Paul Conrad's "Chain Reaction" Recently Landmarked Sculpture Could Be
Positively Revisited
By Santa Monica City Council
It's true that art funding needs a boost, but in the great city of Santa
Monica, where so much deserved
respect is given to art, landmarking, and peace issues, it is really not all
that surprising that most of the
candidates who ran for the 4 seats on the 7-member City Council, pledged that
if elected or reelected
they would support saving and restoring "Chain Reaction" in the Civic Center
where it has been
standing since 1991.
That is good news for the many "Chain Reaction" supporters, who recognize the
significance and
importance of the 26-foot-tall nuclear mushroom cloud iconic public art
landmarked peace sculpture that
was created by the late 3-time Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist Paul
Conrad, who gifted it to Santa
Monica through a $250,000 philanthropic donation.
It is also very likely to be bad news for those people that keep insisting that
it is just a pile of junk,
that it is not really art, and that it is worthless and should be torn down
immediately.
Of course, everyone has a right to their own aesthetic opinion of "Chain
Reaction", or any piece of art.
It would be a very boring art City indeed if we all agreed on every artwork.
Most certainly "Chain Reaction" is not just a massive "bowl of fruit" art
sculpture.
It is a unique, creative, and timely monumental sculpture that gets people to
think, feel, discuss,
and debate. It is a serious warning against the continuing escalation of
nuclear weapons and the danger to
our planet in advent of any planned or accidental nuclear launch. In fact, the
late Paul Conrad inscribed
at the sculpture's base: "This is a statement of peace. May it never become an
epitaph."
Two of the four winning vote getters in the November 6 Santa Monica City
Council election, Terry O'Day and Gleam Davis have been serving the City well
and were again reelected. Their pledge of support for
"Chain Reaction" is extremely important and is deeply appreciated.
One of the other two new members elected to the City Council is not really new.
Tony Vasquez has
served honorably on the City Council before. In fact, Tony was elected to the
Council in the November,
1990 election, just after the Council voted to approve "Chain Reaction". He was
supportive of "Chain Reaction" then and has again pledged his full support.
The other newly elected Council member is Ted Winterer. Ted, who was the top
vote getter, has currently been serving on the S.M. Planning Commission.
Although Ted did not reply to a request to find out his views on "Chain
Reaction" restoration, he did, when asked, say he would be willing to meet with
Paul Conrad's son David Conrad to discuss the "Chain Reaction" issue. Those who
know Ted really well have
said he will likely be a very strong advocate for "Chain Reaction" restoration.
So, congratulations to the election winners! They will be sworn in at the
December 11 Council meeting (tentative date) and will be joining Council
members Bob Holbrook, Pam O'Conner, and Kevin McKeown.
And thanks to the other City Council candidates. Their hard work and dedication
is deeply appreciated.
We had also received "Chain Reaction" pledges of support from many of the other
Council candidates, including:
Education Advocate, Shari Davis; Planning Commissioner, Richard McKinnon;
Former Planning Commissioner, Frank Gruber; and Attorneys, Bob Seldon and Steve
Duron. I'm confident they all will
continue helping with the "Save Chain Reaction" community and Conrad family
effort.
So, since it often takes substantial funds to do substantially good things,
everyone is cordially invited to
make their personal contribution (tax deductible) to help save and restore
"Chain Reaction".
Please Visit: ConradProjects.com
Thank you, stay tuned, and keep up the good work!
Jerry Rubin
310-399-1000
jerrypeaceactivistru...@earthlink.net
####
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