Where is the line between art and advertising? A large painting in Conway, New Hampshire, has led to a zoning (分区) conflict, a First Amendment legal action and a local vote.

It started with a high school art project to paint a picture on a building in the town. The building houses a store called Leavitt’s Country Bakery. The picture shows the sun shining over mountains of cakes found in bakeries.

This leads to the town zoning board getting involved. It decided that the painting was more advertising than art. Officials said that, as an advertisement, the sign was too big. Its size broke town rules. The board ordered the sign be removed or changed. Bakery owner Sean Young faced possible fines if he did not follow the order. So, he decided to fight it in court. Young’s legal action charges the town of Conway of violating his right to free speech, guaranteed in the U. S. Constitution (宪法).

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

Many, including the zoning board members, liked the students’ work. But they said rules must be followed. At about 8.6 square meters, the mural (壁画) is four times bigger than zoning rules permit for advertising signs.

Then, last week, residents voted against changes to the rules. The lawsuit (诉讼) argues that the town’s definition of “sign” is very general and its zoning rules do not include the word “mural”.

Board member Luigi Bartolomeo said he thinks the painting at the bakery is art, not advertising. “I think it’s a very badly written piece of code here,” said Bartolomeo. But Board Chairperson John Colbath said the board has to work with the rule, which was approved by voters. He argues that the mural would likely be seen-as art, and not advertising, if its subject did not represent the products found at Leavitt’s.

Welcome to the Painting Competition for Woodlands Students

The International Anti-Drug Day this year is coming soon. In order to raise teenagers’ awareness to fight against drug taking, the City Art Council is going to hold a painting competition for the students in our city. Students who want to take part in the competition can hand in their own 2D paintings in either of the following two ways:

Each school will be provided with a box for students to put in their paintings. Boxes will be picked by the City Art Council on Thursday, June 23rd, 2016, before the end of the school day.

Paintings can be also handed in on Friday, June 24th, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am at the Woodlands Art Hall (175 Riverside Street).

All paintings are required to be 60 cm wide by 80 cm long or smaller. Larger sizes will not be accepted. Each student can only hand in one painting. The final decision on the competition results will be made on June 26th, the Anti-Drug Day. The name list of the winners will be made known on the website of the City Art Council on the same day. All winning paintings will be shown to the public at the City Youth Park from June 27th till the end of July.

Prizes:

1st Prize (10 students) ＝$ 300 Gift Card each

2nd Prize (20 students) ＝ $ 200 Gift Card each

3rd Prize (30 students)＝ $ 100 Gift Card each

For further information:

Visit http://www. woodlandsartcouncil. org or call 2569-8632.

BETHPAGE, N. Y — The Dec. 5 (2013) broadcast, starring Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer, was a "real experiment".

It was the first day of camera blocking for a rehearsal (排练) of National Broadcasting Company's live broadcast of the original stage version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. Inside a Long Island studio, a pop star, a group of kids and a well-known actor were rehearsing scenes on a copy of a grand estate in Salzburg, Austria.

The youngsters ran through So Long, Farewell, a tune they would perform as the children of Captain von Trapp, and the film star Stephen Moyer was cast as their widower dad, running through lines with Carrie Underwood, who was playing Maria, the bright-eyed novice (见习修女) who became the children' s tutor and, eventually, the Captain's wife. Around the corner, Broadway darling Audra McDonald, winner of five Tony Awards, performed as the Mother Abbess, Maria's guardian (监护人) . Fellow Tony winners Laura Benanti and Christian Borle — the Captain's charming companion, Elsa, and their buddy Max — were just outside the studio.

This The Sound of Music would mark the first time that a well-known Broadway musical had been performed live since a 1955 production of Peter Pan starring Mary Martin, who played Broadway's original Maria. Another Rodgers and Hammerstein's show, Cinderella, was written for the small screen, where it was performed live in 1957 — starring the young Julie Andrews, who later played Maria in the screen adaptation of The Sound of Music.

When choosing their cast, the producers were cautious about "using movie people who are used to performing take after take". "Moyer has a musical theater background," the producer Craig Zadan noted, "and Underwood has done a million live concerts."

Still, Zadan said. "There is a fear factor. There won't be auto-tuning here; if someone hits a bad note, you're going to hear it. Someone could make a mistake or forget lyrics. We're throwing them in front of a national audience, and anything may happen.

Moyer admitted, "There's no way not to feel the pressure. We've still got two weeks to go, and we're in good shape — we all know what we're doing. But, that doesn't mean that things won't go wrong, because they will. If I make a mistake, so be it. That's the challenge and the thrill of live theater. "