Laguna Approves Junk Sculpture
LAGUNA BEACH — A pile of junk was accepted as a work of art Tuesday when the Laguna Beach City Council voted to allow an artist to install two old house trailers and 30 discarded water heaters.
The junk sculpture will be erected in the Cliff Drive back yard of Arnold and Marie Forde. Although the home sits on a seaside cliff, the sculpture will not be visible from the ocean.
However, Betty Ann and David DeLo objected to the proposed sculpture, calling it “garish” and claiming it created “disharmony with its environs.”
DeLo also told the council the sculpture would block his ocean view.
But the artist, Nancy Rubins of the Los Angeles area, urged the council to “protect the freedom of artistic expression.”
Mayor Neil G. Fitzpatrick was the only one of four council members to vote against the sculpture.
“I recognize the fact this is a very minor view blockage,” the mayor said. “But in this case, I think that it’s not really a necessity for the property owner.”
The city’s design review board had recommended approval on the condition that landscaping be installed to offset complaints from the neighbors.
![Los Angeles, CA - May 19: Carlos Vargas, left, and Paulina Rubio, members of the harm reduction team from Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care Systems [HOPICS], a leading homeless services and housing agency, look for drug addicts to help and pass out supplies at a homeless RV encampment along 77th St. in South Los Angeles Friday, May 19, 2023. The team hands out syringes, fentanyl test strips, overdose reversal nose spray and medication to prevent overdoses, infection and disease transmission, including the HIV virus. Fenanyl is particularly insidious because it can be found in all other drugs, especially meth and heroin. The handouts are also meant to reduce infection through broken pipes, which can cut users mouths and open them to infection. . (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bc99ba0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3900x2608+0+34/resize/1024x685!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe9%2F77%2F4b8bd35d4881a3edec6b945b143b%2F1298639-me-soaring-fentanyl-deaths-24-1-ajs.jpg)
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