Bakery owner Sean Young was thrilled when high school art students covered the big blank wall over his doorway last spring with a painting of the sun shining over a mountain range made of sprinkle-covered chocolate and strawberry donuts, a blueberry muffin, a cinnamon roll and other pastries.

The display got rave reviews, and Young looked forward to collaborating with the school on more mural projects at his roadside bakery in Conway, New Hampshire, the United States.

Then the town zoning board got involved, deciding that the pastry painting was not so much art as advertising, and so could not remain as is because of its size. Faced with modifying or removing the mural, or possibly dealing with fines and criminal charges, Young sued, saying the town is violating his freedom of speech rights.

The painting could stay right where it is if it showed actual mountains, instead of pastries suggesting mountains, or if the building wasn’t a bakery.

“They said it would be art elsewhere,” Young said. “It’s just not art here.”

“The town should not have the right to police art,” he said.

The controversy has residents of this town of 10,000 grappling with big questions about creativity and liberty as it tries to preserve its rural character. Like other White Mountain communities that draw skiers, nature lovers and shoppers, Conway is under development pressure, making the sign dispute fraught with worries that any concession to commerce could change what they hold dear.

Many — including the zoning board members — applauded the students’ colorful work, but said rules must be followed, even if they’re old and outdated. At about 8.6 square meters, the mural is four times bigger than the sign code allows.

Following a longstanding democratic tradition of New England town meetings, residents deliberated how to define a sign before ultimately voting down changes last week. Ultimately, a judge may have to resolve what remains an open debate in town.

Art teacher Olivia Benish, who worked with three students on the project, apologized to the board in September for not doing “due diligence” to make sure the mural would comply.

The lawsuit Young filed in January argues that the town is unconstitutionally discriminating against him.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【松饼】sōngbǐng muffin a quick bread made of batter containing egg and baked in a pan having cuplike molds

【尽职调查】jìnzhí diàochá due diligence research done in preparation for a transaction or before launching a project

去年春天，当地高中的艺术生给肖恩•杨的面包店画了一幅壁画。这幅画在小店正门上方的空白墙面上：阳光照耀着由洒满彩色糖豆的巧克力草莓甜甜圈，蓝莓松饼，肉桂卷和其他糕点组成的山峰。画作完成时杨激动不已。

面包店位于美国新罕布什尔州康威镇的大路边，因为壁画好评如潮，杨期待与学校再次合作，给小店装饰上更多画。

不过小镇规划委员会介入了，他们说糕点壁画与其说是艺术，不如说是广告，面积太大所以必须整改。杨被要求修改或移除壁画，否则面临罚款和刑事指控。不满的店主于是提起诉讼，称该镇侵犯了他的言论自由。

如果这幅画展示了真实的山脉，而不是糕点组成的山脉，或者这幅画出现在别的建筑物上，而不是面包店，那么画就可以保留。杨说:“他们说画放在其他地方是艺术，放在这里就不是。”

“镇子没有权利对艺术指手画脚。”

这场争议让这个1万左右人口的小镇居民思考关于创意和自由的重大问题。康威在努力保持其乡村特色。和白山地区其他吸引滑雪客人、自然爱好者和购物休闲旅客的小镇一样，康威面临发展压力，这让壁画事件引起人们的担忧，他们害怕任何对商业的让步都可能改变居民珍视的东西。

许多人，也包括规划委员会成员，对学生丰富多彩的画作表示赞赏，但他们也说规则必须遵守，即使已经过时。壁画面积约为8.6平方米，比法令允许的标志面积大四倍。

遵循新英格兰城镇会议的民主传统，居民们考虑很久后最终在上周投票否决变更法令。对此小镇也没有定论，可能最终需要由法官出面裁决。

艺术老师奥利维亚•贝尼什与三名学生一起参与了该项目，她去年九月向委员会道歉了，因为没有进行尽职调查以确保壁画符合规定。

杨一月份提起的诉讼认为，该镇对他的歧视是违宪的。(SD-Agencies)