Roundabouts: I live in the Orcutt Road/Tank Farm Road area and drive around that circle almost every day, and each time feel sadness about the sculpture placed there in a deep bed of concrete. Kudos to the crews who constructed the new directed-traffic pathways with curbs, paving blocks, and attractive plantings. They did a nice job with their materials.
Public art: As long as I’ve lived in SLO, discussions about public art have been lively.
And the Greys In Between: This is a large sculpture in the center of the Orcutt Road/Tank Farm Road roundabout that should never have been chosen.
New Times offered the curator/spokesperson from the SLO Museum of Art an opportunity to defend her choice of artist and sculpture after the fact (“Angular beauty,” Dec. 29, 2022). A lot of people don’t like the sculpture for a lot of reasons. However, after spending hundreds of thousands of developer and city funds to erect the eyesore, it must now be defended.
The main defense is that the artist is a Pakistani immigrant who lives in Indiana, showing SLO residents (if you read the plaque) that we believe in racial and ethnic diversity and in the contribution of immigrants to our community. The accomplished artist, Anila Agha, had a beautiful pre-COVID-19 sculpture exhibit at the Harold J. Miossi Gallery at Cuesta College that focused on the dance of patterns created with light. Based on that exhibit, she was selected for this prominent city roundabout.
She designed the sculpture that was built in SLO by a local craftsman. She did not see it until the ribbon cutting event.
Local media photographers have gone out of their way to present close-up views unobstructed by signage—views not available to drivers. In reality, traffic signs block views of the sculpture at every point. The site is not safe for pedestrians. The two cutout steel shapes each have a large ball inside that lights up at night. The bright ball lights are overwhelmed by 11 very bright street lights shining down on the roundabout. Combined, they ended the neighborhood dark night sky experience in this corner of town.
Those of us who care about art in the public domain, and anyone with basic visual literacy, will experience this sculpture as inappropriate for this site. It is unfortunate that so many resources were expended. The design wasn’t included in city construction updates, so those of us in the neighborhood only saw roadwork and not what was planned for the center of the roundabout.
How did the selection happen? Who chose it? Were there other proposals?
Several different groups over the years have been in charge of selecting public art with dedicated developer fees. The city recently tasked the SLO Museum of Art to lead in public art selection. I was told that the selection was a rigorous process, but I don’t believe that.
In years past, a successful committee formed to select art for our new County Government Center. The committee was diverse mix and the result shows in a celebration of local, historical, and contemporary abstract images, making for a satisfying viewer experience. Another successful public art sculpture, my favorite, is the bronze at Railroad Square that honors Chinese workers who emigrated from China and built the railroads. When complete, news about it traveled through the entire Chinese community in America. In addition to the sculptor’s intent, its meaning is obvious. It is also beautifully placed for a lot of pedestrian viewing in a small traffic circle in parking lots near restaurants, the train station, and the pedestrian bridge. The sculpture references both local and state history. Strong advocacy and financial support came from private citizens and business owners.
As the curator for the 1995 exhibit, Public Art: A Visual Dialog, at the ARTernatives Gallery in SLO, I included a survey of public art in Santa Barbara, Palm Desert, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other urban areas. A dragon sculpture in a pocket park playground, concrete and pavement designs, text on buildings, abstract signage, image transfers on tile for a public pool, and conceptual designs for public places all inspired me and others to think beyond the usual mobiles, kinetic sculpture, and hanging sculpture often selected and seen throughout SLO city. The exhibit asked, “What kinds of public art enlivens a community?” Art that is derived from imported fantasy and myth-making is more Disney-type art, art that is decorative. It can be fun and often is temporary.
I’ve heard people describe the Orcutt/Tank Farm roundabout sculpture as “Welcome to Las Vegas.” For the general type of tourist doing a wine tasting tour, that is probably fine. Then consider how the public has embraced the bear and girl fountain at Mission Plaza. For many, this sculpture fits their idea of public art, with thousands of their selfies scattered around the world because it honors the site where it sits. I don’t expect that you’ll see a lot of anyone taking selfies with Greys in Between.
Why is it there? What does it mean? Its title might be better as Greys in Between the Traffic Signs.
Elizabeth Johnson wrote to New Times from San Luis Obispo. Respond by emailing letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 5-15, 2023.
So where’s the photograph of the art ?
That would help us understand the point you are making