Ann Arbor City Council should continue to support public art

"This hasty decision left the task force open to second-guessing from people who think the process should have been more open and given preference to local artists".

The process was arrogant, hasty, done in the beginning in secret until it was 'too late to stop' and the project management has been handle by people with no experience in the process. It's already over budget, at one point even the good German artist couldn't be found (too busy on real projects?) to answer questions or provide a detailed budget. This is going to end up costing of a million, the AAPAC appears to have learned nothing from the public outcry and AnnArbor.com is wrong with this editorial because it rewards mismanagement.

And if I hear the words Seattle, Austin, Portland, Boulder Santa Fe, or how this will help Ann Arbor overcome its fear of being a hick Midwestern town unless it can be like other 'hip' cities or bus loads of tourists are going to show up to view this ugly, trendy and overpriced piece of ego massage, I'm going to throw up.

I think most would agree that funding public art projects should be a priority for a city that prides itself on celebrating the environment, cultural diversity (that the city embodies), and the sense of community involvement.

However, I can think of a handful of other worthy initiatives that have been floated recently by equally great citizen groups. What about the proposed Skate park at Veterans Park? How about the proposed demolishing of Argo Dam and the establishment of an entirely new park? Clearly all of these proposals have merit as well, don’t they?

In fact, I would say that the two examples above would enhance Ann Arbor’s reputation far more (and contribute to possible revenue growth) then a fancy fountain?

Public art is a luxury we just can’t afford yet.

I'd recommend obtaining a copy if Stone's "Agony and the Ecstasy," it's a real eye opener as to what really can occur when the government becomes involved in funding the arts. In the cases of DaVinci, Buonarroti, Sanzio da Urbino, and countless others, artists were forced into projects that did not wish to do, and were often blackmailed and cheated out of payment by those in charge. Art suffered, and so did the artists. Great art was produced, but one can only imagine how much greater would have been the result had the artists been allowed to follow their own inspirations. Leave art alone. Let the private sector fund it.

The selection of Dreuselti is an insult to the artistic capital and intellect that is home to this region. There are many exceptional artists in the area and in the US that would provide a better product than the Dreiseiti plan. It is imperative that the council reject the plan and insitute a new open procurement for the project. And, the competition should be limited to US artists and more preferably to Michigan artists. The public arts commission is clearly not to be trusted. It has decieved the residents one to many times. Perhaps they should be rmeoved form their positions and a new commission installed.

Bridges are near collapse. Roads are crumbling. There will be less snow removal. Police and Fire Budgets are to be cut. The school budgets are to be cut. ---Fine, we are in a recession---these things may need to happen. BUT, we should shuffle the money to maintain the basics and cut or eliminate the "nice-to-have" items until we recover. This is clearly a nice-to-have item. And I cannot support this type of spending with the rest of the city and country crumbling around us. (It's like a homewner, who cannot afford to pay the mortgage and heat, who decides to go out and buy that flat-panel TV.---got to have priorities.)

A mistake to back away at this stage? What a harebrained rationale. So if you are on the wrong road do you just keep driving because it's too late to turn around? Yeesh. I"m guessing some serious arm twisting occurred to get this ridiculous editorial in print.

Ditto to John Galt
Local financial concerns abound, yet spending the better part of 1M on art that will be frozen for half the year defies logic and commen sense. The attitude that the money is theirs to spend is insulting. We literally have a bridge falling apart with inadequate funds to repair/replace it, yet art gets the priority.

Note to city council members: keep spending in this manner, and you won't be on city council much longer.

I'm with John Galt. Now is the time to tighten the belt and do away with excessive tributes to the vanity of our city. I have to do it at home, our schools and public works have to do it, the council needs to get on board.

This reminds me of something I overheard a few weeks ago - "People in Ann Arbor seem to think they live in a smaller version of New York City when in reality, they just live in a big Dexter"
Time to step into reality folks.

Please include how many additional tourists this piece of art will attract. How many additional dollars will be infused into the local community as a result of this piece? How many people from the Art Fair will venture from the main path to visit this piece of art?

No fair annarbor.com. Supporting something on suppositions.

Suppose this will enhance Ann Arbor's reputation within the art world.

Suppose this is too late to stop.

Suppose that it is too important for the funds to go elsewhere.

Suppose that $77K is too much to lose when considering an entire budget of over $800K.

Keep up the suppositions. Sounds like a lot of hot air to me.

AnnArbor.com is providing political cover to the Council members who have to vote on this (assuming the hapless AAPAC have their budget and project plan written on the back of a napkin with them at their presentation at Monday's meeting). Each and every one of them who continues to support this fiasco should be recalled.