'Canoe Sign' One of the Most Contentious Issues in CV History, Council Says

March 23, 201 Addendum:

This story has been revised because some information in the earlier version was attributed to the wrong council member.

March 21, 2011

Town leaders — who voted on Monday night to explore the possibility of bringing a controversial $100,000 “canoe sign” out of storage — had public opinion on their minds, not necessarily their own sentiments.

Four of the seven Municipal Advisory Council members each called out the near-even split in recent survey results, with 56 percent against installing the sculpture anywhere at all and 43 percent in favor of finding a place for  it.

Majority is against but not a landslide

They said the majority opinion was not “overwhelming” or “a landslide.”

Much of the discussion centered on detailed feedback that Castro Valley residents wrote in an open-ended portion of a survey last November and December.

They asked a representative of the Alameda County Arts Commission what options the town council had, if any.

Cheryl Miraglia, who is the council's chairperson, pointed out that survey respondents who favor the sculpture agreed it should not be a gateway sign but tucked away at the library or Lake Chabot.

One of the "most contentious" issues in CV history

Council member John Ryzanych said the issue has been “one of the most contentious in Castro Valley history.”

The council stopped short of deciding whether to display the sculpture.

The only action being taken now is to consult the artist about whether she’d be receptive to moving the sculpture to a new location, since she has contractual rights to veto or OK the sculpture’s final landing place.

Sculpture doesn't accurately represent town's image

Sheila Cunha said the sculpture does not represent the town’s image, but she “would like to see it come out of storage.”

She said resident comments from the survey were forwarded to the artist —a different one, not the one who created the “canoe sign” — designing the art for the Streetscape project now under way on Castro Valley Boulevard.

Whimsical art deserves public viewing

Council member Dean Nielsen was among the first to venture his opinion near the start of the meeting. He spoke of  the community's passion and provoked chuckles when he added, "I'm passionate about leaving it in storage."

What would Picasso do?

The council considered asking the artist if she could make changes to the sculpture, but that idea was dropped.

During that part of the discussion, John Linden, the Castro Valley resident who asked the council to revisit the issue last fall, offered an opinion based on conversations he’s had with the artist in the past.

She might not take well to the suggestion that the sculpture be revised, he said. “It’s like asking Picasso if you could resize part of his picture and remove a panel.”