By JEFF MORRIS
The Bedford Town Board on Tuesday considered a proposal from the Katonah Village Improvement Society for a temporary installation of public art on the Parkway green in Katonah.
The proposal, submitted by KVIS co-presidents Pam Veith and Elena Becket, is for a painted steel sculpture called “Punch” by Fitzhugh Karol to be placed on the green for six months.
Christopher Brescia, former owner of CB Gallery and currently a curator at the Bedford Playhouse, who helps with the annual Art Show: Bedford, explained at the Oct. 10 meeting that the patch where KVIS proposed the piece be placed is now dirt, not grass.
That, he said, follows one of the tenets of art installation: to leave the space better than you found it.
“I could talk for hours about the benefits of art, from the time of caveman drawings until current times,” Brescia said. “Art brings people together, it brings joy, can bring controversy but ultimately it will get people talking.”
He said Katonah is establishing itself as “an artist-friendly town” with the Katonah Art Walk, which he helped Mindy Yanish organize.
“I think we can take it to the next level by making Katonah an art destination,” Brescia said.
He said if you make a community an art destination, it will bring more visitors, which increases business, “which is why I have the support of the Katonah Chamber of Commerce,” along with KVIS, Destination 39.3, and other community organizations.
Brescia sought to reassure the board that this is a low-risk proposal that would be a win-win for the town. He said he hoped this would be “the start of something” and that he had been “warned many times about an incident 20 years ago” when the Katonah Museum of Art was putting in a temporary installation, “so I am proposing to put two-page flyers describing the artwork and the artist in everyone’s mailboxes in town on green space.”
He added he has verbal approvals from everyone on the Parkway; that there would be signage telling people not to climb on or touch the sculpture; there will be insurance in place, which is currently under the board’s review; and there will be no cost to taxpayers.
“It is a slippery slope with public art,” noted Supervisor Ellen Calves, “in terms of what you can approve and then what you can say no to in the future, so we do have to be careful about setting down some parameters about why we would approve this, as opposed to anybody coming and wanting put art anywhere.”
Calves said she was curious about why it would be put on the Parkway, where it would be harder to see, if it was supposed to connect to the center of commerce. Brescia replied that once word gets out, people will want to go and find it and explore Katonah.
“KVIS recommended that spot, so I took their lead, since they’re the ones proposing it,” he added.
Brescia confirmed the Katonah Historic District Review Commission had reviewed and approved the work, including being on a Zoom meeting with the artist. Calves asked about the people who play bocce ball in that area; Brescia responded that he had spoken with them and they were happy to work around it.
“Also, considering this is six months during winter months, I imagine there won’t be a lot of bocce in the winter,” he said.
Board member Stephanie McCaine thought they needed to be mindful of the parameters they consider, “because we don’t want to be considered censors — but I do think this is a thoughtful proposal.”
Calves reiterated that there was a need to establish parameters, because there had been some concerns expressed about there being “too many things in the greens.” And while the fact this would be something temporary, during the winter, was proposed by KVIS and approved by all the neighbors who can see it, weighing in its favor, she felt that it having been added to the agenda the previous Friday might not have given enough people time to see it. She proposed leaving the matter open for public comment via email and not voting on approval until the next meeting Thursday, Nov. 7, though she recognized that would not allow the installation in time for the Bedford Art Crawl this weekend — which Brescia acknowledged “was the goal.”
Board member Andrés Castillo asked if the intent was to use the same space for other art installations beyond the six months. Brescia answered they had not thought that far ahead, but if this turned out to be a success, “why not?”
Calves responded that was precisely the problem, in that the residents who approved of it had not been asked if it could be a permanent art space; she said there were a lot of issues the board will need to discuss, including “a whole rabbit hole we could go down to create a public art policy, and we probably need to do that if we approve this one.”
“That sounds like it’s more work for you guys, but it also sounds like something that needs to happen,” Brescia said.
“I’m not worried about the work — I’m worried about the lawsuits,” Calves said.
The matter was adjourned until the board’s Nov. 7 meeting.