Local artists and the National Coalition Against Censorship are asking the city of Temecula to revise its guidelines and allow local artists ---- not city officials ---- to select the works that are displayed in public venues.

In a Monday letter addressed to Mayor Jeff Comerchero, the New York-based coalition states that it is requesting new policies due to recent cases of what it is calling "censorship" and language in the prospectus for an upcoming Western art show that says the city "controls the art to be displayed" in the city-owned Mercantile building.

An art show earlier this year at The Merc was a flashpoint of controversy due to the exclusion of a painting of a nude woman by local artist Jeff Hebron. The city also has come under artistic fire recently for, earlier this year, removing two paintings by Lora Sanders from the public library on Pauba Road: one painting that featured a person smoking and another that featured a person holding a beer bottle.

Both incidents were mentioned in the coalition's letter.

Joan Bertin, executive director of the coalition, said the goal of a public display of art should be exposing a city's residents to good art, and she said artists are the best people to make the call as to what is good art.

"That's why the selection is usually guided by artists, there is a peer review process   ... it's not just 'I don't like it'," she said.

City officials have said the removal of the nude painting was a decision made by the office of Herman Parker, director of the community services department.

In the case of the paintings in the library, the removal of those ---- oil-on-canvas works by Lora Sanders ---- was prompted by a complaint from a parent.

Asked what the coalition would do if the city doesn't revise its policy, Bertin said, "We don't do litigation. That's not our beat. Hopefully, we can encourage ... our goal is to get people to do the constitutionally appropriate thing without being sued. The city selecting is just a prescription for trouble."

City officials including Parker and Assistant City Manager Aaron Adams have each declined an opportunity to comment on the city's policies on art beyond a statement that was released on Feb. 17. The statement said the city would be reviewing the coalition's concerns and deciding internally whether to take any action.

Comerchero has said the city views juried art shows ---- shows in which a curator or a panel of judges picks pieces for display ---- differently than it does art in public view, for instance, the art on the walls of the library.

In the case of juried shows, Comerchero said the city has the right to select from pieces that are selected by a judge for display on city property. In the case of public areas ---- library walls or the walls of City Hall ---- Comerchero said the city has total control over what sort of artwork it decides to display.

Martin Betz, the city's former cultural arts administrator, said it's important for a public official to use caution when showcasing pieces of art to avoid negative backlash.

"It probably would have been different if I had been there," said Betz, who resigned effective Jan. 1. "The library wasn't the best place to show those pictures, maybe the best place would have been The Merc."

Before stepping down, Betz had been in charge of the gallery space at The Merc.

Comerchero said one of the reasons for pulling the nude painting from The Merc was its dual role as a gallery and a ticket-selling lobby for the adjacent theater, a lobby open to people and children of all ages.

Betz said he would have tried to head off any concerns before the opening of the show ---- Visual Expressions 2010 ---- by offering the artist of the nude painting an opportunity to sub in a different piece of work.

Talking about the climate for art in Temecula, Betz said he's following the ongoing controversy with interest, noting that there have been both supporters of the city's action as well as critics.

"It seems whatever part of the community screams the loudest is going to get it," he said.

Jennifer Doyle, an associate professor at the UC Riverside, said she was astonished to hear about the situation in Temecula.

The professor, who counts visual culture and gender studies among her areas of expertise, said banning the painting "borders on extreme."

In the mid-19th century, Doyle said, museums across the country wrestled with the issue of displaying a celebrated marble sculpture of a nude woman: "The Greek Slave."

After much discussion, different museums handled the situation in different ways. But, she said, the point of the story is that they displayed the work.

"They didn't hide it, they didn't prevent it from being seen completely. (The city of Temecula) is setting the clock backward to a time that never existed," she said.

As for the issue with Sanders' paintings, Doyle said the decision to remove those paintings makes more sense due to the sensitive issues associated with children being exposed to images of people smoking or drinking.

That said, she disagrees with the idea of removing the paintings based on an isolated complaint.

"You'd have to go to the Taliban to find a culture that would ban images of nudity, smoking and drinking," she said.

As for the argument that kids shouldn't be exposed to those types of images in public places, Doyle said, "I don't think that's a legitimate defense of their position."

Doyle noted that there are images depicting nudity and alcohol at the National Gallery.

"They're being protected? From what? From femininity? If the person who looked at that image found it erotic that person needs to do some work on themselves," she said.

Sanders, during an interview in front of the library Wednesday, said she was hurt by the decision to remove her paintings.

She said she wasn't trying to make any statement with her work and she sure wasn't trying to become the poster child for smoking.

"I was trying to show real life. A real person. And he smokes," she said.

Looking to the future, Sanders said she supports the idea of a panel of artists that would help the city determine appropriate art for its public venues. And she defended the work of Sissi Hale, the artist who curated both the Visual Expressions show and her show at the library.

"I respect her and I support her. She really cares about art in this community," she said.

Call staff writer Aaron Claverie at 951-676-4315, ext. 2624.