S.J. CAHN -- Editor’s Notebook

I’m pretty sure that Costa Mesa’s 1999 slogan change from “Hub of the

Harbor Area” to “City of the Arts” seemed like a no-brainer at the time.

After all, it makes a lot more sense to play up the Orange County

Performing Arts Center and the South Coast Repertory than try to explain

that Costa Mesa doesn’t, actually, have a harbor.

But it’s turning out that being the “City of the Arts” isn’t all

attending award-winning plays and listening to rising arias. Being mixed

up with such a messy slogan -- one that sounds high-society but

unfortunately refers to that undefinable term “art” -- is having some

unforeseeable repercussions.

For one, the city certainly can’t sit idly while a piece of art is put

into peril.

And so plans to renovate Town Center are languishing, a victim to the

Isamu Noguchi California Scenario garden that sits smack in the middle of

the business area.

The quarrel between the city and the owner of the land where the

garden rests, Commonwealth Partners LLC, is over how long Commonwealth

will be required to maintain the sculptures. For a time, it looked like

the agreement would be 25 years. But now city leaders want the garden

kept up “in perpetuity.”

Commonwealth is crying foul, arguing that it plans to improve the

garden by opening it up artistically and to the public. The city has dug

in its heels, intent on ensuring the safety of this artistic treasure.

Now, the city has an almost-winning argument here. Just who is saying

the garden will be “improved” by removing a wall or building here, adding

a little touch there? Not Noguchi, who passed away at the end of 1988.

And, really, changing his work would be akin to softening up the Mona

Lisa’s nose. Yeah, it might make her look better, but.

The problem with the city’s stance is about as clear cut: City leaders

have not done much to tell residents why the garden is such a treasure

that it shouldn’t be touched.

They haven’t explained why we should care.

So, to get this discussion going -- and the city really needs to

follow through on it more expansively -- let’s take a quick look at the

garden and at least try to get a sense if there’s anything “artistic”

about it. Forget for a second that you hadn’t heard of it until a few

months ago, much less seen it.

Edmund Burke essentially described the sublime as bringing us a sense

of terror and even death. On that scale, the garden is definitely a

keeper, except it’s more the looming presence of DiTech and Connexant,

not to mention the Acapulco restaurant, that is terrifying.

Then there’s Horace, who wrote: “Ars longa vita breva” (Art is long,

life is short). Under this one, the garden doesn’t hold up quite so well

since it doesn’t take that long to wander through the sculptures.

An illuminating way to look at the garden comes courtesy of John

Keats, who wrote: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Given that

“forever” seems to be the sticking point in this debate, I think Keats

may prove a winner for the city.

Of course, wandering through the garden, it’s impossible not to think

of one last quotation, this time from Oscar Wilde, who wrote: “All art is

quite useless.”

Which, I’d say, about sums it up.

* S.J. CAHN is city editor of the Pilot.