURNE — Like contrasting layers of paint atop a brick wall, Los Angeles artist Matt Gondek's "exploding cartoon" mural has triggered a kaleidoscope of debate about art, politics and culture in Eau Gallie the past half year.

Gondek's controversial 100-foot mural — the largest of his career — won a Melbourne City Hall "threepeat” Thursday night, as coined by Anti-Gravity Project co-curator Derek Gores.

Melbourne's Historic and Architectural Review Board (twice, on Nov. 15 and Jan. 17) and Planning and Zoning Board (once, on Thursday) have now voted to uphold the mural's "certificate of architectural appropriateness."

Fans of the mural on the north wall of CrossFit Rise Above say it draws attention and foot traffic to an economically stagnant area, while helping attract young Space Coast high-tech workers.

On the other hand, mural foes say the imagery of Homer Simpson, Wile E. Coyote and Hello Kitty showcases violence, frightens children, and makes for a poor neighborhood fit.

“I never wanted this to be controversial. When I painted this, I honestly didn’t think we would have any issues. Because I don’t see it as a violent, gory anything,” Gondek said Thursday afternoon, standing in front of his cartoon mural while traffic whizzed past Eau Gallie Boulevard.

“To me, it’s just this big, fun mural that is a recreation of a very famous painting from a long time ago," Gondek said.

That painting, Guernica, by famed Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, was also a touchstone for controversy when it was first unveiled in 1937. Painted in response to Nazi Germany's bombing of the village of Guernica in the Basque region of Spain during the country's civil war, Guernica is regarded by many art critics as one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history.

The cartoon version has not reached quite that level of fame.

Melbourne officials have long wrestled with mural regulations. In spring 2016, the owners of Chez Quan's painted over their non-permitted graffiti mural to ward off code enforcement fines — triggering public outcry. Contention also emerged that year surrounding an "unprofessional" mural at the former Rick's Furniture Consignment Sales in Eau Gallie.

In fall 2016, the Melbourne City Council relaxed regulations to allow full-wall murals in non-residential zoning districts.

"I didn’t set out to make any controversy whatsoever. It’s unfortunate that it’s gotten this out of hand,” Gondek said of his mural.

More:Homer Simpson, Hello Kitty 'exploding cartoon' mural in Eau Gallie survives city challenge

“I just got back from New York two days ago. I had a big show there. I’ve done Paris and Hong Kong this year. I do this all over — and I’ve never had this response before. Anywhere I’ve been. Ever. And I’ve been in a lot of places, not to brag,” he said.

“That’s why it’s just so silly to me, that it’s got this far out of hand,” he said.

City Hall procedures vs. censorship

Thursday’s complex, quasi-judicial, 3½-hour Planning and Zoning Board appeal hearing featured dueling presentations by Michael Kahn and Jack Kirschenbaum, two prominent Space Coast attorneys on First Amendment topics.

The lawyers’ arguments painted opposite views on whether or not the HARB had approved Gondek’s mural using “competent, substantial evidence.”

Kahn, who argued against the mural, said the appeal was a process issue instead of an anti-art matter. He displayed PowerPoint slides listing Melbourne mural regulations, which he said the HARB had failed to discuss or consider.

Kirschenbaum, who argued for the mural, called it a First Amendment case. Comparing the mural with Looney Tunes, he distributed images from a SpongeBob SquarePants episode showing the character riding a roller coaster with his skeleton ejecting from his body.

Planning and Zoning Board members had been instructed to only vote based on the attorneys’ remarks and hundreds of pages of HARB documents.

“The members of this board are not voting on whether they like the mural or don’t like the mural. It’s got nothing to do with that,” Chairman Alan King told the audience during the hearing’s opening minutes.

The board went on to hear nearly 2 hours of recorded and live testimony from residents — nearly all of whom described whether they like the mural or don’t like the mural.

Space Coast artistic style vs. L.A. imagery

Gores told the Planning and Zoning Board that the Eau Gallie Arts District has “one foot in history and one foot in the future.”

One of EGAD’s first murals features traditional scenes of a sea turtle, oranges, a child playing on the beach, flowers and boats across the bandshell at Eau Gallie Square. Gores said the Anti-Gravity Project added “a little bit of edge” to the district’s flavor.

EGAD made waves in 2015 by commissioning Los Angeles muralist Shark Toof’s red three-story shark mural on the old Dr. Joe's Intracoastal Lounge building. The shark mural greets motorists from beachside, while Gondek’s mural is seen by drivers approaching from Interstate 95.

More:Eau Gallie 'violent' cartoon mural saga a waste but there are lessons from it | Our view

“The two images as you come into this area — representing this area — are 1) a shark and 2) a bunch of fighting cartoon images,” John Emery, an Eau Gallie artist who owns Preston Studios, told the board Thursday.

“It’s an aesthetic question,” Emery said.

Denise Liberi, an Eau Gallie muralist who teaches at Verdi EcoSchool, countered that Gondek’s mural got singled out because some dislike the content.

“This decision would not be in question if the transition of the crude sketch to the final mural was from a manatee to a sea turtle,” Liberi said.

Social media backlash

When directing the mural appeal, some Melbourne City Council members cited harassment endured by Atlantic Furniture, Mattresses and Flooring, located directly across the street from the mural.

After the business started collecting petition signatures opposing the mural, fans of Gondek — who has more than 89,000 Instagram followers — began harassing the store online and over the phone.

“I’ve got nasty people calling me up, saying nasty things: ‘Go out of business!’ I’ve had to get the Melbourne Police Department involved,” Atlantic Furniture, Mattresses and Flooring owner Lisa Jaskulski said Thursday.

“I’ve gotten the crap scared out of me at 11 o’clock at night when some idiot decided to throw a piece of metal against my window,” Jaskulski said.

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Gondek said he does not condone such behavior.

“Because now, it makes our side look bad to do that. It’s also morally wrong. We’re not going to get anywhere by (cursing out) anybody,” Gondek said prior to Thursday's meeting.

President Trump and cultural wars

Councilman Tim Thomas, who supports the president, helped lead the mural appeal. During the May 22 city council meeting, he mentioned Gondek’s former mural depicting an assassinated Trump in Mid-City, a central Los Angeles neighborhood.

"That artist had a mural that was just taken down in California because it depicted the current president of the United States with bullet holes in his eyeball, his thigh, also his chest — with gook coming out of it," Thomas said. 

"And so again, is that really what we want for our city? Just something to think about," he said.

Thomas had previously called Eau Gallie a place where people should be able to relax and escape today’s cultural wars impacting us via social media, the entertainment industry, mainstream media and the NFL.

Gondek said he painted his Trump mural while Trump was still a presidential candidate.

“The area of L.A. I painted it at is predominantly Latino. I painted it on the side of a store where the family literally had a family member get deported. They were so supportive,” Gondek said.

“It got covered up by a gang because I painted in their territory. No one like pro- or anti-Trump did anything to it. It’s called dissing,” he said.

Neale is South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638

or rneale@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @RickNeale1

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