The People's Council - Laguna Beach, CA - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

A sculpture that is part of the Public Art in Public Places program in Laguna Beach resides in front of the local City Hall. This sculpture has a somewhat-controversial connection to the city. I was able to locate an article from the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot that highlights this sculpture's background and it reads:

The 'People's' Debacle

Linda Brunker's "The People's Council" sculpture was dedicated on July 6, nearly one year after the design was selected for installation in front of City Hall as part of an Art in Public Places competition — drawing more jeers than cheers for its unusual, Asian-fusion design.

The sculpture's detractors have been louder than its supporters, but the artwork has settled in and has been bedecked with leis and sunglasses, not to mention countless school children.

The competition's rivalry was fierce, as the city had offered its largest honorarium at the time — $80,000 — to the winner. (Since then, it has offered a larger honorarium to the winner of its current sculpture competition at the Village Entrance.)

Brunker's piece was chosen over local John Barber's "Star Thrower" after a long debate. Some Arts Commissioners who originally voted for Brunker's design said later that if they had been given a better sense of how the sculpture was to look, they may not have voted for it.

Late in the installation phase, Brunker was also required to address accessibility concerns. She paid for the changes, which included sidewalk grading and repaving, and the addition of more granite benches.

The complicated piece also required a last-minute repair of one of its bronze elements that had broken off, just in time for Hospitality Night.

The piece replaced "Synthetic Falls," installed in 1991, which had to be removed due to safety concerns.

You can also visit the Public Art in Public Places website to view this sculpture.

Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: The People's Council Figure Type: Human Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Linda Brunker Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: July 6, 2006 Materials used: granite, bronze, stone obelisk and concrete pavement Location: Laguna Beach City Hall

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/26/2018 bluesnote visited it