Clayton Patterson pens a long profile of Jim Power for The Villager in which he says the Mosaic Man has “a tremendous capacity for love, kindness and empathy for those who are struggling, or are helping him, or are his friends. Yet, on another day, to the same people, he can be ruthlessly vile, mean and hurtful.” In it, Mr. Patterson advances the theory that the artist’s light poles are a crime deterrent: “Maybe it’s the brightness, the glitter, the enshrined people who cross all color lines, the salute to the workers — the Fire Department, Sanitation, the Police Department — or the historic locations, like the Fillmore pole with famous acts who played there. But for whatever reason — respect, maybe — there is less criminal activity around his poles.”
