Airport Poster Plan Melts Away, but Not the Art Uproar

It all started as a public relations gesture: Put lots of original artwork in the new terminal at John Wayne Airport, give it some pizazz. Then somebody thought a poster would be a splendid commemorative gift for the 2,000 supporters invited to the terminal’s grand opening.

But now, like Icarus losing his wings, the poster plan has been killed, ending a week’s controversy over bureaucratic snafus, disapproval of the picture’s nudity and concerns over freedom of expression in art.

On Saturday, the five-member John Wayne Airport Arts Commission decided not to have posters printed of the painting of a winged male nude representing Icarus, the character in Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun, melted his wings and fell to his death.

And the artist who painted “Winged Figure” is steamed.

“They chose me as the artist to do this on the basis of slides I sent them, and the painting I did was similar to that slide,” Jim Morphesis, the New York artist commissioned to paint the commemorative work, said Saturday.

“They probably should have just done an airplane or a cowboy,” he added, disgusted.

Delays in production--caused by a procedural mix-up and the disapproval of the printer who originally offered to produce the 2,000 posters for free--have made it impossible to churn out the posters before Friday’s terminal dedication, commissioners said. So the advisory group voted unanimously to scratch the poster altogether.

The posters were being paid for with $40,000 donated by airport-area business and were to be given to airport supporters invited to the Friday party, commission chairman Harvey Stearn said.

To print copies after the much-heralded airport dedication ceremonies “would really be moot,” commissioner Vi Smith said after the vote.

That is not to say the commissioners did not like the painting; all said they consider it a fine work of art. And they voted unanimously to have the original “Winged Figure” exhibited in the terminal named for County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, along with 50 or more other artworks--if Morphesis agrees.

Morphesis, who had heard only from reporters Saturday about the outcome of the commission meeting, said he has not decided if he will allow the painting to be hung at the terminal. That will depend, he said, on whether the commission pays him the $5,000 that was agreed for producing “Winged Figure”--and on whether rumored offers from galleries of double that price materialize.

It started last week when Morphesis sent a color transparency of his painting to Anaheim printer Bob Cashman, who is on another airport commission. Cashman considered the nudity in the painting inappropriate for the commemorative poster and refused to print it.

That triggered upheaval. The panel had instructed the airport’s administrative staff to have the artist send a sketch of the painting for approval before signing off on the poster.

Staff members admit that, in their rush to get final details of the terminal opening settled, they failed to submit the sketch for approval.

Morphesis said the staff told him to deliver the transparency of the finished painting to the printer directly to save time. He did.

By the time arts commission saw the transparency, the work had been painted.

Commissioners agreed Wednesday that the content of the poster was acceptable, and Cushman then agreed to print the posters. But by the time they could legally meet to sort out the mess--the law requires 72 hours’ public notice to convene a meeting--it was too late to print quality posters, commissioners said.

“With the Labor Day weekend, it would be Tuesday before we could get the printer going on it,” commission vice-chairman Richard Stein said.

Concern about free-speech issues drew half a dozen people to the Saturday morning commission meeting. Members of the county chapter of the Coalition for Freedom of Expression said they are upset that one man’s objection to an artwork had effectively prevented the public from viewing it in a poster.

“We were concerned with the whole process where one person is responsible for a decision about who sees art,” said Naida Osline, a member of the national coalition that claims 100 county members. “We wanted to have input, to have a voice, and to see that it doesn’t happen again.”

“The arts commission has been put in a compromised position,” added Joe Felz, administrative director of the Fullerton Museum.

“Winged Figure” is locked up at the Laguna Beach Museum of Art while its fate is decided. “And it’s staying there until I hear from this commission and get something on paper this time,” Morphesis said.

“I had a verbal agreement with them last time and trusted that. I don’t even trust them to borrow the picture at this point.”

Commissioners said the artist will be contacted Tuesday about how to proceed.

Because his original deal involved production of the posters--and the exposure they give an artist--Morphesis will be given the option of taking back his painting and selling it himself, commissioners said.

He agreed to sell it to the county for $5,000--by all accounts considerably below its market value--because of the poster arrangement, he said.

“I’m really exhausted by this, and I’m really angry about this,” Morphesis said Saturday. “Nobody’s even talked about the $600 I have into this for the transparencies and the shipping, and I even threw in the frame. . . . I would just like to have the picture in the possession of someone who really likes it and wants it.”

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