This letter sent via e-mail.... reprinted below.... misspellings intact...

Dear Mayor Newsom,

I am an artist. I want to make art, but not just any art. I want to make lasting art for our great city, for all San Franciscans to enjoy.

Unfortunately, as I look at our city's past interactions with artists, I find myself worried that making permanant works of public art is so frought with politics (both neighborhood and citywide) that it takes more work and money getting a piece of art approved than it takes to make the art in the first place.

My favorite example of the unfortunate idiocracy of this city when it comes to public art is the Embark sculpture proposed ten years ago.



A potentially beautiful piece, with the feeling of what I imagine the Colossus of Rhodes felt like, reminding us all of that last, final step that takes us all away from the city, with hope and faith for a return. It held a perfect meaning for both the current and the history of the embarcadero, truly what public art should embody.

But of course, it was shot down, as was a wonderful Richard Serra piece for the Palace of the Legion of Honor (Mr. Serra's recent retrospective in New York, I think, adds salt to the wound of the denial of this piece to our city.



And, of course, there was Mr. Labat's peace sign in 1999, which again embodied the historic spirit of the neighborhood along with a contemporary design, all shot down by nimby neighbors who'd probably raze the panhandle altogether for parking if they could.



So, this comes to my question. As a Mayor who is a great supporter of the arts, as I can see both by your record and by Mr. Nevius recent article in the Chronicle, what would you tell artists who want to create permanant art for public consumption in our city. Many artists, myself included, have taken the streets into our own hands, placing art and artefact wherever we damn well please, in order just to get people to see it. How do you feel about this and what would you suggest to these artists, frustrated by the beurocracy and hungry for civic attention? Is there something else we can do to take our city back from the nimby's without subjugating ourselves to the sort of heartbreaking disappointment that Buster Simpson must have felt, the miles and miles of red tape put forward to trip us up, or simply breaking the law to have our art seen?



I know you felt that Cupid's Span isn't your cup of tea, and I really appreciate your comments supporting things you don't like.



What about "graffiti" stencilers putting up provocative images on empty buildings or on sidewalks? What about modifications to advertisments in public spaces to display a different message? What about huge empty lots all over the city, staying empty for years, which could easily include large public sculpture, either on a temporary or permanant basis.

I believe there is a huge, untapped potential for creativity in this city... or potential that is tapped to be viewed elsewhere, like Burning Man, for instance. I also think there is a huge, untapped potential for beauty in this city, for both provocative and evocative images and messages, and plenty of space for them all. This could be a mecca for sculpture and paint and performance. We are just on the edge of being there, but in so many ways the city hinders us. Mr. Newsom, I'd like to know what you think we should do, as individual artists and as a city, to remove these hinderances and make this city even greater.

Thank you so much for your time,
-J. Tony Smith


This should be considered an effort to work within the "confines" of the establishment and not a call to revolt against them.