Don't you just love the way government spends your money?
CHAPEL HILL – Next week a Washington, D.C., artist will put the finishing touches on a $420,000 stone wall and 40-foot marble bench outside the new Town Operations Center at Chapel Hill's rural edge.
The project is the latest example of the town's Percent for Art program, which since 2002 has required municipal building projects to devote $1 out of every $100 spent to public art on the site.
Now, the town's Public Arts Commission wants the Town Council to double its commitment and dedicate 2 percent for art in public building projects. As part of its request, the commission is asking the council to do what no other city in the nation has done: Put public art requirements in the town's development rules.
"[The plan] puts Chapel Hill into a category all its own in terms of setting a precedent nationally," said Gail Goldman, a public arts consultant in La Jolla, Calif. "It really is the first time, to my knowledge, that public art has truly been embedded into the fundamental planning of the community."
Aren't you thrilled? Isn't it just exciting the way government spends your tax dollars, which, BTW, you are forced at gun point to pay?
Considering how liberal Chapel Hill is, why is no one complaining about spending $420K on artwork rather then "feeding the poor" or "for the children?"
And why aren't people complaining about exporting the job to Washington, D.C.?
Check out the pictures of previous projects, such as
Gee, doesn't that just look comfy? Looks more like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Unless you aren't actually allowed to sit on it. Me, I would rather they have planted some pretty flowering bushes in that dirt in the background.
"The town has made a very impressive commitment to try and enrich our environment with public art," said Dick Robinson, chairman of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. "This is intended to build on a very distinguished foundation, and the question for the council to consider is whether they're prepared to do more."
Gee #2: I wasn't aware that this was a duty of government that appears anywhere in the Declaration of Independence or Constitution. Nor the Federalist Papers. Nor the NC Constitution.
And, no, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness doesn't mean publicly funded art.
More: on a similar subject, Hot Air exposes Democrats in Michigan attempting to bribe the People with free MP3 players. Feeling good about the way government spends your money yet?
