Gift Statue Raises Question--Art or Ad?

A development firm that donated $200,000 to the Caltrans Transportation Art program for the placement of a 15-foot bronze statue of a burly, barefoot wine maker along a major highway through the Napa Valley has touched off a debate over art versus commerce.

Is the statue art, or is it an advertisement for the nearby industrial park owned by the donor?

Bedford Properties is donating the statue of a man working a hand-operated wine press, and a platform has already been built along a major highway through the county, home to some of the state’s most famous wineries.

But some Napa residents say the statue’s silhouette bears a striking resemblance to the emblem of Bedford’s Napa Valley Industrial Park, which is located near the site of the statue.

“It’s an inappropriate precedent to establish within the county, to have advertising masquerading as art,” said Guy Kay, a county planning commissioner.

“When people realize that the corporate park is sticking their logo in the face of everybody who comes into the Napa Valley, I hope there will be some citizen outrage,” said another planning commissioner, Linda McGrew.

Bedford officials insist the statue is art, not a commercial.

“It is not an advertisement for the park,” said Bedford Vice President Bud Lake.

Bob Cashion, Caltrans district permit engineer, said the piece is an acceptable work of art “as long as there is no identification (of the corporate park) on the statue.”

The statue is the first corporate donation to the Caltrans art program in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Other donations, mostly murals, have come from artists.

Bedford is paying New Mexico artist Gino Miles $150,000 for the 15-foot bronze statue, then will spend $50,000 to mount it.