It seems like we have a battle over art again in San Jose. Not over what type of art, but, rather, whether to have it in the new police substation. I, for one, am happy not to discuss the recall in District 7 or the loss of our esteemed title of the “Safest Big City” in this yuletide season and get to the real issues that determine our future.
Don’t get me wrong. I like art and, as a renowned judge said of pornography, “I know it when I see it.” Most of us know when we see art, but often we’re confused about the implementation as well as what the artist is trying to say.
The substation issue is easy: we need it; we are out of money; we need to take the art bucks to fund the cops. Simple? Not so fast. This would be the first time that the council has deviated from the policy of two percent (it was once one percent, but no quibbling) for art initiated in the ancient times when I was mayor. Are you getting the picture, now?
The city has wallowed in major scandal, financial instability, rising crime and economic stagnation, but never have they disturbed the hallowed policy of two percent for art. At City Hall, the surprising is the commonplace. Perhaps when we view the collection of tinker toys at City Hall and assorted other pieces of public modern art, then we can all agree with Frank Zappa that “art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” I will follow the debate closely. Ah, unless shopping gets in the way. Now where’s my list?
After winning a full ride art scholarship to college, I became a science major because I wanted a job.
But $1.1 Million for art? I though t they were called starving artists?
But this is nothing. With the airport renovation budget at what, $1.5 Billion, that’s $30 million for art in the terminals.
Who is going to make these decisions and DO WE REALLY NEED THAT MUCH for people who have already bought their ticket to fly here to attend their business meeting?
Tom—
Actually, this is NOT the first time that the City of San Jose has deviated from its public art policy for supposed economic reasons. It may be the first time that City Council has had to consider the issue, but public art has been sacrificed for supposed economic necessity before.
In my Northside neighborhood, where a rebuilt Joyce Ellington Branch Library is scheduled to re-open in June 2008, an artist was commissioned to create a public art work with funds from the 2 percent public art set-aside. Miraculously, after several community meetings involving numerous residents over a period of months, absolutely every resident engaged in the public art process for the library was thrilled with what the artist came up with. The piece was to go into the main entryway of the library. But then the Library, unilaterally, for purported economic reasons, scaled back the project, reduced the size of the no-longer-grand entryway and determined that the art piece would now interfere with its “marketplace,” i.e., the corrals of popular music CDs and movie DVDs which are unrelated to the Library’s core mission as a repository of learning but which must be front-and-center and in patrons’ faces at the entryway pursuant to the Library’s business plan of being an ersatz Barnes & Noble. (No kidding; the Library proudly proclaims its desire to model itself on the chainstore.)
So public art was sacrificed. The artist was told to re-conceive his publicly acclaimed artwork so that it was much smaller in scale, much less compelling, and essentially unrecognizable; it was also banished into the new library’s courtyard.
Imagine Michaelangelo being told that his larger than life statue of David is too big, to scrap it and to create a life-sized statue of David Spade instead. Oh, and to put it out in the courtyard where no one can see it. That’s essentially what happened in my neighborhood in derogation of the public art process.
So we residents were left to commission our own art, using our own money, to honor the late neighborhood activist Joyce Ellington in the entryway of the library which bears her name. It will cost us less than $10,000 of private funds, be much more prominent and, I predict, better enjoyed by residents for generations than the six-figure “public art” that came out of the compromised community process which has left many residents quite bitter and which has shown that city bureaucrats cannot be trusted around “public art.”
Gil,
I have a sponsor the Quesztle statue.
The Acme Portopottie statue brought to by Charman toilet paper.
Kind of has a ring to it.
Keep on flushing
We need to incorporate art as part of all of our public buildings and spaces. I will find a way to fund the public art portion of the police substation. That is a commitment of mine.
Gil
I like it: great idea! We could call it, “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, & Unknown ” – we could commission a theme song for walkers too. I support your Christmas musing. Keep it up, TMcE
Tom, I disagree with you just as I disagreed with the Murky News editorial on the subject yesterday. Luckily for taxpayers driving down crumbling roads, the council made the correct decision under the present circumstances.
The editorial board opined that we NEED art at the new police station, which is already over budget before the first shovel of dirt is turned.
Sorry, folks, but in an era of structural deficits, when we have a BILLION dollars of unfunded liabilities, when we have third world streets, and when we have too few cops, and grubby parks, we do not NEED any art in front of the new police station. We may WANT it, but that’s not possible right now.
And while we’re at it, eliminate all the positions that deal with public art until we have eliminated the structural deficit, have well repaired roads, well kept parks, enough cops; in other words, when all our NEEDS have been addressed, we can return to the WANTS list.
If you couldn’t pay your PG&E bill or buy food for your family, would you go out and buy a piece of art?
Tom,
Maybe you can interest them in a statue of Capt. Fallon?
Oops. Been there, done that.
Tom, I remember your fight for respect of “Art” a few years ago. (Fallon) I was with you, I had the same position as you. Yours was a popsition of culture, San Jose`s culture. So fitting too was your slogan,” San Jose is growing up”.
What I really respected though about you in those days was your ability to reach compromise.
To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we recieve the “City” and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.
“In Your Needless Battle” blog and reading the many points of view, there is a lot for all of us to learn.
We too, the citizens of our City and the leaders of this City have a “sectional conflict”, the emergence of an increasingly hostile complex with “Sectional Idealogies”, we are on a rapid severe and destructive cource in our City.
Again…Sectionalism is a tendency among a section of our community to blindly focus on the “interests” of that segment, our Leaders” at the expense of our whole community, the “Citizens of San Jose and Santa Clara County. We need to respect the wishes of the community if we are to succeed.
Quality questions create a “Quality of Life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.
President Regan, speeking of “Art” said:” Politics is the “Art” of preventing people from taking part in the affairs which properly concern them”.
I like the idea of having more art, but not confined to buildings. I’ve lived here for 24 years now but never have I been to a police station. I have, however, been down most every major thoroughfare in this city. Bring art outside.
#4 Mr. Poop,
See! You get the Idea. Butt, you didn’t state how much you would pay. As it is you have a great location for your acme porta pottys in Cesar Chazes Park. If I were the city, I’d charge plenty for the spaces which clearly have been given to you rather than charging you for what has become the “Marquee” of pit stops for the City of San Jose.
The name recognition with our own downtown GOD, has got to be woth millions. Folks from all over the world take photos with all those toilets surrounding Our GOD. Not to mention the free advertisement on T.V. When the stations go down and take footage of the kids that play in the Circle of Potties which surrond Our GOD!
Your competitor is working on his bid as we speak. “Our Ancestral Dump Sites”Porta Potty Corp. of Alviso Calif. Your on your way out Acme, I like the ring of your competitor’s handle.
No more one holer free rides.
Think about it! I mean really think about it!
The Village Black Smith
Don G # 3 wrote:“So we residents were left to commission our own art, using our own money, to honor the late neighborhood activist Joyce Ellington in the entryway of the library which bears her name. It will cost us less than $10,000 of private funds, be much more prominent and, I predict, better enjoyed by residents for generations than the six-figure “public art” that came out of the compromised community process which has left many residents quite bitter and which has shown that city bureaucrats cannot be trusted around “public art.”
There’s the answer, people—$10k of private $$ did the trick better than six figures of public $$, most of which was wasted on juries, panels, community fora, city staff’s endless turgid input. Quetzalcoatl cost us half a mil $, and everyone hates it. Get the city OUT of ART, and stick to basics.
I don’t know what everyone is getting so excited about. “Form over function…ceremony over substance,” is San Jose’s trademark! The new city hall wasn’t built large enough to house all of the city’s employees, but it proclaims our majesty to the rest of the world! With regard to the new police station, just make all of the rooms smaller so that we can afford the art work! We’ve got to put San Jose on the map!
Pete Campbell
p.s. There are still too many “dumb bunnies” on the city council. I’ve concluded that San Jose can only be saved via a few smart voter innitiatives.
Make it private $$, Forrest #5, until we have good roads, decent parks, open pools, plenty of cops and ZERO STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
1.1M buckeroos buys how many salaried policemen for a year. A couple, I bet. Are we really saying it’s worth it to NOT put more cops on the beat for the sake of an aesthetic statement that probably 99% of our populace will never see, and the 1% that do see it will be split between I Like (33%) I Don’t Like (33%) and Oh That Was Art (33%). Our nouveau riche anxiety about wanting to appear sophisticated as a city is making us miss our priorities, I fear.
What’s the big deal about spending $1.4 million on art? That could be covered with the police doughnut budget for one year. Do cops really need all that saturated fat and sugar to do their jobs?
Have San Jose elementary school children, using donated art supplies from San Jose businesses, create various paintings, sculptures, mobiles, etc., and display them in the lobby of the police substation. This way it will not cost the taxpayers anything, it will be reflective of the community, and it will be more interesting than any of the public art I’ve seen in San Jose to date.
Rather than eliminate the 2% policy entirely, perhaps the city should consider reducing the percentage to 1.5% or even 1%. More than 100 cities across the United States maintain similar public art policies with cities like Dallas and San Francisco being the most bold in supporting public art programs. As San Jose seeks ways to eliminate the structural deficit, I think every resident can understand the need to restrain spending while continuing to embrace the quality of life and economic benefits that come with a dynamic public art program.
Don and Richard
Glad that Joyce Ellington, a wonderful person and dedicated citizen, is going to be duly honored by the “people” that she served so well – your pt., Don, is a good one. And Richard, I would just like to see the Joyces of the City honored and fewer tinker toys and electric animals rendered. We deserve better. TMcE
Don,
The process your neighborhood went through is enough to make me want to scrap the whole public art program. It seems to me that you had really bad support from your city council member on that one. It’s your communities library after all. I for one would expect much more from my representative.
Tom,
Reading your posting this morning gave me a great idea.
Let’s sell the namimg rights to all of the art own projects in the city.
Wait, think about it. I mean really think about it!
How much art has the city bought and paid for in the past 50 years?
Get some of them sunshiners to do a walk around town and list all the art. Publish a list of sculptures and modern art, phallic symbols at 5th and Santa Clara, what ever we as a city owns. Yes, your’s and Blancas as well.
Publish that list annually and have team San Jose give that to every visiting guest. Great publicity for any business wanting to get their name out.
The Village Black Smith
Speaking of art … the best city on the West coast is Seattle … ever been there … check it out.
We should model our program after the way the Emerald City incorporated public art.
Examples: the Fremont District, Memorial Plaza, Olympic Sculpture Park – very cool. Bring back the Shark art display in SJ – we did it once and let it die!
Mystery:
Thank goodness Seattle does not have Quetzie! We do have pigs….just like the sharks just pigs. http://www.pigsonparade.org/
Victoria, BC has bears. http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/551464926RyNZRV
This leads me to believe that these animals are “McArts” or they are the brainchild of a very successful and probably profitable artist who said “I bet I can sell bronze painted animals all over the place.”
I agree that public art should be a luxury. I also like the idea of George Berlin….that could be expanded…how about councilmembers taking the responsiblity of having art contests from schools in their districts and each winner is awarded money to the school who wins from their office holder account.
Jeff Dennison
I don’t know about school children, but students and young local artists could probably do a good job—under the guidance of some local art teachers. Murals are a nice form of public art that doesn’t have to be that expensive. In fact there are people doing them for free under bridges and similar locations.
If my tax money is being spent on art I’d prefer to have it go to support local artists rather than the corporate art business world.
If you want to follow a model I suggest Tacoma. Tacoma was for a long time a gritty industrial city, poor relative of Seattle. Just like our relationship to that glamorous metropolis to the north.
But Tacoma now is totally different. They have a world class museum of glass art (which I believe pays its own way). They have restored the old downtown with interesting new businesses, there is a Karpeles Manuscript Museum and several thriving neighborhood business districts. They are well on the way to being a place people might want to go to.
Tom, this is really a project, “ART” that is paid for in the big cities by local corporate sponsors. We certianly have a lot of them. It`s good PR for them, it`s kind of a way for them to give back to the residents of San Jose. Some have helped like HP. But others could help.
Look to at the Willow Glen Spur Trail that will connect Willow Glen, Campbell and Los Gatos trails to downtown San Jose, especially bring Willow Glen residents within walking distance of our bueatiful downtown.
The City is on the verge of losing an important part of this trail to a developer who wants to build row houses on the former railroad tracks that was slated to become part of the walk to downtown. The City can`t afford to save this land, no money. Again a corporate sponsor could help save this valuable asset to downtown San Jose, but no one is stepping forward.
We need to find more HP`s. We need help.
Tom,
Didn`t Nancy Pelosi just get $100 million in Federal money for Northern California. Rumor has it San Jose, the 10th largest city in the U.S. is only getting $2 million? True ??
Tom, we need to send you to Sacramento, or better yet Washington D>C<