UPDATE Monday, March 21, 5:32pm | In response to this piece (which appears below), I was asked two questions repeatedly:
1) How much did “Sea Grass” (the name of the sculpture) cost?
2) If it wasn’t done by a local artist (it wasn’t), why not?
I purposefully didn’t answer question No. 1 originally because that was beside the point I was making, since first, one has to answer for oneself whether this kind of public art is of any value in an economic reality that will always feature less-than-unlimited funds. If yes, only then do you move on to pragmatic questions of how much to spend, when to spend, etc.
But since you ask, the total cost for the commission of Sea Grass was $150,000, according to Craig Watson, executive director of the Arts Council for Long Beach. This money, however, did not come from the city’s general fund, but from tax increment financing through the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency.
What is tax increment financing? As far as I can tell it seems to have to do with funding present projects by using the future gains that will presumably result from increased tax revenue generated from (e.g.) increased property values of the area upon completion of the TIF-funded project.
I know that sounds a bit like you need a time machine to make it work, but in short, it’s debt spending. If you’re looking for a better explanation of TIF, or if you’re wanting an opinion on whether TIF is a good idea, you’re reading the wrong columnist.
Watson reports that the slot recently filled by Sea Grass was one of eight citywide projects proposed by the RDA in 2008. A call for artists was put out both locally and nationally, and 85 project proposals were received, from which the eight were chosen by peer-panel review, selecting commissions after weighing factors like size and scope, artistic merit, etc.
Although Sea Grass artist Barbara Grygutis is not a local, two of the six artists (six because two received two commissions each) are — or at least at the time of selection were — Beachers: Terry Braunstein and Rob Neilson.
Disclosure: Long Beach Post publisher Shaun Lumachi is an Arts Council for Long Beach board member.
As seen from my balcony, the three metallic spikes are installed.
Friday, March 11, 9:01pm | From my balcony a few days ago I saw them installing it: three curving metallic spikes sprouting from the traffic island in front of the soon-to-be-abandoned courthouse. As I found out a few hours later, they even light up at night.
Since no one’s dipping into the public coffers for the improvement of my view, it’s a fair question as to whether this is a worthwhile civic expenditure, now or ever.
It’s not so much that’s it’s my question. I’m one of those art-supporting liberals who think that not only is it a minor tragedy every time there’s an arts cutback, but who decry how little apparent value the United States government places on the arts.1
But regardless of my personal feelings, questions about public spending on the arts get asked. Such was the case when commenter “No Thanks” wrote in regards to an article on last year’s Arts Council grant recipients: “No thanks to any taxpayer money being given to arts groups. People who want arts should pay for them. I don’t see taxpayers funding target practice for citizens.” Same with “BUGGA BOO BOO,” who opined in relation to a September piece I did on SoundWalk: “If it’s going to cost the city money? KISS it off to keep costs at a minimum.”
I think how you answer the question comes down to how much you want your city to sport the artistic touches that help make it unique and vibrant.2
With Long Beach perpetually in desperate need of attracting out-of-towners, it seems to me this kind of thing is rather important. And for us residents, I figure if you’re going to opt for an urban environment over a rural one, it’s a hell of a lot nicer to live in a metropolis that actually looks like one (in the best sense of the of the idea). But in this space I’ve been called a “tree-hugging libtard” (I still cherish that epithet!), and the shoe fits at least as well if you replace “tree-hugging” with “arts-loving.”
In this piece I could have gone into how much this Ocean Boulevard sculpture costs, who commissioned it, etc., but that’s a different story, a procedural story. The story I’m after is more of a visceral one, a gut reaction — which, really, is how I think most of us react to this kind of expenditure.
So tell me: What do you think?
Footnotes
1 Studies have consistently found that the U.S. government supports the arts far less than its fellow industrialized nations. See, for example, the 2005 study by Canada Council for the Arts, which notes that out of a list of “[nine] countries with arts councils with similar mandates to Canada Council for the Arts,” Canada placed eighth — and yet still had a per capita funding of arts grants nearly 10 times greater that of the U.S.
2 We’ll lay aside the question of whether the art is any good. That’s a matter of taste, and the only way you’re going to have much input on the nature of the art is to get on the Arts Council or some other pertinent body.
As seen from my balcony, the three metallic spikes are illuminated at night.