COUNTYWIDE : Artist Mystified by Removal of Paintings From Post Office

Tom Hardcastle is still trying to figure out exactly what there was to find objectionable in his series of circus-themed paintings exhibited at Ventura’s main post office.

The subject matter of the five oil-and-pastel canvases seemed benign enough: brightly colored circus animals, clowns and showgirls in various circus settings.

But two days after the paintings went up, customers complained that the scantily clad showgirls were “insulting,” and the Santa Clara Street Post Office postmaster promptly took them down.

Hardcastle learned of the postmaster’s decision when he found his paintings removed from the wall and stacked against a wall. He said he was devastated.

“I had been working on that exhibit since May, and I put a lot of time and effort into it,” said the 28-year-old Ojai artist.

What perplexes Hardcastle is that he has hung similar paintings at the Grey Gables retirement home in Ojai on several occasions in the past year and never received a complaint from the residents.

“I don’t expect everyone to look at my pictures and fall in love with them,” Hardcastle said. “But to tell me I can’t hang them just because someone doesn’t like them, I don’t agree with that.”

Ventura Postmaster Ron Wilson was not available for comment Tuesday. But Tom Hellmuth, superintendent of postal operations, said the office had no choice but to remove the paintings after they generated three complaints. One woman was so upset that she left her name and address, Hellmuth said.

“When we get customer complaints, we have to cater to their needs and feelings,” Hellmuth said. “If we would have left the pictures up, we would have been criticized for that, too.”

The Buenaventura Art Assn., which sponsored the exhibit, has donated several exhibits at the post office over the years. But Hardcastle’s pictures were the first to draw complaints, Hellmuth said.

To protest the post office’s action, the art association’s board has announced it will no longer donate artworks for exhibit there, said Carlisle Cooper, a board member.

“The paintings were absolutely not objectionable, as far as I could see,” said Cooper. “They could have at least called us and talked about it before taking them down.”

The paintings will be on display at the Buenaventura Gallery in Ventura through Oct. 30.