EAST LIVERPOOL Traficant's art boosts gallery

Two pieces of the infamous politician's work are for sale.
By STEPHANIE UJHELYI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Only time will tell if a political maverick's art will be the shot in the arm needed to save a local gallery.
About 100 people -- more than half from out of town-- came here Saturday to view works by former Congressman James A. Traficant as the Ohio River Arts Gallery opened its show.
It will run through Aug. 20.
Lisbon resident Wayne Herrod helped coordinate the effort, which he hopes will keep Tri-State Arts Inc.'s gallery open.
Herrod contacted Sybille Oelschlanger, Traficant's artistic pen pal and mentor, and she donated two works to the group's effort. One barn scene and a portrait of a white horse against a purple background are on sale at the gallery for $1,000 each.
Herrod said the works definitely drew interest; however, the majority of individuals hoped to make payments on the pricey works. That's not a big surprise, considering that East Liverpool's per capita income is $21,000, he added.
It costs the group $3,000 a year to just rent the gallery space, so the sale of the Traficant works would make a significant dent in that.
Usually the gallery gets only 20 percent of the sale price, with the artist getting the balance.
"With our shrinking industrial base in the area, it makes it harder to find corporate donations, which the group had relied on to help keep the gallery open," Herrod said.
The group has 150 members, with only 10 active. They hope to pick up an extra 20 active members to infuse their aging membership.
They were thrilled to pick up four members Saturday.
At the start of 2006, Traficant's works were selling for a couple hundred dollars until supporters caught wind of them. Then sales through www.beammeupart.com became very competitive with many fetching $2,000 and more.
A flashy and flamboyant figure in politics, Traficant was expelled for corruption, but his art focuses on his memories of a farmer's life in Greenford.
Many supporters
Members have said many of the calls and visits have been from individuals who inquired about Traficant's condition and showed support for him.
Elah Daniels from St. Clair Township stopped in at the gallery in hopes of picking up a piece of Traficant art herself, but the price was about twice what she had budgeted. Daniels said Traficant taught a seminar when she was working in the banking field, and she just liked his style. "His art interests me," she added.
Traficant's artworks are produced mostly on cardboard or Formica.
The two works featured by the gallery are on cardboard and were framed by gallery members for the event.
Barrie Archer, a local high school art teacher who also oversees the gallery's high senior art competition, is one of the members who helped prepare the Traficant works for display.
"We are not selling a piece of art per se, but an idea," she said, adding she is also a fan of the man.
A former neighbor of Traficant's was planning to stop by to see the art in person. June Little, who moved to East Liverpool, had lived three houses down from the Traficant horse farm in Greenford. She recognized some of the scenes featured in his art during recent media coverage.
He was a "very nice man" who had a hayfield near her home, she said. She remembered him out there, cutting his own hay, then stopping by to visit her and her husband, who is now deceased.
"I knew Jim well and respected him. He was just a regular guy," she said.
Herrod expressed disgust that the federal medical center, where Traficant is serving his time, has pulled his artistic privileges, accusing him of using them to make money in prison.
"Tookie Williams, a Crips gang leader and multiple murderer, was allowed to publish five children's books while on death row," he said.
Traficant was sending his works to Oelschlanger as she tutored his efforts, and she was selling the pieces on the Internet to raise money for supplies for him to use to continue his work. Materials used in prison to create art like this are expensive and difficult to obtain.
Conspiracy theory
Some believe this is part of a continued vendetta against Traficant by the Justice Department. Individuals like Jerry Martin of Parma Heights traveled down to set up shop outside the gallery and show his support for Traficant. Martin was there on behalf of America's First Party and said he is there because Traficant was a "man's man."
"You think in America that you could tell the truth. Traficant called it the way it was, and that is why he was railroaded," he added.
He added that Traficant was one of the first people to call attention to the need for homeland security and immigration restrictions years ago, and now the government is seeing the need to fix the problems.
After spending the day outside the gallery, Martin decided to follow in Traficant's footsteps and pursue his more sensitive side.
He is one of the newest members of the Tri-State Arts Inc. Members don't have to be artists, just interested in promoting the arts.
Hours for the Ohio River Arts Gallery, 417 Washington St. here, are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
For more information on the nonprofit art organization, call (330) 385-7797.