Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Library sculpture

[Jonathan King <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Thu, 5 Sep 2002, Michael wrote:

> Hookers and Coke at least would have some use. A sculpture doesn't do much
> of anything.

Phillistine. :-)

> Not that I have anything against sculpture but did they really
> need to spend that much on it? I'd much rather see an artist
> donate the work or at least be paid something reasonable.

OK, so let's work this out, shall we?  Albert Paley is, as living
sculptors go, pretty famous.  Many people do and have appreciated
his work.  He's not the kind of artist who hangs around cafes all
day desperately waiting for the commission that will make his
reputation.  His time is actually worth something, so if you want
the guy to design and execute *2* fairly enormous sculptures, it
will not be especially cheap.  (Heck, the work can be fairly
dangerous; the reason he won't be at the library dedication is that
he just got out of the hospital after being treated for extensive
2nd and 3rd degree burns he got when his welding torch slipped.) My
rough guess is that this work probably required about 1000 hours of
his time (including designs, prototypes, back and forth stuff with
the architects and the library board, etc.), and probably 1000 hours
of various lackeys and assistants.  And rent on a place big enough
to hold stuff like this.  Having said that, $240K is arguably still
a pretty high price, although how high I wouldn't really know since 
I don't know how much the alternatives would have been.

> I don't blame the library for spending a donation for what it
> was donated for but it annoys me that someone would donate that
> much money for something so useless.

I'd guess they donated the money because the possibility that great 
public art would soon be seen in Columbia excited them, and that 
they thought it would bring them and others pleasure.  Not every 
piece of art is a masterpiece, of course; there is some risk.  It 
may turn out that nobody will think very much of these sculptures 
now or even in the future.  That would be sad, but I can't say that 
I'm annoyed that somebody tried to do *something*.

> A quarter of a million dollars could buy a lot of books, feed a
> lot of people, etc. At my current rate of income that's about as
> much money as I'll make in 50 years. :P

So, Michael: are you handy with steel-working tools?  Word on the
street is that public sculpture is the fast ticket to a more
comfortable life. :-)

jking


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