[I signed up officially and Smitty was taken, so now I'm Fargin_Bastage.] Mark, Alvillar could have worn the mantle of "poor misunderstood artist / victim", but instead hosted a forum at the mayor's request to "calm the tension [his] art was causing in the city". He accepted the responsibility for his art.

This should be the standard for artist in other media too. If you sing about controversial subjects, make a politically charged movie, or tell an off-color joke at a comedy club, expect to take heat from all sides and get questioned about it. And if you paint a painting that could potentially provoke racial tensions, stand and explain yourself.

Isn't this what Big Hollywood should be about? Holding artist responsible for their art? Hope this explains my thoughts better, Mark!

[I signed up for an official account and Smitty was taken, so now I'm Fargin_Bastage. Sorry 'bout that, everyone, and to the original Smitty]...Thanks for asking, Mark. What I meant is that because he saw that the reaction to his work was negative, though unintended (to be honest it seems quite naive of Alvillar not to have expected it), he didn't just blow it off and style himself a "poor, misunderstood artist / victim". He held a forum at the mayor's request to stand up, explain his work and help to "calm the tension [his] art was causing in [Atlanta]". Artist should indeed take responsibility for their art, unintended consequences notwithstanding. You can't be responsible for how some one individual reacts to something of yours, but art intentionally pushes buttons. Only Alvillar could host the forum to explain his work and try calming people down.