File spoon-archives/avant-garde.archive/avant-garde_1996/96-09-01.085, message 75


Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 06:46:50 -0400
From: uzs106-AT-IBM.rhrz.uni-bonn.de
Subject:      Re: Art or bomb threat?                                           


Another voice from the other list:

<snipp>


>Jason Sprinkle drove downtown in a beat up old pickup truck.  In the back      
>was a huge battered metal sculpture of a heart. There was a bunch of paint     
>on the truck, including the words "Timberlake Carpentry Rules (The Bomb?)"     
>painted on one fender...                                                       
                                                                                
Actually, the writing says, "Timberlake Carpentry Rules (The "Bomb!")".         
                                                                                
>A few other facts, which may or may not be significant: Sprinkle has a         
>history of doing "protest" art in the downtown area.  On at least one          
>occasion, the same sculpture of a heart was displayed in the same area, with   
>a spear through it. After he parked the truck and left, Sprinkle attempted     
>to call the mayor's office and explain his message; they hung up on him. The   
>writing on the truck has been  there several years; it's unclear whether it    
>was written by Sprinkle as part of another protest, or whether it was          
>written by vandals. The truck, with the sculpture in back and the writing on   
>the fender, had been parked for months in another area of town, without        
>causing any commotion.                                                         
                                                                                
Sprinkle was also part of the "performance art" project that attached a         
proportionally sized "ball and chain" to the leg of a large steel statue        
of a blacksmith swinging his hammer (also located in downtown Seattle).         
                                                                                
>Any thoughts on whether this action was protected speech, a bomb threat, or    
>somewhere in between?                                                          
                                                                                
IMO, the Seattle City Police WAY overreacted!  Although, the University of      
Washington ConLaw prof seems to feel that Sprinkle is standing on shakey        
ground from a 1Am perspective, I'm not convinced.  When I saw the phrase        
on the bumper of the truck (i.e., The "Bomb!"), I thought it was referring      
to the delapidated condition of the truck.  Referring to an automobile as       
a "bomb" (meaning that it's old, junky, etc.) is certainly more common than     
a sign on an automobile saying, "I am a car bomb."  It wasn't until I           
turned the volume up on the TV that I learned the SPD was dealing with the      
truck as if it could explode.  Sheesh!   What a bunch of dorks!                 
                                                                                
At most, I think Sprinkle should be charged with illegal parking.               

<snipp>




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