Helix/Padre Dam Cloud Project

Category: Statue

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Review: This is an amazing environmental artwork addressing water issues of the region. With the seriousness of water issues facing the State, the artist attempts to draw attention to regional water issues by addressing the limited source of water in the area; and by focusing on the revealing the tank rather then hiding the infrastructure as had been the practice over the past 150 years. This work is of a comparable scale to the Statue of Liberty, and is visible for 30 miles or more.

Description: This Site-specific environmental sculpture by Sculptor & Public Artist Jim Wilsterman was commissioned by Helix and Padre Dam Municipal Water Districts, and was funded by CALTRANS and the San Diego Association of Governments in a Five Agency artist initiated agreement. Community members and students working with me constructed the sculpture at Grossmont College. This commission consisted of a large scale environmental work attached to a new water tank constructed as part of the new Interstate 125 Freeway re-alignment. As a part of this project, the artist formed a Public/Private Partnership between the two Water Districts, the State, and the College that included 3 years of extensive community outreach and involvement. The Artist worked with Pitts-Des Moines (fabricators of Eero Saarinen’s Saint Louis Gateway Arch) steel mill and fabrication unit and John Powell and Associates civil engineers to facilitate the design and installation of the work. The project was partially facilitated through community donations & a $92,000 grant to the College from Caltrans. This project was completed in July 1996 at a cost of $168,000.00 not including non-art related costs ($550,000.00 appraised value). The Artist’s portion of the project was completed at below cost and nearly $20,000 was refunded to the state due to community donations.

Even though the artist had completed 3 years of community outreach and was in fact constructing the project in collaboration with area residents, a small group of people managed to take advantage of their press contacts to organize against the project. While the opponents of the project were well organized and highly visible, they never apparently amounted to more than 50 to 60 determined people who did not agree with the appearance of the project. In an attempt to solicit public input on the decision facing Water District Board members, the two water agencies mailed and distributed more than 80,000 fliers requesting the opinions of customers and residents surrounding the area. Included in the mailing was the community of San Carlos (some proponents of changing the tank claimed this area was not included in the original decision making process). The Water Districts received almost 4,100 responses to this request. Nearly 98 percent of respondents indicated they wished to leave the project as it is, while only about 2 percent indicated they wanted the project changed. This level of support for a public art project was both exceptional and unprecedented.
The boards of the two water districts met in joint session to listen to the concerns of critics of the project on Monday, August 11,2006 at the El Cajon Community center. Despite extensive Political and Media pressure, the two boards voted unanimously to keep the project as planned and intact thereby preserving San Diego County’s largest and most visible Public Artwork. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 350,000 people now view this project every day upon completion of S.R.- 52 and S.R. 125.

You can read more at the following link:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1998/dec/03/public-arts-hurly-burly/ .