Court art removed after complaint

Olympia man claims collages on walls were discriminatory

By Keri Brenner | The Olympian • Published March 18, 2008

Powell, 36, a software engineer, said he first saw the artwork when he was going through a divorce two years ago. He said the display upset him at the time, but he was too preoccupied with his personal situation to take action. However, when Gordon Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, died this year, Powell, a Mormon, said he re-read Hinckley's book, "Standing for Something: Ten neglected virtues that will heal our hearts and homes."

"Basically it states that we need to stand up, and that you can't lay down and cry about the world if you're not willing to do something about it," Powell said.

Powell said he has never been an activist, but he felt compelled by Hinckley's message.

"I've got two boys," he said. "I didn't want them to think that just because they're boys they will grow up to be wife beaters or abusers." He sent several e-mails to a county forum two weeks ago, but, not satisfied with the response, decided to come to the commissioners' meeting Monday

Bruce Fischer of Lacey, a friend of Powell's, said he also felt the collages were discriminatory.

"They paint a one-sided picture," Fischer said.

After the commissioners' meeting Monday, Powell's remarks were relayed to Thurston County Superior Court Judge Paula Casey, who oversees operations in the Family and Juvenile Court building at 2801 32nd Ave. S.W. in Tumwater. Soon after, Casey sent an e-mail to building staff to remove the artwork, which was located on the second floor along the wall of a corridor just outside the county prosecutors' office entrance.

Don Krupp, chief administrative officer for the county, said the Board of County Commissioners had no jurisdiction over the court buildings. He referred the matter to court offices and the county prosecutors.

Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Holm, whose office is in the courthouse in Olympia, said later he had never seen the collages and had nothing to do with decisions about artwork in that building.

"No one in the prosecutors' office decorates the common areas of the Family and Juvenile Court building," Holm said.

Keri Brenner covers Thurston County for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5435 or kbrenner@theolympian.com.