The City of the (Public) Arts confronts an old question

There's art all over Winston-Salem -- in galleries, museums and living rooms. But some art lovers have long complained that the relatively small amount of art in the public square is neglected. And now they're urging city officials to better the situation.

"How can we organize and improve and enhance our use of public art as a way to improve the city?" asked Thorns Craven.

He's the chairman of a committee within the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County that's fighting an uphill battle -- to get the city to create a public-art commission and add a staff position to help with public-art issues. Supporters of the plan say the cost would not be great, and that The City of the Arts can't afford not to implement it.

Some pieces of public art are stuffed away in storage. And some of those that are displayed outdoors are unprotected and not maintained.

For example, city officials removed four sculptures, including one by the noted artist Charles Ginnever, from Winston Square Park last summer after one of them fell on a 6-year-old while she was playing on it. The arts council shared responsibility for that exhibit. The council and the city should have done a better job of protecting both the public and the art.

Since the accident in Winston Square Park, the city council has approved a policy that addresses issues of liability and maintenance regarding public art. But the city could be doing more to encourage public art -- even in a recession. "I suspect that Paris is not saying, ‘Let's take the lights off the Eiffel Tower,' " Craven said.

Paris we may not be, but we do have public art worth promoting. Other North Carolina cities are doing that. Such a program could work here, as long as firm rules are set to guard against censorship of art.

The commission of volunteers could take an inventory of public art. That art includes works owned by the city and that owned by others, placed where the public can freely enjoy it. It ranges from portraits hanging in City Hall to the murals on Trade Street.

The commission could also help artists deal with red tape as they seek to find a location for their art. "At this point, there's really no one you can go to," Craven said. "It becomes a bureaucratic squabble. There's no one in charge of dealing with any of that activity.… This is an element that has not gotten the attention from the public and the city administration that it should get."

The city council recently tabled the idea of a public-art commission after Councilman Robert Clark wondered whether the city really needs another commission. Perhaps the public-appearance commission could take on public art, he said last week, noting that he has no problem with the general concept. Clark, however, said the city can't afford a public-art staff position. The city has already tightened its belt considerably.

Milton Rhodes, the president of the Arts Council, suggested the salary for a part-time position could be paid through some combination of city money and donations. Maybe so -- if individuals and foundations paid the lion's share of the salary.

Another member of the group pushing for an arts commission, David Finn, an artist and professor at Wake Forest University, said the most important thing now is to get the art commission established -- with or without a city position to go with it.

The idea of creating a position is controversial enough. Some of those calling for the public-art commission are also proposing that developers be required to spend 1 percent of the construction costs of their commercial projects on public art. That would be unnecessarily burdensome, especially in tight times. But the city could make it a requirement in public projects.

The general idea of a public-art commission is a good one that the city council should explore. It doesn't have to cost much. And it could help preserve valuable art and enhance the city's overall quality of life.

(To find out more about the push for public art in Winston-Salem, go to winstonsalempublicart.blogspot.com.)

■ John Railey writes local editorials for the Journal. He can be reached at 727-7357 or at jrailey@wsjournal.com.