New City Statue in the Circle Sparks Controversy
After more than two years of dispute over a
statue, created by Robert Graham, bought by Roy Doumani, and donated to the
city, it has been planted in the Venice traffic circle.
It was a deal brokered by former L.A. City
Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski, and rushed through city agencies for approval
before most Venetians knew what was going on, that brought this
“donation” to our central
plaza.
The city appropriated $75,000
for construction of a base and installation of the
piece.
Opposition to the statue has
centered on the lack of local input, let alone, decision making, and the subject
of the sculpture: a headless, armless, and legless
woman.
In the May 2005 Beachhead, Carol
Fondiller asked sarcasticly, “what's a memorial to Elizabeth Short, the
Black Dahlia, got to do with
Venice?
Photos, below, are from June
22, the first of what promises to be many encounters between the community and
Robert Graham and his
supporters.
Venetians invited the torso
to join the weekly peace and justice vigil. Shiny peace signs were carefully,
and temporarily, affixed to private parts of the black torso. One person brought
an artistic, but much cheaper, torso to keep the black one company.
Posted: Sun - July 1, 2007 at 01:28 PM