HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/21/2020 Item 15, Pillsbury
Purrington, Teresa
From:douglasesl123@gmail.com
Sent:Monday, January 20, 2020 11:24 AM
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Re ordinance on public art
To SLO City Council and Mayor Harmon:
I want to encourage you to not pass a restrictive ordinance banning representing real people in public art.
Some people deserve to be honored and to be a visual reminder to the rest of us of their invaluable contributions to our
community and society. Think of Sinsheimer, Ah Louis, and Dan Keenan (referencing John Ashbaugh’s article in The
Tribune today).
Let’s allow a democratic process for deciding what public art goes up on a case by case basis.
Conceptual and abstract art can be just as controversial as any other art. Remember the history of the statue of a
woman representing breast cancer survivors which I believe Arroyo Grande refused to have in their city? They refused it
but we chose to accept it and it has been standing proudly on Higuera Street for years now. My point is, you don’t avoid
controversy just because a piece of art is conceptual.
In fact, why not completely embrace the struggles of deciding controversial art, whether conceptual or depicting real
people? Might there be educational benefit to the community to ponder who gets honored and who doesn’t?
I believe it can strengthen who we are as a community to keep public art as diverse and inclusive of all representations
as possible.
Thank you for considering my point of view.
Douglas Pillsbury
Sent from my iPad
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