Edward Stross stands just below the formerly bare-chested Eve that he was ordered to cover up in his mural, a reworking of Michelangelo's "Creation of Man." He faces possible jail time and a fine Tuesday over violations of Roseville ordinances.Painted into a corner, artist obscures nudity in his mural
Facing jail time, the Roseville man cloaks Eve's naked chest with a black cloth.
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ROSEVILLE -- A Roseville artist covered over part of a mural depicting a naked Eve on Sunday after a judge ordered him to alter the painting outside of his studio.
A Macomb County judge on Thursday ordered Edward Stross, 43, to cover Eve's bare chest on Michelangelo's "Creation of Man," which he painted on his building in 1997. The court will decide Stross' punishment on Tuesday. He could face up to 90 days in jail and pay $500 for violating Roseville ordinances prohibiting nudity and regulating signage.
He must cover the word "love" by May 1.
About a dozen supporters showed up at Stross' studio Sunday to watch the artist adhere a black cloth over the breast, which Stross said he plans to eventually remove because he believes his First Amendment right will be upheld by the court.
"I'm using a black cloth because black is the color of mourning," Stross said, adding that he felt it was a sad day for the city as well as for artists everywhere.
Stross also placed a red tear in the eye of his painting of a woman he calls "The Spirit of Roseville," which he painted next to the "Creation of God" mural. The red tear represents "her bleeding soul," Stross said.
"She has been punched in the eye," he said. "Her eye is my vision."
James Goldwater, a Roseville resident and longtime friend and supporter of Stross, said he believes the city is being unfair and called the case "politically motivated." Goldwater said he thinks the City Council is trying to run his friend out of Roseville.
"What they're doing to him is terrible," said Goldwater, 39. "He is a beautiful thing in our community.
City officials believe they're being painted as villains for merely trying to uphold the law.
"When he got a variance in 1997 from the board to put up a mural that's six times larger than zoning allows, one of the conditions was that there would be no lettering on the mural," said City Manager Stephen Truman. "We're not against the word 'love,' and we're not against free speech.
"We waited a full eight months to issue him a ticket after we told him he was in violation of the ordinance."
The American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency motion Friday to keep Stross out of jail, and some artists came to the defense of the muralist, who depicted his own version of Michelangelo's "Creation of Man" on the side of a Roseville building in a way that violated city ordinance. The mural is on his art gallery at the corner of Utica and Gratiot.
Detroit artist Tyree Guyton can relate to what Stross is going through. Guyton wrestled with city officials for years over his Heidelberg Project, a collection of old tires, cars and other vibrantly painted refuse on Detroit's east side. After several attempts by the city to force Guyton to take the project down, the city and Guyton reached a truce.
"The people in Roseville are getting all worked up over nothing," Guyton said. "I support (Stross). In fact, I'll send him some paint, so he can paint while he's in jail."
Bonnie Mansour, owner of Art Leaders Gallery in West Bloomfield, said she doesn't think there's anything obscene about depicting Eve's breast -- "but he should have followed the city's laws," she said.
Rick Manore, founder of the Detroit art gallery CPOP, said the controversy is "much ado about nothing."
You can reach George Hunter at (586) 468-7396 or ghunter@detnews.com.
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