City of Olympia seeks input on city hall display

Proposal features thought, speaking bubbles

By Matt Batcheldor | The Olympian • Published April 02, 2009

Comments (0)

photos Photos

OLYMPIA – A $180,000 plan to adorn Olympia's new City Hall with 10 bronze sculptures meant to represent speaking bubbles like those used in comic strips has drawn heavy criticism.

Each of the "bubbles" would be 2 feet tall. They would hang on pillars outside of City Hall. A 40-inch thought bubble sculpture would be inside the building.

In about 50 comments to the city, residents have come out overwhelmingly against the plan, which is posted on the city's Web site.

"I hope this is a joke!" wrote Pam Barker. "You can't possibly be serious about wasting funds on this ridiculous ... I don't even know what to call it, but it certainly is in no way artistic."

Julie Triplett of Olympia wrote, "I would like to see something much more positive, vibrant and relevant to our community at our new City Hall."

Oliver Stormshak thought differently. "This is nice work," he wrote. "It's smart, funny and engaging."

The plan isn't final, and the city is taking public comment until Monday. The Olympia City Council will have the final say on the project.

Olympia is building a $35.6 million City Hall in the 600 block of Fourth Avenue East, the former site of a Safeway store. The building will house most city departments, now scattered in buildings around town. Construction is set to begin this year and completion is expected next year.

A jury of four artists � three at the end of judging � picked Seattle artist Dan Webb's design from 43 submitted for the building's art, said Stephanie Johnson, arts and events manager for the city.

"I'm hearing that people like the concept," she said. "They have concerns about the execution."

Webb said his City Hall art was meant to symbolize the voices of the people.

"The idea was really hatched because of the use of the building itself, which is kind of bringing together a lot of disparate voices hopefully into consensus," he said. "That's what our government is based on."

He said his concept was not aimed at detracting from the architecture of the building.

Next page >>