EDITORIAL:Joys and trials of public art

Public art is a joy in Laguna, but it can also be controversial. Take the case of “The People’s Council,” the newest ? and most costly ? public art piece in the city.

The $80,000 sculpture sits in front of City Hall, and even members of the arts commission, which approved it, have disagreed on its merits.

Sculptor Linda Brunker ? not a local ? beat out a dozen other artists to win the right to have her work grace the area in front of City Hall where a fountain had foundered and been removed.

Brunker’s creation is an Asian-fusion piece with a sundial and contemplative granite figures that face each other in a circle. It is a round-table effect that conjures images of dialogue and decision-making ? exactly what the title, “The People’s Council,” suggests.

We’ve heard a number of complaints: the heads of the figures are too large and out of scale; it takes up too much space; it was too expensive; it doesn’t look like the mock-up; it’s not “Laguna.”

One irate man dubbed it simply “a piece of junk” in a letter to this newspaper.

The work also has its defenders, but, as usual, the critics are the ones honking their horns.

This piece has had a rockier history than most. Brunker was informed after the installation began that requirements under the Americans With Disabilities Act would mean that sidewalks would need to be replaced at her cost to complete the installation. It was not a pleasant surprise for her budget at that late stage.

Even the process of coming up with a design for the site was controversial, after one member of the City Council convinced her colleagues to require prospective artists to keep any human figures clothed ? opining that nudity could inspire disrespect and possibly even vandalism at the seat of city government.

Ironically, the council chose “The People’s Council” apparently thinking it would inspire respect for the institution of city government. Perhaps it was only inevitable that criticism would rain down on officials’ heads instead.

We can only hope that, over time, the sculpture will work its magic and impart a civil quality to those who pass by it on their way to a heated debate in the Council Chambers ? once the hubbub over the sculpture itself dies down.