A Whale of a Debate

Should Ventura pay muralist Wyland to lavish his leviathans on a 500-foot-long swath of concrete wall along the Ventura Freeway?

To Bill Clawson, executive director of the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau, the proposal has become an obsession to rival Captain Ahab’s.

In the article below he explains his vision for the mural, how it could reconnect downtown Ventura with its ocean vistas and heritage.

How it could turn an ugly jumble of overpasses into a look-now-here-it-comes landmark.

How it could tempt some of the 106,000 drivers who zip past every day to stop and explore and maybe even take a whale-watching cruise to see the real McCoy.

As a marketing move, it’s a whale of an idea.

But as art?

And as public investment?

Cheers for it on those counts have been less than unanimous. Some of those reservations are discussed below by Christine Parker, former curator of the Ventura Harbor Maritime Museum.

Robert Wyland, 40, who uses only his surname, is something of the Kenny G of the art world: Beloved by the masses, disdained by the hip. Charming and inoffensive and prolific and wildly successful.

Wyland marine paintings, sculptures and books sold through a chain of Wyland galleries posted sales of $11.7 million in 1994. The following year, the business magazine Inc. listed his Wyland Studios as one of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the nation.

He painted his first whale mural in Laguna Beach in 1981, finishing it on his 21st birthday. Since then he has painted nearly 70 of them--in Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Hollywood, Mexico, Japan . . .

So while Ventura’s would be different, it would hardly be unique.

Wyland set a goal for himself to paint 100 whale murals around the world by 2011, most of them for free. Because he has already done all the freebies he cares to do in Southern California, his bill for Ventura’s would be $250,000. Clawson vows to raise at least half of that privately.

Ventura has the money, by law reserved for public art and unspendable on anything else. It also has an Art in Public Places Advisory Committee with policies and procedures to be considered. The committee plans to discuss the proposal Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Ventura City Hall.

So should Wyland whales frolic along the California Street offramp? Give us your thoughts, at fax number, e-mail or mailing addresses in the box below.