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Complaints won't affect art showing
By BRADY DENNIS
© St. Petersburg Times, ZEPHYRHILLS -- City Manager Steve Spina said Wednesday he won't remove a controversial art display in a city building, despite about 30 complaints that the images are pornographic. Spina said the complaints were spurred by Zephyrhills News reporter Gary Hatrick, who gave what Spina called "misinformation" to members of five local churches. The paintings in question, done by a Land O'Lakes artist who goes by the name MeloD, depict the cycle of domestic violence and recovery. The woman in the paintings is nude to portray vulnerability and in the paintings about recovery, trust, the artist has said. The series is on display at the city's renovated World War II barracks near the municipal airport. The paintings were removed in October from the east Pasco government center amid complaints that they were offensive. Similar complaints followed them to Zephyrhills. Hatrick, who distributed information about the exhibit to the churches Sunday, calls some of the paintings pornographic and said he wants them taken down. But he says he never passed out misinformation, only official brochures with pictures of the paintings. "What I did was outside my capacity as a reporter," Hatrick said. "What I did, I did as a citizen. These are public, taxpayer-supported buildings. Those buildings don't belong to Steve Spina. I did what I felt I had to do." Hatrick also questioned Spina's decision to display the art in the time lag between City Council meetings, when residents wouldn't have a public forum to comment. The council last met Oct. 22, and the next meeting is not scheduled until Nov. 26. Spina said Wednesday the complaints from local churchgoers, most of which came from Victory Baptist Church at 6950 Forbes Road, won't sway his decision to display the series, especially because most of the complainers haven't visited the exhibit. "I think these are largely good people that have been told something without the benefit of seeing both sides," Spina said. "It won't affect my decision. I stand behind it." Attempts to reach anyone from Victory Baptist were unsuccessful Wednesday. In recent memos and letters, Spina has encouraged residents to see the exhibit for themselves. He also wrote that he hopes "a small number of narrow-minded people will not influence what many in this community are entitled to see and judge for themselves." Hatrick said he stands behind his actions. "I admit to being narrow-minded," he said. "I believe in Christianity, and that's the only way to have it." Hatrick said the five churches he took brochures to were Victory Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, Church of the Living Word, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and Hatrick's church, Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. Hatrick also said that today's edition of the Zephyrhills News would contain a story and commentary about the art exhibit, but he said he avoided writing any of the paper's coverage about the situation. -- Brady Dennis covers police and Zephyrhills news. He can be reached at (352) 521-5757, ext. 23 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 23. His e-mail address is If you goThe Domestic Violence Series runs through Nov. 16 at the barracks near the airport on Airport Road. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is free. For information, call Steve Spina at (813) 780-0011 or Penny Morrill, executive director of Sunrise of Pasco County, at (352) 521-3358.
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