City Council Debates Location Issues for New Sculptures

A presentation before the City Council this week introduced a plan for a set of three bronze sculptures to be placed at Bart DeWitt Park and implemented over the next couple of years.

Carl White, Parks and Recreation Director for the City, introduced the key points for the proposal of the sculptures. He showed the exact location of where the statues would be placed along the north Concho River, behind the old Western Mattress building. The sculptures would also look out towards Celebration Bridge.

However, one council member felt the location might stir controversy because of the religious connotations associated with the sculptures.

Overall, the point of the presentation was to receive conceptual approval for the sculptures, as there is no final design for them at this time.

Thus, White spoke of the maintenance that would go into the project, which includes maintaining the landscape plants through irrigation.

“There would be a stone border around the area, and plants would be put on drip irrigation," White said. “There will be different areas [of] seating for those who want to gather and contemplate.”   

The “Lady in Blue” sculpture included a conceptual design in the presentation to show those in attendance what might be considered for a final design. It would be built with a wooden pasture setting and include a digital kiosk at the sculpture with touch screen capabilities. This would tell the story of the “Lady in Blue” while viewing the sculpture.

Regarding the funding for the sculptures, an anonymous donor presented the committee with $500,000 dollars towards the project.

White showed the donation as part of the estimated budget for the project that includes a maintenance endowment of $45,000.

“Essentially, their not asking to lease the property. This would be a physical and permanent improvement to the park," White said. “It would become the City's property.”  

The Public Art Commission did recommend approval for the project, and the council moved forward with the discussion for conceptual approval.  

Also, Tilly Chandler came forward at the meeting to give her perspective of the project given that she is leading the Historic Beginnings of San Angelo's committee.

“Our fabulous history can go back thousands of years, “Chandler said.

Mayor Morrison declared he did not have a problem with the concept of placing the sculptures in the community, but did see problems arising if most consider the sculptures to have religious meaning while being placed on public land.

The “Lady in Blue” sculpture does give the appearance of a Catholic nun, an apparition the Jumano Indian tribe saw at the confluence of the Conch River in the early 1600s. The Jumano Indians said she preached to them Christianity in their own language.

Although this is the appearance of the sculpture, the committee has made continuous efforts to show the project has no connection to endorsing a religion of any kind.   

“I do not have one problem with the concept. I only have a problem with the location,” Morrison said. “I am afraid of this. I want to go on record in saying that I am not going to support this because of the location, and I think we are opening ourselves up to some serious things.”

Morrison did make it clear that the proposal was going to get enough votes to proceed with conceptual approval, but he still spoke of his concerns with having to accept any group’s proposal for a historic, or religious art piece on the public land in the future.    

“If anybody else wants to step forward, and suggests putting up a monument that can document history for the last 1,000 years, then that’s what San Angelo is about,” Chandler said.

The council did pass the conceptual approval with a 6-1 vote.

“Any time public property is being asked for, whatever the purpose, it calls for discussion between the public and the city,” White said.  

He mentioned that the next update on the project will happen after months of further planning, which includes finalizing a design and selecting an artist to make the sculptures.