Let Public Art Bloom

The issue of public art brings out the shrill and the angry who voice irritation that new art doesn’t resemble old art or that one particular piece does not fit their own personal expectations.

For vast numbers of people who may not understand contemporary issues in art, we are blessed in San Diego with many galleries, museums, bookstores, libraries and classes designed exactly to alleviate the reactionary response that so many seem so proud to display. The art institutions in town exist to educate, to inform and to illuminate the very issues most necessary to speak intelligently on the subject. I respectfully suggest that port commissioners, as well as the general public, visit these wonderful facilities for entertainment as well as for information.

The selection of art by public referendum would certainly lead to lowest common denominator art that would resemble the choices made by the public all around us, in architecture of strip shopping centers, faceless downtown steel and glass copies of other cities’ worst examples, grinning billboards on the freeways and a thousand other examples of visual pollution that the broad public seems willing to accept without comment. We trust our health, our car’s care and the education of our children to professionals--let us trust our art professionals, also.

They have dedicated their professional lives to this precarious pursuit and are well prepared to deal with these questions. It will be impossible to attract others to this task if we continually insult their intelligence and doubt their sincerity.

Our real problem is that we have so few pieces of public art in this city. If we had 100 public art installations, in 100 locations, we could each find the ones we enjoy best. There is clearly no way for us all to agree on one singular piece. Let us inspire and educate this community from end to end. Let 100 such works flourish and 100 artists make a statement here.

The only way to make that happen is to begin now with the first. Let us become accustomed to trusting art, artists and art professionals. It is not required or expected that everyone will like every piece. You don’t expect to like every book in the library. If a piece offends your sensibilities, either look away or change your sensibilities. Trust in our pluralism.

In other places and times we have seen a city adopt and learn to love a piece of art that originally confused it. The Eiffel Tower has been mentioned, as has the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, and even our own Horton Plaza (which has become our largest civic playground). The Vito Acconci and Robert Salas pieces will certainly be similar examples. Start with these and begin the process. Let 100 public art projects bloom.

ARTHUR OLLMAN

Executive Director

Museum of Photographic Arts

San Diego