By Bill Parry
A city agency’s plan to install an expensive sculpture in Long Island City has angered members of the neighborhood’s art scene and Community Board 2.
Now City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), the chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee, is drafting new legislation that would change the way the agency’s Percent for Art initiative works and increase the public’s involvement with future projects.
The law requires that 1 percent of the budget for eligible city-funded construction projects be spent on public artwork.
“We are going to take a good comprehensive look at the Percent for Art law because it’s over 30 years old,” Van Bramer said. “What people thought was appropriate in 1983 doesn’t necessarily work today. The community needs to be brought in earlier in the process.”
In November, the Department of Cultural Affairs presented its plan to CB2’s Land Use committee to erect a bright pink, 8 1/2 foot sculpture of a human form on a median in the middle of Jackson Avenue near 43rd Avenue.
Critics howled that they had no say in bringing “The Sunbather” to Jackson Avenue and urged Sara Reisman, the director of Percent for Art, to return and present the artwork to the full community board.
On Dec. 4, Reisman and the artist Ohad Meromi, made their presentation and then they were bombarded by questions and statements of discord. Many claimed the cost of $ 515,000 for the artwork is too high, while others complained that an artist from Long Island City should have received the contract, but mostly CB2 members were angry that they did not have more of a voice in the process.
“We took suggestions from the councilman’s office and the community board was invited to multiple meetings — we did open the door to them,” Reisman said. “I do think there are ways for the community to be more involved and if there’s a better way to be involved, then that’s a good thing. However, to expect every project to be community-based would be complicated.”
As far as the cost, Reisman said it is part of an overall streetscape improvement that encompasses the artist commission, materials, permits, fees and insurance. She added that nearly half of the 40 artists who were considered for the project were from Long Island City but that they selected Meromi, who is from Brooklyn.
“I have my studio in Bushwick, but I’d love to be in Long Island City,” he said. “Only I can’t afford the rents.”
From the sound of laughter it seemed that many in the CB2 audience were disarmed by the line but the resentment lingered on.
Late last week a protest sculpture appeared on Jackson Avenue and 43rd Avenue. The heavy plywood piece is covered in Day-Glo paintand bares a communique that reads: “This is not against the artist. It is against the misuse of our tax dollars. It cost $ 350 to make this sculpture, which were are donating to LIC, and there are many local artists that would do the same so this money could be spent on something constructive like education.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.
