Council to look into art choices

Art will vie with landscaping for City Council approval Tuesday.

The Arts Commission’s recommendations for art at the community/senior center and Bluebird Park are being challenged by two prominent landscape architects.

The commission unanimously recommended to the council three pieces by Jon Seeman for the center and a gate designed by him for the park.

“It is the commission’s job to look at the quality of the art and to make sure the criteria are being met and to make recommendations, but it is the job of the council to make the decision, based on our review of the initial criteria, public reaction and the suitability of the art to the site,” Councilwoman Elizabeth Schneider said. “The commission is an advisory board, and we can accept or reject their recommendation.”

Opposition to the selected artworks has come from a former mayor “” a landscape architect who designed the remodeled Bluebird Park “” and another landscape architect who advised the city on landscaping for the senior center.

Ann Christoph and Bob Borthwick think the council should look further than the single recommendations of the arts panel for the sites.

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Models on view

Ten proposals were submitted for the center and seven for the park gate. The commission elected to submit only one proposal for each of the sites to the council. The Seeman proposal includes, as did all the submittals for the center, three components: a sculpture, a bench and a mural.

Models of the center’s five finalists were displayed in the City Council Chambers from Feb. 4 to 11, when the commission made its choice.

The council has asked to have the models returned to the council chamber this weekend for them to take a private look. The models will be exhibited through March 4.

Christoph is not fond of the choice made for the center because she doesn’t see how they speak to the site.

Site-specific pieces, as opposed to “plop art,” are a goal of the commission. Commissioner Terry Smith saw the site as broader than just the center.

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‘So Laguna’

“I looked at each submittal at least three times, and Seeman’s pieces were so Laguna and so cohesive,” Smith said. “I wanted the art to be timeless, and I didn’t think some of the very abstract pieces were as successful.

Even more than the art or the process, the impact of the art on the site’s landscaping is a major concern for Christoph.

“The biggest problem is the commission’s direction or somebody’s was to create pieces for the landscaped strip between the retaining wall [along Third Street] and the sidewalk,” said Christoph. “The whole purpose of the landscaping was to buffer the structure from the sidewalk. The art will require the approved landscape plan to be changed. The pieces also affect the façade of the building.”

Seeman’s proposal includes a sculpture of a breeching whale to be placed in front of the wall; a bench with a shade element that casts shadows of flying birds on the concrete wall and a mural depicting pelicans flying over Heisler Park.

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Impact on landscaping

Laguna Beach landscape architect Bob Borthwick also objected to the impact on the landscape and the suitability of the commission’s selection for the center.

“In my opinion, the whale structure is too large, too close to the street and would be a distraction to drivers coming down the Third Street hill and approaching the driveway into the center. Also, the large sycamore tree proposed for that location would have to be removed to make space for the sculpture.

“The metal appliqué [mural component] depicting Heisler Park on the building face between the garage opening the stairway would also eliminate the approved, proposed landscaping in the raised planter adjacent to the sidewalk, as well as eliminating the proposed trailing vines from the railing above. This planting would block the view of the proposed metal artwork.

“Due to the parking structure and other site requirements, the area for landscaping the front of the senior center is very limited, and every effort should be made to keep whatever landscape areas are provided,” Borthwick said.

Christoph, who designed the renovation of Bluebird Park, also disagreed with the commission’s selection for the gate.

“It has big, blue, red and yellow shapes that give the feeling of play equipment,” Christoph said. “A gate should be welcoming. It is supposed to be an entrance and allow a view into the park.

“Making it look like play equipment encourages children to play on the gate. That is not what we want.”

Smith said the commission considered safety in its deliberations.

Even more telling for him was the reaction of a young boy at the meeting.

“He was mesmerized by Seeman’s gate,” Smith said.

“That said it all for me.”