Most of these current art projects are funded by voter initiatives that say a small percent of all new constructions projects must allocate something like one percent of the cost of the project for art work, to be done by local artists.
I suspect the folks at the "Americans for the Arts" want another law demanding that tax dollars be spent to repair these public art projects on a regular basis, meaning more jobs for the artists that created the original art work.
One art project that really p*sses me off is on Chandler Blvd and Arizona Avenue where an artist attempted to charge them $40,000 for the art work on two bus stops. Yea the taxpayers need $40,000 worth of art on these two bus stops like I need a hole in my head.
Valley public art pieces damaged; cities can't afford to repair it
by Connie Cone Sexton and Sonja Haller - Dec. 1, 2011 11:01 PM
The Arizona Republic
For public art these days, it seems if Mother Nature doesn't cause enough trouble, vandals or thieves will.
At the Grovers Pedestrian Bridge in Phoenix, only six of the original 24 bronze plaques detailing residents' stories of the surrounding neighborhood remain. Thieves made off with the other 18, probably melting the material down, city officials say.
In Glendale, a bronze statue that stood near Paseo Park was stolen, replaced by the city and then stolen again.
Graffiti on Phoenix's Maryland Avenue Bridge can be as common as the freeway traffic below.
Elsewhere, public art is so popular, it simply gets worn down. [ The author sounds a little biased! How can art that is popular get worn down any quicker then art that is not popular??? Do those staring eyes were it down? ] Weather and time take additional tolls.
But as the maintenance and restoration needs are rising, the money to afford those tasks is declining. Available public funds are shrinking rapidly. [ Why not let the private sector repair the art! Let the artists donate 10 percent of their time for "pro bono" repair of the art like lawyers donate part of their time to help poor people! ]
Potential consequences lurk.
"There's a theory called the broken-window theory," said Valerie Vadala Homer, director of the Scottsdale Public Art program. "If you live in a neighborhood with broken windows, you start to feel nobody cares. If you live in a community that doesn't take care of its art, you start to feel it doesn't care and has no pride in itself. Then, you really don't want to be there, and no one else does, either." [ Which sounds like a lame excuse to fund her unneeded job. ]
With public dollars limited for maintenance, cities are prioritizing. Arts supporters, meanwhile, are looking toward other ways.
Priorities, budget cuts
Cities must do the best job they can to keep the art in good shape, said Ed Lebow, who directs the Phoenix public-art program.
"It's the fiscally responsible thing to do," he said. "What we've been hearing from residents is that they want their public facilities designed well and buildings to be beautiful and safe, and that includes public art." [ Perhaps he can list the names of these hundreds of thousands of folks who are demanding more art. Perhaps he could also get them to shell out the cash for the art they want, instead of getting the government to steal the money from the rest of us, to pay for the art they want. ]
But recently, cities in Arizona and throughout the U.S. have been facing a maintenance challenge, said Lebow, who works closely with Americans for the Arts, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit dedicated to supporting art programs.
Many Valley cities require a small percentage of money to be collected from city capital projects, private development or city-improvement projects to fund public art. With the slowdown in construction, though, that funding is dwindling. In fiscal 2008-09, Phoenix had $63,000 to do the job. Today, it's $29,000. In the same time period, Tempe's budget went from about $90,600 to about $7,600. [ Translation - artists are angry that the slow economy is cutting into the government welfare programs for artists. The artists want the government to keep giving them the same amount of welfare they have received in the past, while the rest of us suffer with the krappy economy! ]
Phoenix recently completed a maintenance-needs assessment of its 130-plus pieces of public art. About $1.3 million is needed to fix a variety of problems, from a few hundred dollars to cover graffiti to about $178,000 to retrofit art sculptures for the Arizona 51 pieces that were nicknamed the "Squaw Peak Pots," a string of large teacups and saucers that debuted in 1992. [ They want more money to throw on that useless art!!!!! ]
From the assessment, Phoenix decided on several priority projects, including replacing the plaques at the Grovers Pedestrian Bridge. Lebow said the city will continue to fix projects as the funding allows.
Scottsdale leaders say they are committed to the upkeep of the city's roughly 110 public artworks.
Wendy Raisanen, Scottsdale Public Art Collections manager, said public-art officials and supporters recently traveled to Santa Monica, Calif., to explore its public art. [ Why the f*** are we using tax payer money to allow this woman to travel to Santa Monica, California to improve art in Scottsdale! That is insane!!!!! ] Finding many of the pieces in a state of disrepair with parts missing or paint long gone reinforced the importance of public-art maintenance.
"It was creepy," Raisanen said. "It's sad when you get the feeling that no one really cares. And then, you're thinking, 'If the city doesn't take care of this, what else are they not taking care of?' " [ Well I hope the city takes care of things people really need. Like trash collection, sewers and water, not a bunch of useless silly "public art"!!!! ]
Nonetheless, money allotted for maintenance has fallen over the past four years, from $140,000 to about $97,000, resulting in less frequent maintenance.
New ways to raise funds
Liesel Fenner, public-art program manager for Americans for the Arts, said too many cities don't plan for future needs of public art. "When it's damaged, they say, 'What do we do now? Who's going to pay for it?' " she said. [ translation - we need more taxes to create a bigger welfare program for the artists in our group ]
Fenner began hearing about budget reductions for maintaining public art about two years ago. She said the problem has leveled off for some cities. Others are having to cancel new public-art projects to care for and restore existing works.
Public-art programs doubt that they will have funding to commission six- or seven-figure projects anytime soon, even as the economy improves.
Public art can be controversial, and already some taxpayers question the amount of money spent on art instead of on public safety and other services. And with some Valley cities nearing build-out, the heyday of funding tied to new construction appears limited. [ Controversial? Hell yes!!! It's also a huge waste of money! ]
To shore up budget losses and take care of existing projects, many public-art agencies are exploring new ways to raise funds.
In Scottsdale, options on the table recommended by a national public-arts consultant include focusing on fundraising and sponsorships, supporting public-art events with a hotel tax or creating special city fees to support public art. [ Bingo! Just as I thought! The folks at the "Americans for the Arts" are behind this and want to create more government welfare programs for artists. ]
Chandler is partnering more with the Chandler Center for the Arts and is aggressively going after grants, said Eric Faulhaber, visual-arts coordinator for the city.
Jack Becker, publisher of Public Art Review, based in St. Paul, Minn., said other cities are funding public art through license-plate fees, hotel taxes, a portion of gambling proceeds or a percentage of billboard-advertisement fees.
In Phoenix, Lebow said he has talked with local public-arts supporters about creating a "Friends" of the Phoenix public-arts group, much like the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library.
Phoenix and other cities also are turning to the public for help. Volunteers such as Marion Frock have pet projects, alerting the cities to problems or helping with the repair.
Nearly every day, the 82-year-old Phoenix resident comes out to paint over graffiti on the Maryland Avenue Bridge across Interstate 17.
"I like helping," he said. "I want to help keep the city nice, and there's often a lot to cover up."
Even artists themselves may play a role. Tempe artist Laurie Lunquist, who has created about 15 public-art pieces for cities across the Valley, calls the increase of vandalism "disheartening."
"We sort of do live and learn about vandalism and how to design not only for the space to be safe but to be as vandal-proof as possible," Lunquist said.
That may mean not working with bronze or other materials that are prone to theft.
"From the artists' perspective," Lunquist said, "our job is to do something unique and original, but we are always trying to find new materials, especially when working on projects that have some functionality, like benches or bus stops. [ Like that silly bus stop on Chandler Blvd and Arizona Avenue that has $40,000 worth of art work on it. If you ask me the members of the Chandler City Council and Valley Metro are p*ssing our tax dollars away like drunken sailors! ] I'm really conscious that I'm working with public money."
Showing art some love
When Robert Indiana's
"Love" sculpture was erected in 2002 at Scottsdale's Civic Center,
many people balked at its $311,000 price tag.
[
Yea, and I am still balking at how they could
p*ss away $311,000 on a silly statue that
says LOVE.
]
Now, it gets so much attention as people crawl all over it,
the city spends more than $5,000 a year to keep it looking spiffy.
Such can be the appeal of public art. And the challenge.
As public-art agencies seek to stay vibrant, they must take care of existing art or risk becoming generic places that lack pride, said Betsy Fahlman, an Arizona State University professor of art history with 20 years of public-art experience. [ Of course he loves public art and taxes to pay for the public art! He is a government bureaucrat who gets a cut of the money, or at least gets job security. ]
"So many people in Arizona weren't born here,
so public art helps create an identity and a
quality of life for each community," Fahlman said.
"Because of all the development here, the Valley has a substantial
public-art collection that's nationally recognized.
If you don't protect it, you're not protecting the investment."
[
I don't consider the $311,000 the Scottsdale City Council
p*ssed away on a silly statute that says LOVE an investment.
It's a huge waste of money!
That is $311,000 that could have been spend on
garbage collection or water delivery!
]