Argus-Courier Editorial: Public art vision becomes reality

Most everyone agrees that public art is a good thing. For decades, hundreds of cities nationwide have supported such programs and benefited from doing so with increased tourism revenue and cultural awareness. Public art helps to make a city more aesthetically pleasing and welcoming, and can contribute to a city’s identity by reflecting its history and cultural heritage.

In 2005, Petaluma adopted that vision by approving a public art ordinance that requires all new commercial construction to include public art worth at least 1 percent of the construction cost. Alternately, developers can pay a 1 percent “in lieu” fee to be used for purchase, installation and maintenance of art in public places.

Ten years later, that vision is rapidly becoming a reality. A volunteer committee, comprised of both artists and non-artists, has been overseeing the law’s implementation, helping private developers select art for their projects and recommending the purchase of art by the city with the in lieu money.

Although the Great Recession of the last decade slowed the program’s implementation by putting a halt to nearly all new development - and consequently, public art projects - for several years, there has been a resurgence in the number of art projects coming to fruition.

What its distinctive raspberry pink and summer sky blue colors, the 20-foot-tall “Cherry Soda” sculpture outside the Boulevard Theater in downtown Petaluma was the first art sculpture to be purchased with funds from the public art fund three years ago. Created by Penngrove artist Robert Ellison, the piece depicts a stylized ice cream soda, with cherry soda “foam” and a straw at the top, inside a “soda glass.”

Even before that purchase, public art projects in Petaluma were starting to take off, most of which were installed before the ordinance went into effect, and with private funding. One of the city’s most popular pieces of public art is a colorful fountain in Theater Square constructed of sculptured portraits of children’s faces.

Today, with increased revenues due to the construction of the Target shopping center, there is more than $300,000 in the city’s public art fund, and Petaluma’s public art committee is preparing to accept proposals for a new piece of artwork to be installed on Water Street. Committee chair Alison Marks said she hopes the artists’ proposals will pay homage to the history of the site, the sense of place and time and the generations that have lived and worked alongside the Petaluma River. The proposed budget for the project is $120,000 to $150,000, which includes the design, construction and installation of the artwork.

Meanwhile, Merlone Geier, developer of the new Deer Creek Village shopping center on McDowell Boulevard, has allocated a half million dollars for public art on its property. The developer chose to fund its own public art projects, with the first one appearing in August near the Togo’s sandwich shop: the tail of a diving whale made of recycled metal by Sacramento artist Terrance Martin. It’s the first of several art installations that Merlone Geier is planning to install that will include sculptural benches and bridge railings, illuminated pedestals for local art works and more.

We applaud the city for its successful implementation of the program, and look forward to seeing more public artwork popping up throughout the community in the months and years to come.