Tuesday, Dec. 06, 2011

New home for art piece with colorful past?

Tower deserves more prominent location, councilwoman says

One of the city’s earliest – and most infamous – forays into public art may soon return to the spotlight.

For nearly two decades, the Light + Time Tower has greeted drivers from its perch in a grassy median on Capital Boulevard, about a mile north of downtown.

But the tower ought to be moved to a more visible location where it can be appreciated, says City Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin, who asked Raleigh officials to convene talks on the possibility of a move.

“It’s a waste of a public art piece that deserves more prominence,” Baldwin said.

More prominence, as in a spot not obscured by trees and overgrown bushes along a busy highway. That’s the current landscape surrounding the 40-foot tower, which stands somewhat forlornly across from a car rental shop.

A long backstory

Few in the arts community can forget the criticism that roiled the city in 1995 when the tower went up just north of the Wade Avenue exit. Created by the late sculptor Dale Eldred and his widow Roberta Lord, the piece marked the inaugural public art project of the Raleigh Arts Commission.

For all its quirkiness – the tower was designed with refractive glass to reflect the brilliant colors of the sun – the piece is perhaps most notable for its role in then-Mayor Tom Fetzer’s successful re-election.

Fetzer railed against the $51,100 price tag, saying it was wrong to make Raleigh taxpayers pay for such a frivolous undertaking.

Fetzer voted against the project and ridiculed the tower when it was installed. The public outcry caused such a stir that Raleigh leaders temporarily put the city’s art program on hold.

Sixteen years later, the controversy remains a touchy subject at City Hall.

“That’s an area that has a lot of history to it,” then-Mayor Charles Meeker said recently, drawing tell-me-about-it chuckles from some City Council colleagues.

Some advocates say the tower would look great atop Dix Hill, where the city hopes to create a signature urban park on the state-owned Dorothea Dix Hospital property.

A new home makes sense, said Brian Starkey, a landscape architect and member of the city’s public art and design board. Arts boards have discussed the idea, he said, but members have always been wary of asking the city to pay several thousand dollars to move the structure.

“There’s not enough opportunity at 45 mph to really appreciate that piece of work,” said Starkey, who emphasized that he was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of any group.

An appraisal in 2005 pegged the value of the Light + Time Tower at $250,000, according to figures supplied by the Raleigh Arts Commission. Eldred, the sculptor, died in a fall at his studio not long after winning the commission in 1993. He was 59.

The piece was completed by his widow and installed by a group of his assistants.

New day for public art?

The course of discussions could serve as a test of whether attitudes have shifted toward public art in Raleigh.

There have been other conflicts, most recently in 2006 when the city dropped plans for a plaza of lights and falling water on the newly redesigned Fayetteville Street. Council members thought the proposal was impractical and would block the view of the historic streetscape.

A more successful outcome occurred with the Shimmer Wall on the side of the Raleigh Convention Center. Cree Inc., a manufacturer of semiconductors for LED lights, donated $1 million to build the wall.

The tower may soon get its day in the sun (literally) without having to be moved, said Councilman Thomas Crowder.

The city plans to remake Capital Boulevard as an urban gateway, possibly with trees, sidewalks, public spaces and a greenway for walkers and cyclists to enter downtown.

With more attractive surroundings, the tower may finally take on added prestige.

“Hopefully, it will have new life if we ever do something on that corridor,” Crowder said.