Artist Refuses to Change Carlsbad Beach Sculpture

Visibly shaken, beleaguered New York artist Andrea Blum met her critics Thursday and firmly refused their demands to remove the controversial 8-foot-high fence from her Split Pavilion sculpture at the beach in Carlsbad.

However, Blum, whose work has ignited a community furor, told a special peacemaking committee and 100 audience members she would change the landscaping and consider pulling out a smaller side section of the offending fence.

But she wouldn’t yield on the most unpopular part of the sculpture, the high galvanized fence running along Carlsbad Boulevard, saying “The whole piece is designed as a puzzle, and, if one thing is taken out, then the whole thing goes away.”

The 42-year-old, internationally renowned artist told the gathering she is unhappy that, after five years of laboring on the Split Pavilion, the work has provoked such a hostile reaction. Petitions with more than 7,000 signatures call for the “bars” to be removed.

“I’m sure you realize I’m a little stressed out about this, and I feel badly that I worked five years on something many people here are disgruntled over,” Blum said.

“By no intention did I mean to antagonize anyone here,” she said, explaining that she designed the sculpture based on public requests that it allow access to the beach, have places to sit, and be inviting day or night.

At one point, she said: “I don’t feel I have to defend what I do because I believe in what I do.”

Having seen the finished sculpture for the first time the day before, Blum said she flew from New York to discuss art, not politics, and conceded that the ice-plant landscaping could be changed to “‘soften” the angular starkness of the park.

After that change is made, Blum said she would consider removing a section of fence running east to west between the park and an adjacent restaurant on the park’s northern boundary.

“I would like to develop the landscape theme. . . . I realize there’s a restaurant there, and I realize that the way it looks now is terrible,” she said, evoking a sigh of relief from the residents who filled the City Council chamber.

“With a more fecund landscape theme, a lot of the hardness of the project, which seems to be the major concern, will get softened,” she said.

It was a sometimes tense but orderly meeting with the special committee named to address the dispute over Split Pavilion. Citizens who angrily spoke out at other community forums weren’t permitted to comment at Thursday’s meeting.

The special committee includes City Councilman Eric Larson, Councilwoman Margaret Stanton, city art commissioners Laurie Batter and Gary Wrench, and community representative Dave Sammons.

Sammons pressed Blum on how far she would go on further changes, since she had approved previous alterations to the sculpture when questions arose over safety and engineering.

“What I have a problem with is differentiating between primary and secondary changes, and so do the people of Carlsbad,” Sammons said.

“What were the provisions in your contract with the city that allowed for these changes?” Sammons asked Blum. “Were they practical changes, or safety changes? As the years went by, were you able to make adjustments as to how you saw the piece changing?”

Blum responded that few changes were made between the park’s conceptual model and the finished product, other than variations in the type of finish applied to the concrete and a one-foot drop in the height of the galvanized fence.

Larson asked Blum if there were any other changes she could live with.

“Do you mean do I want to take the whole piece down?” Blum replied, followed by audience applause.

Looking for Blum to soften her stance on the galvanized fence, Batter asked if painting the bars would be an acceptable way to reduce their stark appearance. Blum said paint would only make the fence more prominent, and could not withstand the relentless ocean elements.

“Besides, it would look tacky,” Blum said. “The artistically acceptable changes are to change the landscaping, and once the landscaping is changed, to look at the north end rails, which I strongly consider removing.”

When Larson asked her bluntly if she would consider wholly redesigning her project, Blum said no, and cited continued personal harassment by phone and mail at her New York home from anonymous park critics.

“I really have been mistreated as a person, which is different in some ways from the art aspect. I would not redesign something I already designed,” she said.

Larson apologized on the city’s behalf, saying it was unfortunate Blum’s home phone number was circulated, “when the reality is we hired you to do a job and the work was done. If there is a problem with the acceptance of the work in the community, that’s something we have to deal with, and we will, but we’re not too sure what the solution is.’

After the meeting, Blum was escorted from the room by several city officials, not commenting further except to say her artwork had never received such outcry before. Asked why she decided to face her critics, the flushed artist replied, “Because I’m a nice person.”

The committee will present Blum’s comments to the Carlsbad Arts Commission on May 7, when public comment will be allowed.

City Atty. Ron Ball declined to comment on what, if any, legal action the city can take to challenge the state Art Preservation Act or the federal Visual Rights Act of 1990, which protect certain artworks in the public domain.

“We are analyzing both the state and federal statutes, but I cannot comment further while discussions are being held,” Ball said.

Jim Watson, who is spearheading opposition to the park, said after the committee meeting, “it’s a start, but it’s still the citizens of Carlsbad that own the property. If the citizens want a 30-foot brick wall that you can’t see through at all, then I’d support that. But it’s up to the citizens, not the mayor or the arts department or an artist.”