Mushroom Cloud Sculpture OKd for Santa Monica Site : Art: The 26-foot-tall ‘Chain Reaction’ will be placed between the County Courthouse and the Civic Auditorium.

A large atomic mushroom cloud should be looming over the Santa Monica Civic Center within the next year now that the City Council has approved the installation of a sculpture of a nuclear blast by Los Angeles Times political cartoonist Paul Conrad.

The 4-3 vote on Tuesday night culminated a two-year approval process that began in the spring of 1988 when Conrad approached the city with a proposal for a 26-foot sculpture, called “Chain Reaction,” to be placed on a permanent site in the city.

Conrad also offered the piece to the city of Beverly Hills, which rejected it in March because an appropriate site could not be found.

“It’s been a long, long process,” Conrad said after the meeting. “I don’t think any artist should go through this.”

The process involved numerous delays, caused in part by disagreement over where to place the sculpture and whether it was appropriate for public art. The council accepted the Art Commission’s recommendation that the sculpture be placed between the County Courthouse and the Civic Auditorium. It originally was to be placed in front of the gymnasium at Memorial Park at 14th Street and Olympic Boulevard.

The estimated $250,000 cost of construction and installation of the sculpture, to be fashioned from oversized copper and stainless steel chain links, will be paid for by an anonymous donor, who will also assume the cost of maintenance for the first year.

Although much of the controversy over the artwork was generated by the political nature of both the sculpture and the artist, several residents who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting objected to it more on aesthetic than ideological grounds.

“We find it to be objectionable, grotesque and offensive,” said Bob Gabriel of the Santa Monica Historical Society. “It does nothing to enhance the beauty of Santa Monica.”

Others voiced concern over the sculpture’s overtly social and political message.

“What will be next for Santa Monica?” asked resident Jason Meisler. “A giant sculpture of the AIDS virus?”

Most of those speaking in favor of the sculpture, however, praised the message it would send about nuclear war.

“This may be a disturbing piece to some. But it will be a reminder, a disturbing reminder, of what we have all lived through,” said Paul Leaf, a member of the Arts Commission.

The fact that Conrad’s editorial cartoons in The Times often generate heated debate was also a cause for concern for some residents. But retired Judge Jack Tanner urged the council not to shy away from the work of a controversial artist.

“Paul Conrad is a political cartoonist, the best in this country,” he said. “Does he provoke controversy? He does. Does he provoke argument? He sure as hell does. But that’s his job.”

Some members of the council voiced concern that the Arts Commission, in making its recommendation to accept the sculpture, ignored the results of a public poll the commission conducted last year. The commission placed a model of the work in the lobby of City Hall from July through October and encouraged residents to fill out surveys to indicate support or disapproval of the work.

The results of the survey, which was not monitored and therefore allowed people to vote as many times as they wanted, indicated that 730 of those participating disapproved of the sculpture and 392 recommended that it be accepted. The results of the survey were overruled by the Arts Commission, which unanimously recommended to the council at its June 23 meeting that the sculpture be accepted.

“Asking people for their opinion is actually quite useless if you have no intention of following their opinion,” said council member Christine E. Reed. “Why are we asking people for their opinion if all we do is go with the experts?”

Councilman Herbert Katz agreed, and offered a substitute motion directing the Arts Commission to get a proper sampling of public opinion. The motion was defeated.

Reed and Katz were joined by Mayor Dennis Zane in voting against the sculpture. Voting for it were David B. Finkel, William H. Jennings, Ken Genser and Judy Abdo.

Conrad, for his part, was glad the matter was finally resolved.

“Well, now the work begins,” he said. “Now I know what Michelangelo felt when the Pope said, ‘Paint that ceiling!’ Now I’ve got to get the canvas out.”

He expects the work to be completed within a year.