North County Times tries to create racial discord over Surfing Madonna

After the Surfing Madonna saga is all over except for the decision on the final location, suddenly the North County Times is very intent on stirring up racial controversy. Today's Jim Trageser column:

Brown power was nowhere to be found in North County during two of the bigger stories of the last month.

In Encinitas, the art snobs were tripping over themselves to embrace the so-called "Surfing Madonna."

Completely absent from the entire conversation about the illegally placed mosaic was the viewpoint of Mexican-American Catholics.

The Virgin of Guadalupe, on which the "Surfing Madonna" was based, is perhaps the most prevalent symbol of Latin American Catholicism and Mexican national identity. Since we had a white artist using a Latino icon to make a political statement on the U.S. side of the border, questions of artistic legitimacy and cultural appropriation should have been part of any discussion over the "Surfing Madonna."

That they were not is a mark of how little weight the Latino point of view receives, even in supposedly "progressive" circles, like Encinitas art galleries.

Nevermind that Latinos were well-represented among the thousands of people coming to admire the Madonna, or that no Latino groups have protested against the Madonna, or that the Catholic church in Encinitas, which presumably counts a large number of Latinos in its membership, issued a statement of support for the mosaic.

But it's not just today's column. June 17th had another hit piece that went out of its way to find Latinos who didn't like the Madonna:

An informal survey of local Catholics and Latinos found varying opinions on the nationally talked-about mural that appeared mysteriously on a railroad bridge support along Encinitas Boulevard in late April. And if not all Catholics and/or Latinos interviewed were offended by the depiction of an icon they see as a representation of their faith and Mexican heritage on a piece of political art (the mural contains the phrase "Save the Ocean"), the opinions offered were a far cry from the near-universal acclaim that has greeted the mural in artistic circles.

The reporter finds an Escondido priest who gives a lukewarm statement against using a religious image for an environmental message, and an employee at El Callejon who agreed with removing the mosaic. I can only imagine the leading questions he used. Why not interview some of the Latino Catholics who regularly stopped by the Surfing Madonna?

The content of the NC Times' articles is odd enough. But why now? If there were a legitimate issue over Latino Catholics being offended, shouldn't this have been news in April and May as the Madonna was in the local and national news almost daily?

Qui bene? The two politicians with egg on their faces over the Madonna are Jerome Stocks and Jim Bond, who have a vivid imagination when coming up with reasons the mosaic must be removed. They claimed everything from structural damage to the bridge, to a wave of copycat public artists, and, yes, that Catholics might be offended. The North County Times editorial board is known to be sympathetic to Stocks and the council majority. How better to help him clean up his PR mess than legitimize his ridiculous position with a few made-up articles?

Our Lady of the Ocean news

If you haven't had a chance to check out the beautiful new viewing area for the Surfing Madonna at Moonlight Plaza across the street from her original location, please do.



And you can now show your support for Mary's message.

From the Inbox:

The Surfing Madonna “Save the Ocean” Paver Project has begun!!! Become a part of the history & legend of the Surfing Madonna!

Customize your own brick (paver) with a message, name, date, or favorite quote of your choice that can be shared with your friends, family and community for years to come!

The paver will be installed below the Surfing Madonna mosaic, which has recently been transformed into the zen-like Surfing Madonna Park, complete with a flowing fountain, native plants and flowers, night time lighting and a 24 hour camera, which is live on the internet!

Funds raised will provide local high school students the opportunity to get involved with our Surfing Madonna Ocean Conservation Programs and be a part of the positive change in our community. A portion of the proceeds will also provide the on-going support for our free educational community programs and events, which are open to the public!

We have very limited space, so the bricks will go fast! It’s the PERFECT GIFT for someone special that will last a lifetime!

Price starting at $150 and includes the following: • An 8x4 Customized Engraved paver with 3 lines of any name, message, quote and/or date of your choice placed directly in front of the Surfing Madonna at her permanent home off Encinitas Blvd and the Pacific Coast Highway • Installation and Maintenance • Monthly updates and photos of the community charity projects YOU helped make possible with purchasing the brick

TO ORDER YOUR PAVER, PLEASE VISIT http://www.surfingmadonna.org/fundraisers/donations

For more information, please call Robert Nichols at 760-846-5721 or Megan McCarthy at 760-585-6631 or you can visit our website www.surfingmadonna.org

City feud with Surfing Madonna puts future events at risk

Facebook:

CITY OF ENCINITAS COULD BE ENDING SURFING MADONNA EVENTS & SURF CAMPS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

We know many of you have been emailing us and wondering why the Surfing Madonna Beach Run registration isn’t open yet for 2020. We have kept quiet about it with respect to our City Council, however, we can no longer remain silent.

The problem stemmed from us catching the city on a “clerical error” last October that led to Surfing Madonna getting over billed on our lifeguard fees by thousands of dollars. We tried multiple times to get the fees resolved, but to no avail. We asked the City of Encinitas Parks & Recreation Dept to remove our events (Surfing Madonna Beach Run & Encinitas Half Marathon) from the city events calendar, if the lifeguard fees couldn’t be corrected. Through a public records request and a letter from a lawyer, the fees were then corrected and we received an apology letter, but now we are no longer approved for future events.

Our last event could be the upcoming Encinitas Half Marathon & 5K on March 29th. Jennifer Campbell (Parks Director) said they have new policies and procedures for special events that will be put in place, however, these new policies could end the Surfing Madonna Events and nonprofit. They will not share any details with us.

Surfing Madonna to come down

It was too good to last, as long as Jerome Stocks and James Bond have their say.

Union-Trib:

The Surfing Madonna mosaic will be removed from the train bridge on Encinitas Boulevard “as soon as possible,” and the artist will pay for it, and more.

That’s the crux of a settlement announced Tuesday between Surfing Madonna artist Mark Patterson and the city of Encinitas over what to do with the unauthorized but beloved stained-glass mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe on a surfboard.

The haters won, but at least Encinitas will always have the Surfing Madonna in a new location. Mark Patterson had been resigned to moving the Madonna recently, in light of the traffic risk of admirers stepping into the street. And I don't think the money will hurt too badly for the former Microsoft employee and longtime Leucadia homeowner. I get the feeling he's OK with this. And I look forward to his next project.

Let's honor the Surfing Madonna by tossing the haters out of office in November 2012.

Logan Jenkins fingers Bryan Snyder as Madonna artist

... and slams Stocks and Bond for their petty, Cartmanesque "Respect my authoritah!" hatred of the mosaic.

Though he said he likes the art — in beachy Encinitas, that’s like saying you love Swami’s — Councilman Jerome Stocks scolded the outlaw artist(s). He/she/(them) put the city “between a rock and a hard place,” he grumbled.

Really? Your city is graced by a glassy bolt out of the blue ocean and you’re bemoaning that you’re forced to act like a grown-up? Not cool.

Mayor Bond struck a similarly ungrateful theme, likening the Surfing Madonna to a St. Bernard puppy gifted to someone who lives in a one-room studio.

The analogy is way off the wall. The wildly popular Surfing Madonna fits its 100-square-foot space in a rail underpass like a seamless dream. To rip out the mosaic would be akin to euthanizing Bond’s oversized puppy, stuffing it, and displaying it at a 7-Eleven.

On Snyder:

In North County, the street-smartest artist is Bryan Snyder, the Carlsbad muralist who famously transformed the Cardiff Kook statue on Vincent Van Gogh’s birthday.

Though a few art locals suspect Snyder may be the perpetrator of the beautiful crime, he says he’s “not taking credit.” Neither is he straight-out denying a role, saying he prefers to preserve the Surfing Madonna’s “mystery” (as well as take out of play, one can imagine, financial and/or criminal liability).

I had hoped and suspected that the artist was a Leucadian. Is it Snyder? His web site is here. He could be the guy.

State legislation introduced to save Surfing Madonna

U-T:

Assemblyman Martin Garrick has introduced legislation in Sacramento calling for placing the Surfing Madonna mosaic at the entrance to Moonlight Beach State Park in Encinitas.

On Thursday, the San Diego office of state parks denied a request by the city of Encinitas to place the 10-foot-by-10-foot piece on state land at the beach park. In its decision, the office cited a state Attorney General opinion that said placing the work on public property would violate the no preference clause in the California Constitution. The clause is interpreted that government cannot appear to favor one religion over another.

The mosaic depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe on a surfboard with the words “Save the Ocean” down the side.

Last week, Logan Jenkins wrote on how absurd the AG's anti-Madonna ruling was.

No one with a functioning frontal lobe can look at Leucadia artist Mark Patterson’s ocean-loving bolt out of the blue — or listen to him discuss his creative inspiration — and infer that the mosaic promotes Catholicism. Only a deputy AG doing the polka on the head of a pin could draw that delirious conclusion.

If you know anyone who turned Catholic after viewing the Surfing Madonna, please contact Encinitas Undercover.

City manager tries to cut Surfing Madonna organization out of charity runs

Union-Trib:

Encinitas residents and tourists may cherish the Surfing Madonna mosaic that mysteriously appeared in public nearly a decade ago, but city employees do not feel the same way about the chairman of the nonprofit that owns the noted artwork.

A host of senior managers at Encinitas City Hall want the City Council to stop conducting any new business with the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project or, more specifically, its chairman, Robert Nichols.

In a stunning report to elected officials released late Thursday, the city manager and other department heads describe Nichols as abusive and uncooperative. They want the council to return to hosting the popular beach runs as city-sponsored events as soon as the Encinitas Half Marathon & 5K ends March 29.

The Surfing Madonna organization says the problems started when city staff were caught overcharging the group for past events, and believes city staff was behind a hit piece on the charity in the Union-Tribune in January.

Surfing Madonna Run

The Surfing Madonna has become so much more than the guerrilla art that captured the imagination of the community. Now the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project is an ongoing charitable organization raising funds to further Mary's mission to Save the Ocean.

The next big event is the October 25 Surfing Madonna Run, a 1K/5K/10K beach run/walk suitable for people of all ages and athletic abilities.

Encinitas Undercover readers get a $15 discount on registration by entering the online code EUCVR15. Sign up today!

Miraculous appearance of Surfing Madonna in Leucadia

More than five years after the Miracle of the Surfing Madonna, the image of the Madonna has once again appeared, this time in a tree by a trailer park on Vulcan in Leucadia.



Locals believe Mary has appeared to herald the return of the Surfing Madonna Beach Run, set for October 15.

There's something about Mary

Encinitas has spoken. We love the Surfing Guadalupe.

Patch's Anastacia Grenda adds her voice to the heavenly choir:

I finally made the pilgrimage to see our “Surfing Madonna.” My husband spotted it during his morning run the day before Easter and snapped a photo with his cell phone. Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to get out there in person but the days—and the newspaper stories, and the YouTube videos, and the local news broadcasts—have added up. I’ve caught a few glimpses of it driving down Encinitas Boulevard, but I realized, when I finally parked at Cottonwood Creek Park and walked down to the train overpass, that you truly have to stop and soak it in to appreciate its beauty.

And it is beautiful, as anyone who’s seen it can attest: the richness of the colors, the textural composition from the different types of glass tile and stones, the detail of her face and hands. And it merits appreciation from a technical standpoint as well, for creating this elaborate and fragile work and then putting it up on public property while cars obliviously speed past.

Unlike other times I’ve driven by, there was no one else there when I came to see her. Which I actually liked, as I could contemplate the work in peace. Yes, even though I was there during the morning commute, the aura emanating from our Madonna was one of serenity. Passing from the bright heat into the cool shade of the overpass was almost like entering some mystical grotto, as the sounds of traffic died away and a stillness came over the place. It was just the two of us, and I couldn’t help feeling, just a little bit, that some small miracle had occurred. Something beautiful had sprung up, completely unexpected, in the plainest of places.

So here we are, with this surprise gift, and the question now is what to do with it. It’s produced national news coverage as well as “Surfing Madonna” T-shirts (available at First Street Art Gallery downtown)—plus lots of debate involving complex issues of defacement, public art guidelines, and religious content on public property. And while my head says it’s probably not best to set a precedent that allows people to put up any kind of art work anywhere, my heart says we should make an exception for our Madonna.

Anarchy has its rewards

This photo, from the Facebook page of Surfing Madonna artist Mark Patterson, appears to be a check for $20,000 for the city's beach and parks projects from the proceeds of the first Surfing Madonna Run.

The Surfing Madonna volunteer art was condemned by former mayors Jerome Stocks and James Bond as illegal and unwelcome.

Surfing Madonna artist Mark Patterson has reportedly died

At Encinitas Votes.

Mark Patterson was a great Leucadian and a great Encinitan. His Surfing Madonna will live on forever.

The wonderful story of the Surfing Madonna can be found in the archives here.

Surfing Madonna Switcheroo

You thought the Madonna would be put up on private property at Captain Keno's or Surfy Surfy? Not so fast.



The artist and a nonprofit group will make a formal public art application to put the Madonna just across 101 from its original location, overlooking Moonlight Beach next to the Moonlight Lofts.

Jerome Stocks still goes on and on about the danger of having a "religious" image on public land. For Mr. Stocks' reference, I include the relevant portion of the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Never has the Supreme Court held that displaying art that contains religious or cultural references is an "establishment of religion" by Congress or anyone else.

Rally for the Madonna

Read all about it on Facebook.

Mon Sep 12 from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Encinitas City Hall
505 S. Vulcan Avenue
Encinitas, CA

Artist Mark Patterson will be speaking to the Arts Commission as the first step in the process of placing his gift of art to the city in a small park at the northwest corner of the intersection between Encinitas Boulevard and Highway 101. Eventually the city council will be voting on whether to approve the application. The five council members will need to know that the public supports placing the art at the park. However, because the land is officially part of Moonlight State Beach, the application will also need approval in Sacramento. And as I'm sure you know, politicians feel better voting for something that has strong public support. If you can't make it to this meeting, there will be another event when the matter is placed on the City Council agenda. Or you can send an email expressing your opinion to all the council members by using this address: council@cityofencinitas.org More information: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/09/surfing-madonna-proposal-faces-wave-red-tape/

The future of the Surfing Madonna

Mother Mary has been replaced by street art that is less beautiful and more political. Is this what the Grumpy Old Men wanted?



Meanwhile, I've been rethinking the wisdom of putting the mosaic at the library. When I wrote favorably about Logan Jenkins' column recommending the library, someone commented, "Gimme a break!" I couldn't figure out what was so objectionable.

But upon further reflection, the library wouldn't give the Madonna the exposure it deserves. The library gets its crowd of regulars: homeless people, children, and Internet-surfing deadbeats. It wouldn't be seen by most of the thousands of locals and tourists who come to the beaches, shops, and restaurants of Encinitas.

The three remaining proposed locations are 7-11, Captain Keno's, and Surfy Surfy. 7-11 is a non-starter. A chain convenience store is no place for Our Lady of the Waves. Which leaves Captain Keno's and Surfy Surfy, which represent the history and future. Both are owned by community-minded good folk. I wish they both could host Mary.

Nancy Lee Ellis gets mercy

We've been following the sad tale of Nancy Lee Ellis, the woman who allegedly torched the car of a love rival in a late night drunken rage.

A few drinks can do a lot of damage. The fire spread to the carport, and then to the attached duplex where people were sleeping. Only by the grace of the Surfing Madonna (still a glimmer in Mark Patterson's eye) was nobody killed.

So arson of an inhabited dwelling is obviously a pretty serious crime. Nancy faced a serious risk of spending the rest of her life in prison.

But the Surfing Madonna smiled on Nancy once again. We're happy to report that she's reached a plea agreement where she'll get a two year sentence. She's already done one year in jail. With good time credits and California's prison overcrowding, she should be out in less than a year.

Richard Phillips: the Surfing Madonna is graffiti

Only our government masters are allowed to decide what is art. And they do such a wonderful job with it: the Cardiff Kook, the Carlsbad Jail Bars, the Scripps Turd (OK, that last one's not technically government, but still a government-like bureaucratic board of trustees).

Our own Richard Phillips laying down his Authoritah in the North County Times:

A couple of art-loving residents urged the Encinitas City Council on Wednesday to grant amnesty to a surfing Madonna mosaic secretly installed under a railroad trestle along one of the town's busiest roadways.

But a city official, speaking to a reporter during a break in the council meeting, said that the mosaic must go, and the key question for the city is whether it can come down without sustaining significant damage.

Although the mosaic may be pretty, it "fits the definition of graffiti," said Richard Phillips, Encinitas assistant city manager. Phillips added that city's anti-graffiti ordinance is broad enough to include far more than just someone spray-painting a wall. It's written that way to cover everything from advertising stickers to messages scratched into surfaces, he added.

Put the Surfing Madonna at the library!

... an excellent suggestion from Logan Jenkins.

The only obstacle is council egos. Jerome Stocks and Jim Bond are the reason the Madonna was removed from its intended location at the gateway to Moonlight Beach. Jerome Stocks' and Jim Bond's egos are the reason the library may be denied this beautiful gift.

State ninnies echo Jerome Stocks in claiming the Surfing Madonna is an un-Constitutional establishment of Surfing Madonnaism as the official state religion

First Jerome Stocks. Now political hack Kamala Harris.  The state Attorney General is as Constitutionally illiterate as Jerome.

U-T:

In a meeting Thursday, officials from state parks informed Encinitas its request would be rejected largely on constitutional grounds.

Clay Phillips, the superintendent for San Diego state parks, said the agency received an opinion from the state Attorney General’s office last week that “clearly stated” that placing the Surfing Madonna on public land would violate the no-preference clause in the California Constitution. Essentially, the clause says displaying the piece at Moonlight Beach would give the appearance of government favoring one religion over another.

For the record, here is the "no-preference" clause of the state Constitution:

CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS SEC. 4. Free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination or preference are guaranteed. This liberty of conscience does not excuse acts that are licentious or inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State. The Legislature shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

It's an outrageous leap to argue that a reference to a cultural icon in an artwork by an apparently secular artist, overwhelmingly beloved by a largely secular community, is somehow an illegal state "preference" for a religion to which neither the artist nor the vast majority of the art's supporters belong.

Time to burn down the historic Spanish missions, I guess.  And there are an awful lot of books that will need to be banned from the library.

UPDATE: Kamala rubs salt into the wounds by blaming Mark Patterson's blog comments. Apparently, if you defend your art in a Catholic online forum, that makes the art a state establishment of religion. I'm going to go discuss Kamala in a Catholic forum and see if we can get her thrown off state property.

Surfing Madonna charity criticized for executive pay

U-T Watchdog:

According to the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project most recent federal tax filing, nearly one-third of the charity’s proceeds in 2018 were paid to board Chairman Robert Nichols and his wife, Megan McCarthy, who serves as the board secretary.

The tax-exempt organization reported income of $676,986 in 2018 , a decline of more than $77,000 from what it collected in 2017.

Meanwhile, Nichols’ salary climbed by more than $27,000, to a total of $112,249, a 31 percent raise. McCarthy, a friend and coworker who married Nichols in 2017, in 2018 received a 34 percent pay raise for a salary of $97,700.

Combined, the husband-and-wife nonprofit leaders took home 31 percent of the charity’s revenue for the year.