Decision on Proposed Art in a Tree Still Up in the Air

In a city where uniqueness is prized over conventionalism, the City Council has sidestepped an argument over whether 30-year-old water heaters and two house trailers entwined in a pine tree would be a work of art or a pile of junk.

After a lengthy discussion on the sculpture proposed by Marie and Arnold Forde for their Cliff Drive residence overlooking the ocean, council members said they need more time to decide whether such a creation would block a neighbor’s view of the ocean.

David A. Delo, who lives across the street from the Fordes, has complained that the sculpture would be garish and not compatible with the neighborhood.

Complaining that the trailers and water heaters would be “junk,” not art, Delo said: “I would not have an objection if I did not have to look at them. But I have to look at them.”

Another neighbor, Betty Ann Smith, added that if proposed landscaping were added to hide the sculpture, it would block her view of the ocean.

The Fordes commissioned Los Angeles-area artist Nancy Rubins to design and build a sculpture that would fit into a large pine tree in their back yard. The trailers and water heaters would be allowed to rust as they aged.

As the debate over the sculpture intensified, testimonial letters from the art community in support of Rubins’ work were submitted.

Rubins’ “sculptures reflect a fresh vision of the assemblage tradition, in which ‘found’ objects are transformed into a sculptural statement,” Ellen Breitman, director of education and acting head of the curatorial department of the Newport Harbor Art Museum, said in a letter to the city’s Design Review Board.

Others offering written testimonials were Paul Schimmel, chief curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and Charles Desmarais, director of the Laguna Art Museum.

Councilwoman Lida Lenney said the proposed sculpture would be a “stimulating” piece of environmental art and supported approval of the project.

She said it would call “attention to the kind of junk we tend to be filling our junkyards with.”

But the City Council refused to decide whether the proposed structure is indeed a work of art.

Councilman Robert F. Gentry said: “I think when it comes to our saying what should and should not appear on someone’s property in terms of a piece of art, I do not want to get involved in that.” The project requires council approval because it would be on “environmentally sensitive” oceanfront property. However, the sculpture could not be seen from the ocean.

Gentry and Lenney said they were prepared to approve the artwork with conditions, but the remaining three council members said they need more time to decide.

The Design Review Board had approved the sculpture on condition that the yard be landscaped with another tree and a hedge to hide the artwork from neighbors’ views. The board determined that the sculpture would not block neighbors’ views of the ocean.

In granting approval, board members also required that neighbors sign off on the landscaping, but the city attorney said such a provision would be illegal.

Design Review Board members had said previously that this was the first time that they had been asked to rule on a proposed work of art. The board normally decides whether building projects are legal and appropriate to their surroundings.