Rain on art umbrella

Another day, another art controversy.

Oh joy.

The latest if not greatest displays of artistic ingenuity - some might call them by another name - have blossomed in the middle of a roundabout on Kathleen Avenue and Fourth Street, just south of Coeur d'Alene High School, and sometime next year, at the Third Street entrance to McEuen Park.

Kathleen/Fourth Street: Dubbed "Umbrellas Gracilis," the creation by artists from Vancouver, Wash., is actually a play on words. Type "umbrellas gracilis" into an Internet search engine, and you'll see photos of a plant with descriptions of dwarf umbrella palms. Well, the artwork looks like a plant topped by three colorful umbrellas.

Third Street: This piece will stand 25 feet tall and again, there's some fun with the name. It's called "Allium Spring Chorus," but spellcheck on Press computers automatically changes it to "Alien String Chorus" - a moniker some gawkers will probably find more accurate.

Creative? Most can probably agree on that.

Best use of public dollars? Most people can probably agree to disagree on that.

Coeur d'Alene's city-sponsored art is paid for by capital improvement projects in the community. From each eligible improvement project, the city puts 1.33 percent into the public art fund. That covers purchase of the art, acquisition siting and maintenance. (See Coeur d'Alene ordinance 2925.)

The idea is that the municipal construction and improvement projects bring something extra to the public's table. For every new building, street or parking project, a fraction of the sum being spent goes into the art pool. It's a provision we wholeheartedly endorse; residents gain aesthetics to complement infrastructure.

Rarely is artwork universally embraced. One of art's greatest attributes is its ability to generate discourse - sometimes the very passionate variety. But ultimately it comes down to every person deciding what any work of art is worth. For some it represents a waste of good money that could be spent on food or shelter. For others, though, it provides food for thought that sustains much more than the physical body.

We applaud the city's volunteer Arts Commission for its recommendations on these and many other artworks for the community. They breathe life - vibrant and exciting - into landscapes that before were more mundane.