Tuesday night, the City Council will be asked to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement with Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle for the fabrication of the artwork to be installed in Palisades Garden Walk in an amount not to exceed $440,200.

If the Council okays it, according to the staff report, Manglano-Ovalle will “create an iconic sculpture comprised of 49 telescoping stainless steel poles each affixed at the top with anemometers and wind vanes, staggered in height in increments of one foot. Viewable from many vantage points in the park, the elegant, grid-like form and quiet kinetic aspect of “Weather Field” (as the piece is tentatively titled) complements the innovative design of the park by James Corner Field Operations both physically and conceptually by highlighting the topography of the park and acknowledging the local environment.

“Manglano-Ovalle was selected last year through a competitive process and his designs have been reviewed and approved by the Santa Monica Arts Commission and its Public Art Committee.

“In September 2010, the Public Art Committee…unanimously approved use of an invitational selection process for the Park, per the City’s adopted procedures for artist selection. The selection panel, assembled by the Cultural Affairs Division and consisting of five prominent arts administrators and curators, was asked to develop a pool of 20 qualified artists to invite to submit a Statement of Interest. The City received submissions from fourteen internationally-renowned artists and the selection panel short-listed five to interview. Based on the original submissions and the interview, the panel recommended Mr. Manglano-Ovalle to the Public Art Committee of the Arts Commission as the best artist for the project.

“Based in Chicago, Mr. Manglano-Ovalle has a varied and complex practice that encompasses sculpture, video and other disciplines. (He) often collaborates with scientists on projects that make objects in the natural world that are difficult to touch, such as DNA molecules or clouds, tangible. It was this aspect of his work, as well as his track record, that favorably impressed the selection panel, which felt that he would create a significant work of art for the park, one that addresses the uniqueness and prominence of the site and embraces the culture and values of the community. Mr. Manglano-Ovalle’s work gained international recognition at events, such as Documenta XII and Art 38 Basel, and is held in a number of collections, such as the Peter Norton Collection and the Guggenheim and Whitney Museums. In addition, he has received a number of awards, including fellowships from both the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In December 2011, he was awarded the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship.

“Viewable from many vantage points in the park, the elegant, grid-like form and quiet kinetic aspect of “Weather Field” (as the piece is tentatively titled) complements the innovative design of the park by James Corner Field Operations both physically and conceptually by highlighting the topography of the park and acknowledging the local environment…”

“…Once the work has been approved by the City, the work would become part of the City’s collection and the City would be responsible for its long term maintenance. Every effort has been made as part of the design review process to minimize anticipated maintenance primarily to periodic pressure washing.”

The Public Art Committee approved the selection panel’s recommendation of Mr. Manglano-Ovalle, and, subsequently approved the conceptual design. The final design was approved by the Arts Commission and its Public Art Committee at a joint meeting in December.

The funding will come from the City’s Percent for Art program. Annual maintenance of the work, in an amount not to exceed $2,000, will be paid for by the City.

Just about everything is wrong with this story. First, the City boasts that 46 percent of Santa Monica residents are working artists — in all media. Why, then, do our “adopted procedures for artist selection” include bringing in alleged experts to make our major aesthetic decisions, as described here? Said experts may actually know a great deal about art and artists, but nothing about Santa Monica, much less the site. Not coincidentally, I reckon, the landscape architect who’s designing the park, James Corner, was chosen in the same way.

Was Michael McMillen, an acclaimed California artist who makes dazzling,
hauntingly beautiful installations, considered by the “experts?” Probably not.

But all that pales when compared to the $444,200 “artwork.” It is what it is
– a crowd of aluminum poles with small devices on them. They do not
“embrace the culture and values of the community,” or “acknowledge the local environment,” they acknowledge the weather. Noisily. Nor do they “highlight” the park’s topography, they merely repeat it.

To what end? They are neither beautiful nor useful. They neither inform nor
enlighten, much less delight. And I will bet the Public Art Committee $5
that some of the anemometers will break within a month of their installation, or be broken — as the work begs to be vandalized.

The Percent for Art program is altogether laudable, but the selection process is fatally flawed, and in urgent need of revision.