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Georgia Library Backs Away from Controversial SculptureThe Muscogee County (Ga.) Library Board voted July 28 to back out from its contract to purchase a $250,000 metal sculpture for the new Columbus Public Library, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported July 29. Board member Jimmy Elder proposed the withdrawal in response to community objections to the work’s $250,000 price and the choice of Albert Paley of Rochester, New York, rather than a local artist.Before the vote, Brinkley Pound, one of the two board members who opposed the motion, questioned the decision’s financial impact. “Who pays?” she asked. “I do not know,” responded board Chairman Tom Wade, who said later that attorneys will seek an honorable withdrawal that is respectful of the artist. At its June 14 meeting, the Columbus city council recommended that the library investigate using private funds instead of tax dollars for the sculpture. However, the library board voted July 18 to return the matter to the council, asking the body to release $250,000 in sales tax funds for the purchase. The following day the city council denied that request by a 9–1 vote. Paley told the newspaper that he had been asked three weeks previously to put the project on hold for two months, but added, “There are no negotiations going on. We’re still working on the sculpture.” Paley said that in his 40 years of making public art, “This is the first time anything like this has happened. I’ve never been late on a contract. I’ve never failed to perform. Politicians, the last thing they want is controversy. Good art creates controversy.” Posted August 5, 2005. |
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