Judge Orders Removal : Artist’s Donkey Cart Gets Its Walking Papers

Art and law clashed Tuesday after local artist David Avalos’ “San Diego Donkey Cart” was ordered removed from the U.S. Courthouse plaza by a federal judge.

The judge who ordered the removal said the artwork was a security risk. Avalos, an outspoken Latino artist with substantial credentials as an advocate of Chicano causes, called it a violation of his rights. The American Civil Liberties Union joined the fray and has vowed to file a court action, but a spokesman was unsure where to file the legal response.

Gordon Thompson, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, issued the directive that pulled the offending artwork. Avalos cried censorship, disagreeing that the sculpture posed a security risk. He says the cart was unceremoniously yanked because of its social content.

The cart, modeled after a Tijuana donkey cart, is a full-sized artwork that depicts a Mexican illegal immigrant being apprehended by a border patrolman, rather than tourists sitting in the cart for a picture. It carries the inscriptions “Bienvenidos Amigos” and “Raza Si, Migra No,” which translate as “Welcome friends,” and “People yes, immigration officials no.”

“San Diego Donkey Cart” was part of “Streetworks,” an exhibit by four artists sponsored by Sushi performance and art gallery. The U.S. General Services Administration granted permission Dec. 10 to exhibit the artwork for two weeks at the courthouse plaza, 940 Front St., as part of the “Streetworks” exhibit. Two of the other three works are at the gallery and the third is in Horton Plaza park.

The cart was installed Sunday. After the weekly District Court judges’ meeting Monday, where Avalos’ artwork became an issue, Thompson told the GSA to remove the cart.

“Because it was enclosed with chicken wire, or something, and there was not a way to see through it or get in it, it posed a security risk,” Thompson said. “It was sort of an invitation for a kook to do some harm to it or the building . . . some kook who might put an incendiary or explosive device into it.”

The wire was installed to protect the artwork from vandals, a concern of the GSA when the original arrangements were made.

Thompson cited an incident in 1985 when a disgruntled welfare recipient crashed a truck into the courthouse doors. “We’re just trying to protect our courthouse,” he said.

So on Monday, Avalos was informed in a letter signed by GSA field director Paul Hamilton that his permit had been revoked in accordance with federal regulations and “for the security of the building and its occupants.”

Avalos refused to retrieve the cart. At 10:30 p.m. Monday, GSA officials dismantled the cart and placed it in the basement of the Federal Building.

Security was the only reason for removing Avalos’ artwork, Thompson said. Censorship, he said, was not a concern. “Until I saw the TV last night, I didn’t know what it was depicting,” Thompson said of the cart.

Greg Marshall, ACLU legal director, which has taken on Avalos as a client, disagreed with Thompson’s reasoning.

“I don’t know what the judge meant by security reasons,” Marshall said. “There are plenty of places inside the building that are better places to hide a bomb. If that logic were used generally, we’d have an awfully repressive society. It could be used to censor any kind of artistic expression. Assuming that you could make the case that someone might put a bomb in it, I don’t think there is any legal basis for removing it because of that.”

Hamilton was unavailable for comment Tuesday, and inquiries made at his office involving the cart were referred to the GSA regional office in San Francisco.

Mary Filippini, a GSA spokeswoman in San Francisco, said that, in addition to the security concerns cited, “I think the judges felt also that it was inappropriate. The GSA feels also that it was inappropriate.”

Filippini acknowledged that information about the artwork and Avalos’ social statements as an artist were presented when the permit was requested. “I think at that time the GSA field office did not realize the statement that the work made,” she said.

Filippini said that GSA encourages art and performance in public buildings, but as a rule screens out works involving political or religious statements.

“In this particular case we probably didn’t screen (the donkey cart) enough,” she said. “It might be appropriate for another place in the city. We do not want to offend people. A public building belongs to all the people.” She said it was important that federal buildings not hold art or performances that are offensive. “Another area is the use of nudes or sex. That is appropriate for some places. It is inappropriate for a federal building,” she said.

Other than Thompson, no judges who were reached would comment on the donkey cart. One federal court officer, who would not speak for attribution, said that if a chief judge doesn’t like the looks of something “it’s gone.”

“It sounds like we’ve got some real Neanderthals out in the bushes,” Avalos said. “Would a guy like Thompson consider a movie by Stallone a political statement or go get his autograph? I think the onus is on them to define how the piece is political and give us a specific interpretation.

“Secondly, how could one bureaucrat think that it fit the rules and another not raise the issue until only after the judge responded to the piece? We’re willing to play by the rules. Here’s a judge who’s abusing his power.”

Lynn Schuette, director of Sushi, said she was “surprised the Federal Building allowed it to be exhibited in the first place.”

The cart includes steps into the wagon labeled San Diego and 1984, a reference to George Orwell’s novel about government intervention into private lives. Avalos said he chose the number because “it’s always 1984 in San Diego.”