Saturday 21 December 2019

Politics and Art - 10/29/2005

Saturday, October 29, 2005
Politics and Art
Do you remember the controversy last year when the previous Costa Mesa City Council, at a time of great fiscal uncertainty, decided to forgive more than $660,000 in fees due by the developers of the new concert hall at the Performing Arts Center? The inducement at the time - the carrot dangled in front of the noses of the council by the Segerstrom's silver-tongued spokesman, Paul Freeman - was the possibility that the council just might get it's name on a wall honoring the big donors when the hall is completed. No guarantees were made, though. So, the council - giddy at the prospect - released the developer from his contractual obligation and took a pass on cash that represented nearly 15% of the projected budget shortfall at the time. Of course, the tax payers of this city had to find that money somewhere so it could be passed on to the county - the ultimate recipient.

At the time I speculated in a commentary published in the Daily Pilot that those dollars might enable the developers to install more gold-plated bathroom fixtures or commission a nice, new piece of art.

Well, this week I read that Henry Segerstrom has, indeed, commissioned controversial sculptor Richard Serra to craft a few hunks of steel into a 60 foot high creation to become the centerpiece of the arts plaza. Apparently those art lovers among us will be able to creep through this collection of rusty scrap metal and be awed by it's beauty.

I also read that some of Serra's most famous works are referred to as "Torqued Ellipses". That seems ironically appropriate, because that's how I feel about his selection - torqued. Serra has recently made a couple strong anti-war statements with some of his works, using images of our president in quite negative terms. I'm going to have a hard time feeling very positive about the artist and his benefactor when I view the completed work. Yeah, yeah, I understand about freedom of expression. I just don't like the guy's politics and sure don't want to see a rusty, sagging 60 foot tall reminder of his views in a place of honor in our city forever. Sorry, Henry... that's just the way it is.
10:07 pm pdt

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