Stolen Sculpture Caper Fuels a Battle Over Art : Manhattan Beach Embroiled in Another Controversy Over City-Sponsored Project

It’s not every city that boasts a civic organization called the Friends of the Arts. Then again, it’s not every city that seems to have as many enemies of the arts as Manhattan Beach.

Only hours after being bolted onto a seaside bench, a city-installed artwork entitled “Ddumbbell”was stolen over the Labor Day weekend.

The cast bronze sculpture, in the shape of two slightly abstract hand weights, was recovered last week after the Friends of the Arts posted a “no questions asked” $500 reward.

The “Ddumbbell” caper was not the first art imbroglio in the increasingly posh beachside community.

Manhattan Beach drew headlines seven years ago when police officials objected to an abstract metal sculpture the city had placed in front of police headquarters. It seemed that the men in blue were averse to the piece’s pastel color scheme and wanted it repainted, or removed.

Before the yearlong controversy concluded, two then-City Councilmen, under cover of the night, spray painted the sculpture black and white in what they termed a joke.

Meanwhile, some opposition appears to be surfacing against the city’s new public arts program, which, besides “Ddumbbell,” includes the temporary installation of a serpent’s head (some say it resembles a shower head) on a concrete wall near the beach and four steel posts (some say they resemble outdoor lighting fixtures) across town in Polliwog Park.

In a poll conducted by a local weekly, The Beach Reporter, several respondents suggested that the city could make better use of its $20,500 municipal art budget by cleaning the city’s streets or fixing up the municipal pier.

“What good is art if we have dog poop on the sidewalks?” one reader wrote.

Scribed another: “I don’t get it. . . . Why bother with ugly, pointless art? . . . We can go to a museum free of charge. . . . A classic pier will be in style forever.”

C. R. (Bob) Holmes, a 10-year City Council veteran, believes public support for municipal art “is pretty darn close to a 50-50 thing.”

“Probably about half the people think that--in an affluent, financially secure community like this--government expenditures at a reasonable level on the arts aren’t inappropriate,” he said. “And I’d guess that probably about half the people feel that government expenditures on art aren’t appropriate.”

Local arts activists say community concern over the theft of “Ddumbbell” has spotlighted the heightening interest in public art in a town where three-piece-suited Yuppies are rapidly replacing wet-suited surfers.

Rather than anxiously waiting for city government to get involved, the 200-member Manhattan Beach Friends of the Arts, formed early this year, responded immediately with the $500 reward.

As soon as the reward notice was posted, activists said, dozens of calls of support flowed in.

Unusual Occurrence

“Something bad happened, but people in the community took it upon themselves to knock on doors and distribute handbills. That’s something we don’t see very often,” said Robert Millar, a member of the city’s Cultural Arts Commission.

“We were thrilled with the community response,” said Sandy Wetmore, spokeswoman for the Friends of the Arts. “We’re finding a lot more friends than enemies. . . . People are interested in the arts as a quality-of-life issue in a community like Manhattan Beach.”

One of the callers was Chris Davis, 25, who said he had noticed one of the dumbbells under the stairway of an apartment building in a nearby alley. Davis, with a portable phone, returned to the site, keeping Wetmore apprised.

“She was saying like if the police come by, could you tell them where it is,” Davis, an employee of McNall Sports and Entertainment, explained later. “ . . . The weird thing was I had (also) seen the dumbbell when it was over on the bench and I thought, someone left their dumbbells there.”

To Buy Surfboard

Davis said he will use the reward money to buy a new surfboard.

At this point, police say, there are no known suspects in the theft.

And reaction to “Ddumbbell” itself remains mixed.

While some residents interviewed found the piece humorous, others complained that it placed more emphasis on physique than on the oceanside environment--albeit at a beach where some lithe sun worshipers are known to wear swim suits little larger than the washing instructions on an average dress shirt.

Even the harshest critics, however, said that “Ddumbbell” should be returned to its home of less than a day on The Strand at 20th Street.

Stronger Bolts

And Santa Monica artist Anne Preston, who designed “Ddumbbell,” said she plans to reinstall it soon. But this time, she said, she will use stronger bolts and will ask Manhattan Beach officials to place a plaque nearby informing the public that the object, insured for $3,500, is indeed a piece of art.

“They will have to, because it sort of looks like an abandoned object otherwise,” Preston said. “It has a very tactile nature to it. It’s instinct for people to want to touch it.”