Goddess Given Panel’s OK to Rise Again

She’s back. Well, almost.

Creators of the tenacious “Goddess of Democracy” replica in Los Angeles received backing Thursday from the city Cultural Affairs Commission to resurrect the 23-foot-high statue near City Hall.

If final approval is given by the General Services Department, the city will see a return of the itinerant statue, one of many copies inspired by the goddess statue that was toppled during pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tian An Men Square in June. The local version was hastily erected last June atop a Civic Center footbridge, moved to Chinatown and eventually demolished by vandals.

The battered pieces of the stately symbol were collected by Santa Monica sculptor Tom Van Sant, creator of the replica and who was largely responsible for the effort to revive the statue.

Van Sant, other artists and Chinatown representatives presented the commission with a proposal to install a fortified version of the three-quarter-ton wood-and-plastic statue in an unused flower planter to the north of City Hall East, near the intersection of Temple and Main streets.

After listening to Van Sant’s presentation, commission members unanimously agreed to recommend the proposal to General Services, which is ultimately responsible for granting permission for the monument to go up.

“We are pleased with the site and the terms,” Van Sant said outside City Hall on Thursday after meeting with the commission.

The commission’s recommendation stipulated that the artists and supporters cover the cost associated with erecting the statue. Van Sant said the tab for materials and for installing, lighting, insuring and--after 18 months--removing the statue will come to about $2,500, though many of the services are being donated.

The statue will be “on loan” to the city for 18 months, while a Goddess of Democracy Statue Fund Committee attempts to raise $250,000 to create a solid marble replica of the Goddess, Van Sant said.

If the marble version is made, he said, it will be offered to the Chinese people and government as a replacement for the original Tian An Men statue.

“With the distinct possibility that the statue is not welcomed by the Chinese government, we are asking the city to hold it on loan, until the gift is accepted,” Van Sant said.

The replica has had a rocky history in Los Angeles. In June, it was erected on a Civic Center pedestrian footbridge without permission, then moved to Chinatown, where vandals unceremoniously brought it down, decapitated it and left the remains to be carted away by Van Sant and friends.

The sculptor has since pieced the work back together, adding wood reinforcements to the frame, and is in the process of putting a hard, white polyurethane and plaster surface on it “so it will be able to withstand minor attacks,” he said. Van Sant said applying the coating will take about a week. Then the statue will be ready to go up, subject to final city approval.

Van Sant said he will make an appointment to pursue the final approval after the commission notifies the General Services Department of its recommendation.

Van Sant said he already is planning the installation ceremony.