It was meant to mark a blooming new era in Coral Gables, but the first public artwork commissioned by the city in nearly a century instead has become a hot-button issue for residents and officials alike.
Selected from a field of close to 200 entrants, two metal passionflower sculptures were unanimously approved in 2014 by a panel of local art experts as part of the Coral Gables Art in Public Places program. The sculptures, which were installed on traffic circle blocks on Segovia Street in July 2016, will cost $1 million over 20 years, as paid for by Neighborhood Renaissance, a $27 million bond program that funds various projects throughout the city.
But some residents have objected to the sculptures, complaining they are out of character with the area. A petition to relocate them began circulating not long after the structures were built. It received just 1,500 signatures — approximately 4,500 short of the 20 percent of registered voters required by city charter. The Coral Gables City Commission voted 4-1 against it.
End of story, right? Not quite.
In late January Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick, who alone voted in support of the petition, motioned to place a referendum on the ballot to move the sculptures despite the lack of sufficient signatures. Again, no other commissioner supported the motion.
While she may indeed dislike the artwork, some believe Slesnick’s persistence regarding the sculptures may be strategic. This April, she is running for mayor and adding 1,500 votes to the 2,500 she received in her 2015 bid for city commissioner would place her neatly in striking distance of the 4,500 votes current mayor Jim Cason received that same year.
Whether it is political positioning or not, however, is ultimately beside the point. The sculptures, which were conceived specifically for the area (and designed to withstand 175 mph winds), have already been purchased and permanently installed. And a written agreement with the sculptor, Alice Aycock, prevents their relocation without her consent — relocation that would needlessly cost the city thousands of dollars that could be spent on more productive endeavors.
Right now, the passionflower sculptures may seem incongruous with their surroundings, but that perception no doubt will fade over time.
Other pieces of art that similarly met with initial resistance when they were installed later became integral to their areas.
Think of “The Sunbather,” the giant sculpture of a nude woman in Dante Fascell Park, or more recently, the vibrant murals that enliven the exteriors of hundreds of buildings in Downtown Miami, Wynwood and Miami’s Design District.
When he conceptualized Coral Gables, George E. Merrick referenced a garden city — certainly a setting in which depictions of blooming blossoms would be welcome. Though Merrick originally conceptualized the city as a Mediterranean village, he eventually integrated a plethora of other styles into the city’s design — Colonial, Chinese, Dutch, French City, French Country, French Normandy, Italian and South African.
There is more than enough room amid that living diversity of styles for a pair of flower sculptures.
