Here are two sticky mural vs sign situations that are in play here.

One mural is on a building owned and occupied by a prominent home-repair and home services rating company (which shall remain nameless) and is a graphic representation of a pegboard hung with tools, very trompe-l’oeil, lovely. Commissioned by the company and not exactly advertising what the company does; but close enough that if someone wanted to make a stink it might not be allowed. BUT—the company is talking about moving out of the building.  If it moves, the mural is no longer associated with the company and becomes definitively “not a sign;” however, it MAY be considered “off-premises advertising” at that point, again, if someone wants to be particular.  

Other situation:  A mural was created on a building in a well traveled part of town and became very popular.  A couple of years later, a tenant in the building loved the mural so much that he obtained permission from the mural’s artist to use a reproduction of most of the mural as the tenant’s new logo:  he then put it on his company car, which he keeps parked in the lot under the mural.  ??? I have documentation that the mural installation (and historic district permitting) preceded the use of it as a logo, but it is now definitively associated with the tenant’s business even though the mural itself is 100% not a sign. You can’t really send a c&d letter to the business owner, because he legitimately obtained permission from the artist. This mural is one of ours and we have to watch it, but really I don’t think there is anything I can do except defend the mural based on its origin.

This is what happens if there is no one source of oversight of these things.

Julia Muney Moore
Director of Public Art

Arts Council of Indianapolis
924 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN  46204
o (317) 631-3301 x240
m (317) 332-8382
e jmoore@indyarts.org





On Aug 8, 2018, at 2:54 PM, Sarah Blankenship <Sarah.Blankenship@georgetown.org> wrote:

The Pictorial Guide and other examples coming through are great!  Thanks so much for replying all! 
 
We are currently debating whether the mural can include images of what the business sells.  Interesting there are some answers from both sides. 
 
I’d love to hear more examples from those that allow images related to the business and if you have any reasoning behind it.
And of course any more examples that don’t allow them are also appreciated.
 
Sarah J. Blankenship | Arts & Culture Coordinator
City of Georgetown, Texas | 512-930-8471
 
Georgetown Arts & Culture
 
From: public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com [mailto:public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com] On Behalf Of Nina Goodale-Salazar
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2018 1:17 PM
To: public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com
Subject: RE: Signs VS Murals
 
Hope this helps!
 
 
Hi Jeff
 
We have a pretty active mural program in West Hollywood with an established review of mural applications through the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. May help to beef up your guidelines and/or definition of a mural to give applicants some clear parameters about what is/is not allowed.
 
We tend to have issues with the desire to include hashtags and/or logos as part of the mural signature. The hashtags that we encounter skew towards commercial signage. We are currently undergoing a review of our guidelines to include parameters about allowable social media handles and hashtags in the mural identification information/artist signature.
 
Thank you!
 
Rebecca Ehemann
Public Art Coordinator
323.848.6846
 
 
I know this question is a tough one but here in Charleston we are facing a lot of issues with new mural commissions.  Private business owners are commissioning artists to paint murals on their buildings.  Some of the design concepts have included commercial message.  Our sign ordinance as it stands does not allow murals to include commercial message and when they do they must conform to size requirements applied to a sign.
  
I am curious how other city governments handle this issue and what your experience has been.
  
Thanks 
Jeff 
  
  
  
<image001.jpg>
Jeff Pierson  | Director of Public Art
915 Quarrier Street, Suite 2
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: 304-541-9284
Fax: 304-348-8157
  
  
 
  
  

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