The Art of Life in a City

From a single vantage point in downtown Los Angeles, it’s possible to see the handiwork of three major 20th-Century sculptors.

Michael Heizer’s enormous geometric volumes of polished aluminum fill the Wells Fargo’s patio at 5th and Flower streets; a glittery, baroque relief by Frank Stella hangs on a wall behind Heizer’s work, and across the intersection, Herbert Bayer’s “Double Ascension” marks the front of Atlantic Richfield Plaza’s twin towers with a bright red abstraction that swirls like a spiral staircase.

The view is an eyeful for unsuspecting art lovers, but it’s only a hint of the public sculpture that’s beginning to populate Southern California in increasing density.

Upper patios on Wells Fargo’s hillside site hold imposing works by another trio of stellar contemporary artists: Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman and Mark di Suvero. A block or so to the south, Alexander Calder’s monumental red crab cavorts outside Security Pacific’s world headquarters and Louise Nevelson’s soaring black “Night Sail” evokes dreams of mysterious voyages at Crocker Center.

This pocket of public sculpture once seemed an isolated phenomenon--a rare humanizing touch in a sterile world of corporate commerce. But the recent completion of Eugene Sturman’s “Homage to Cabrillo: Venetian Quadrant” (a 33-foot-tall metal tribute to creativity and curiosity, at 9th and Figueroa streets) and the passage of the Community Redevelopment Agency’s downtown Art in Public Places Program are only two indications that public art is spreading.

This development is by no means confined to central Los Angeles. Santa Monica, Pasadena, Long Beach and various cities in Orange County all have art projects in progress. And the new outdoor sculpture no longer resides exclusively in rarefied settings of university and museum gardens or on manicured grounds of private collectors’ mansions.

For better or for worse, artists’ creations are rising amid gleaming office buildings. For decoration or commemoration, art is sprouting in shopping centers. For cultural enhancement or to fulfill government regulations, an aesthetic component has been added to commercial and industrial developments.

As might be expected, the results are far from homogeneous. Little Tokyo’s business district, for example, offers something for everyone. Junichiro Hannya’s realistic bronze depiction of a folk hero, known as “The Peasant Sage of Japan,” strides along in sandals at 2nd and San Pedro streets. Symbolizing perseverance, integrity and social consciousness, the peasant’s image is dedicated to the Issei pioneers who brought his spirit to America.

Opposite him, standing bolt upright at the entrance of Weller Court, Sinkichi Tajiri’s sleek, white “Friendship Knot” is a Bicentennial gift to Los Angeles from the Friends of Little Tokyo. And at Japanese Village Plaza is a welded metal abstraction by Michael Todd, an Angeleno who has been profoundly influenced by Japanese culture. His works are rather like three-dimensional calligraphy or balancing acts that might be the result of Zen revelations.

Such artistic oases in the land of commerce are the product of at least three different forces: individual vision, government support for the arts and a business-world sense of what’s attractive, prestigious or meaningful to its constituents.

In Costa Mesa, an area once dubbed Goat Hill and now a glittering mecca of culture and business, developer Henry T. Segerstrom’s vision is credited with making art a significant part of the transformed environment. As he turned his family lima bean fields into South Coast Plaza and Town Center and donated land for the Orange County Performing Arts Center, he also bought art on a grand scale.

“I think the feeling was that if you are going to have a world class performing arts center, you ought to have a world class art collection,” said Maura Eggan, director of marketing for South Coast Plaza.

The most astonishing purchase, one that captured international interest, is Isamu Noguchi’s “California Scenario.” The renowned Japanese-American artist fashioned this soothing environment of fountains, streams, plants and stone sculpture for a plaza bordered by two office buildings and a parking structure.

Other Segerstrom acquisitions for South Coast grounds include a trademark kinetic piece by George Rickey, a stained glass windscreen by Claire Falkenstein, Charles O. Perry’s bright yellow “Ram” abstraction and a mirrored pagoda by Doug Edge. Henry Moore’s massive bronze “Reclining Figure,” temporarily installed in front of the Central Bank building, is a gift to the new Performing Arts Center from the Angels of the Arts.

Eggan views the South Coast collection as “a badge of the coming of age of Orange County” and an example of an entrepreneur’s “enlightened self-interest.” Other developers sometimes see art as an enhancement for their commercial and industrial projects, but it is still rare for them to seek high quality art out of personal interest or conviction.

One company that has joined hands with the fine-art establishment is IDM Corp. in Long Beach. Now in the final stages of a sculpture competition for its new 100 Broadway office building, the firm is working with the Public Corp. for the Arts. The nonprofit arts group set up the contest with a professional jury which will select the winning design from models built by finalists George Baker, Tony DeLap, Guy Dill, Lloyd Hamrol and Patrick Mohr.

“We thought the building deserved a nice piece of art,” said David Ball, IDM’s president of development. “Art appreciation is coming with the maturity of Long Beach.”

Instead of employing an art consultant or designating an executive to choose a sculpture for the firm, IDM decided to support a local art group in the process, according to Ball. He serves on the panel of judges, along with four art experts.

“I knew that good art is controversial,” Ball said, “and frankly, I wanted the backing of a panel. I’m an architect and I know that field very well, but I didn’t know any of the artists who are the finalists now. The people with the slickest press agents are not necessarily the best artists.”

Acknowledging inevitable conflicts among jurors, Ball asserted that the competition process was educational, even inspiring. “We saw good work,” he said. “You watch the artists’ slides and your hair stands on end.”

Ball also says he learned a lesson about the difficulty of finding a suitable artwork for a pre-designed space. “The way to do it is to start with an architect, a landscape architect and a sculptor and do it together,” he urged.

This concept of letting artists into the design process at the beginning--long a sore point with the art community--is being promoted by various Percent for Art programs around the country. Under these plans, developers are typically required to spend 1% of development costs for art.

In downtown Los Angeles, the Community Redevelopment Agency has a long tradition and a new policy of extracting 1% for art on projects under its jurisdiction. Nevelson’s work at Crocker Center, all the sculpture at Wells Fargo and Sturman’s new construction at the International Tower office building are among the results of this program.

This government guidance has given artists new opportunities and experiences, along with the rub of public opinion. “Without a doubt, it’s exposure,” Sturman said, recounting a litany of frustrations and exhilarating moments during his year-long project.

“Once your work is selected, you have a job and it has nothing to do with art. In a way, it’s a liberating experience, compared to the slippery aspects of the art world. You have deadlines. You have to deal with engineers, fabricators, inspectors and guys who count every bolt in the sculpture.”

You also have to work with people who have no experience with contemporary art and respond to the unfamiliar with ridicule or anger. But, over time, Sturman’s respect for the workmen’s skills was returned by their warming up to his artwork. “They began to see something about the Space Age, elements of Jules Verne or the geometric structure in my sculpture,” he noted.

As the adventurous metal work neared completion, one man approached the artist and declared, “Hey, man, this isn’t that weird.”

“You know, you’re right,” Sturman countered.