HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/21/2020 Item 15, Lopes (2)
Tonikian, Victoria
From:James Lopes <jameslopes@charter.net>
Sent:Tuesday, January
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Re: Item 15 - AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC ART POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL
City Council
City of San Luis Obispo
Dear Mayor Harmon and Council Members:
I was a little off there. My use of the old saying was meant to refer to rejecting, not honoring, someone who was racist in
a racist culture.
Thanks,
James Lopes
On 1/21/2020 12:50 PM, James Lopes wrote:
> City Council
> City of San Luis Obispo
>
> Dear Mayor Harmon and Council Members:
>
> Please continue to allow actual individuals to be commemorated rather
> than not allow any.
>
> Allow specific people to be honored by representational art, for their
> specified positive contributions to THIS community. The depiction
> would need to have a plaque or some message which notes the
> contribution(s). Their contributions should be well-known in
> historical records.
>
> The staff report unfortunately states that the change would prohibit
> the depiction of "individual and actual persons." You probably would
> agree that showing a person who is not identified is acceptable. In
> fact, staff list several statues of individuals, such as the Gandy
> Dancers. So, staff is confusing the issue, and some correction needs
> to made in the actual wording.
>
> What seems to trigger your concerns are that specific, actual persons
> may have lived imperfect lives. They may have been wonderful in some
> respects, but terrible in others. I think overall that if someone was
> not a criminal, that they may have erred in a culture which supported
> such aberration. Honoring someone who was a racist, when their
> culture was exceedingly racist, is to toss the baby out with the
> bathwater.
>
1
> Thank you,
>
> James Lopes
>
2