OLYMPIA — Sen. Steve Hobbs insists it’s not about the art, it’s about the money.
The Lake Stevens lawmaker wants out-of-state artists barred from getting contracts from the state’s main public art program, a move he says ensures a few more jobs for Washington residents.
“This isn’t foreign aid. This is Washington state taxpayer dollars and it should help Washington state taxpayers,” said the first-term Democrat. “This is kind of a fight for the working folks out there.”
The protectionist provision, which would last two years, is written into the capital budget passed by the Legislature on April 26.
It may disappear Friday, as Gov. Chris Gregoire is considering vetoing the art provision because of concern it will incite retaliation against Washington artists nationwide.
“We have already received letters from states that have said, ‘If you go this way, we’ll do the same,’ ” she said earlier this week.
“I would love to always see Washington artists, but I don’t want the retribution. I mean, not that he needs my help, but by doing this are we going to allow every other state to say they won’t buy a (Tacoma artist Dale) Chihuly? I would hope not,” she said.
Hobbs and Gregoire spoke about the restrictive language last week. The governor indicated to him she’d have felt more comfortable if the language gave state residents a preference rather than exclusivity.
“I expressed to him that I’m really quite concerned about it,” she said. “It out and out says for the next two years we can’t use out-of-state artists.”
Camano Island’s Jack Archibald, a renowned stained glass artist, said a policy of preference would do less harm than if Hobbs’ idea prevails.
“Those states who get excluded will exclude me,” said Archibald, who has earned contracts from public art programs in Washington, Oregon and other states.
Jack Gunter, a painter who also lives on Camano Island, could back a preference for Washington artists, but not if it leads to government censoring what is produced or causes locals to lose work elsewhere.
“I think if it remains in the budget and it causes other states to reject Washington state artists, then it would be a damn shame,” he said.
Expect that to happen, Chuck Zimmer, manager of New Mexico’s Art in Public Places Program, wrote to Gregoire May 6.
“While this may seem at first glance to be common sense in a recession, it is actually a very short-sighted and reactionary idea that will ultimately be more harmful to not only Washington State artists, but to other businesses as well,” he wrote.
At stake is about $2 million a year generated from funding of new construction projects for state agencies, community colleges, universities, and public schools. By law, one-half of 1 percent of a project’s cost is set aside for public art. The state provision doesn’t apply to city and county art programs.
This program, established in 1974, is administered by the Washington State Arts Commission. Today, the state owns about 4,500 pieces of work through this program.
The commission maintains a roster of artists eligible to compete for a contract. They come from all over the country and Canada.
When it is decided that a public art project will be done, staff of the state commission work with a committee from the school, university or agency where the work will be installed. Together, they choose an artist and artwork.
Of currently funded projects, the Art in Public Places program has 48 artists under contract, with 35 living in Washington and 13 living in other states, according to Mark Gerth, spokesman for the state arts commission.
Hobbs thinks the Art in Public Places program is a luxury Washington can’t afford at a time when teachers are getting laid off and poor families are unable to access state health care services.
He tried to eliminate it but lost that battle in the legislative process. He’s focused on keeping every dollar spent in the pocket of a state resident.
“We’ve got to show the public we’re sincere with the cuts we choose and accountable for the money we spend,” he explained.
As an example, he cites a sculpture of a tree trunk installed recently at the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
Entitled “Stronghold,” it is built from milled cedar and is roughly the same diameter as the Quinault Lake Big Cedar in Olympic National Park, the largest Western red cedar in the world. New York artist Brian Tolle was paid $286,000 for the piece.
“What does it say when we purchase a quarter-of-a-million dollar tree stump from an artist in New York?” Hobbs said “Why don’t we get a Seattle artist to do it?”
Herald writer Theresa Goffredo contributed to this report.
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