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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016
Vol. CXXV, No. 13
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Published Since Since 1890 1890
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Vandalism, safety concerns force downtown Tacoma sculpture's removal Article and Photos By Todd Matthews, Editor A downtown Tacoma art installation created 40 years ago by a prominent Pacific Northwest artist was removed this week. The abstract, wall-mounted, and untitled concrete sculpture was commissioned by Bob Price Architecture Co. and created by Harold Balazs in 1976 as part of a courtyard fountain at the Bicentennial Pavilion located near South 13th Street and Market Street. Photographs archived at the Tacoma Public Library's Northwest Room show the sculpture displayed prominently in a pocket park filled with visitors. Today, the park is tucked away behind the high-rise Hotel Murano, the South 13th Street hillclimb, and a massive wall where the sculpture sat for decades. Water damage and vandalism left the artwork broken and mosscovered, with jagged pieces of rebar exposed. "Even in its dilapidated state, the work nevertheless retains a powerful presence," wrote Tacoma Weekly reporter Dave R. Davison in 2010. "Presiding over a pool of stagnant rainwater, the sculpture has the air of a Mayan monument — some ancient Central America king with an elaborate headdress. The thing is anthropomorphic and the style seems a perfect synthesis of Mesoamerican, Asian, and Celtic design elements. "The whole site is like a secret, enchanted valley amid the urban landscape," continued Davison. "The place is all the more mellow and restful, perhaps, because it has had time to age and to show the mossy passage of time. Balazas' fountain sculpture is one of Tacoma's many hidden treasures." "I love this park. It's so sweet. It's a little gem of downtown and this piece was also a little gem," said City of Tacoma Public Art Specialist Rebecca Solverson on Wednesday morning as she supervised the de-installation process. Two men working for Combined Construction, a contractor hired by the City of Tacoma to complete the removal project, used a mechanical excavator's long arm to carefully pluck six concrete pieces off the side of the wall. At one point, a friend of Balazs's arrived to see if he could salvage any of the pieces. After a quick look at the busted pieces lined up along the sidewalk, he agreed nothing was worth saving. A recent City staff report noted the artwork
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A downtown Tacoma art installation created 40 years ago by prominent Pacific Northwest artist Harold Balazs was removed this week. The abstract and untitled concrete sculpture was commissioned by Bob Price Architecture Co. and created by Balazs in 1976 as part of a courtyard fountain at the Bicentennial Pavilion located near South 13th Street and Market Street. A City staff report recently noted the artwork was unstable and posed a safety hazard.
was "unstable and pose[d] a safety hazard." A consultant reviewed the artwork several years ago and recommended it for de-accession. The Tacoma Arts Commission voted in April to deaccession the artwork. "People were climbing it," City of Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride told the Tacoma Daily Index in November (see "Safety concerns force Tacoma to remove aging art installation downtown," Tacoma Daily Index, Nov. 6, 2015; and "Tacoma Daily Index Top Stories — November 2015," Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 1, 2015). "I love Harold's work. Unfortunately, he was working in a material that isn't particularly durable after thirty years. But it had a good run! Close to forty years!"
"People have told me that it has suffered quite a high degree of vandalism," Balazs, 87, told the Tacoma Daily Index in November during a telephone interview from his home in Mead, Wash. Balazs's work is on display throughout Washington State, including Riverfront Park in Spokane; the Federal Building in downtown Seattle; the Temple Beth El synagogue building in Tacoma; and the former Puget Sound Bank (now KeyBank) in University Place. Six years ago, University of Washington Press published a book about Balazs that coincided with exhibits of his work at museums in Spokane, Pullman, and La Conner. "I just had a couple more pieces that have been vandalized and torn down," Balazs told the Tacoma Daily Index. "Nobody wants to repair them." He recalled the artwork originally included water and light features. "I very seldom gave any titles to the work I did. I know that was the case there. I think somebody was going to try and salvage it and just use it in their home, but I guess that hasn't come to pass. "It's just what happens with age," he added. "In the old days, they repaired stuff. But the lifetime endurance of most buildings is twenty-five years. Very little gets saved anymore. It's thrown in the dump." In November, four contractors responded to the City of Tacoma's call for bids to remove and dispose of the art installation: Combined Construction — $3,300; T. Miller Construction — $3,580; Woodland Industries — $3,650; and Nordic Construction — $3,939 (see "4 contractors bid on project to remove aging art installation downtown," Tacoma Daily Index, Dec. 3, 2015; and "Tacoma Daily Index Top Stories — December 2015," Tacoma Daily Index, Jan. 4, 2016). A contract was awarded to Combined Construction (see "Last days for aging downtown Tacoma art installation," Tacoma Daily Index, Jan. 14, 2016). The Tacoma Daily Index spoke with Solverson on Wednesday mornCONTINUED ing while contractors ON PAGE 2 removed the sculpture.