The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and Arts Equity Group (AEG) are condemning the censorship and destruction of artist Seth Indigo Carnes’ mural from his Miniluv project, and call on the Town of Rockland, NY to address its role in the suppression of protected artistic speech.

The mural, commissioned for a privately owned building in Roscoe, was part of Carnes’ ongoing public art project exploring language, power and identity through text installations that blend the languages of advertising, self-help, escapism and George Orwell’s newspeak. Painted in July 2025, the mural featured the phrase, “time to unperson,” where “unperson” is a term from George Orwell’s 1984. In the novel, the term describes the administrative removal of political dissidents via erasure of historic records, though the artist’s use of the term in this artwork is intentionally open-ended and up for interpretation.

Local officials pressured Carnes and the property owner to alter or remove the mural after a resident complained that it was “vulgar.” Within days of these complaints, the town issued a citation claiming the mural violated an irrelevant signage ordinance that, notably, has not been levied against comparable murals in the area.

“I was on the scaffold, completing a commissioned and contracted artwork, when a single, unelected citizen decided he didn’t like the message,” said Carnes. “What followed was a lesson in how quickly local power can be weaponized against an artist who won’t change his message.”

In response, Carnes has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging violations of his First Amendment rights, the New York State Constitution, and the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). While the lawsuit was pending, the mural was painted over without notice or Carnes’ consent.

“Government officials using their power to censor private expression they dislike is exactly what the First Amendment was designed to prevent,” said Lee Rowland, executive director of NCAC. “The federal government’s sweeping censorship pressures targeting cultural institutions are deeply concerning and appropriately well documented nationwide. But this case is a powerful reminder that censorship happens at the behest of small-town governments too, and can target individual artists. We applaud artists like Seth Carnes who stand up for their rights and refuse to be silenced.”

Learn more about the case at www.ncac.org/news/rockland-ny-mural-censorship-first-amendment.

National Coalition Against Censorship
New York, NY