Library’s $150,000 Artwork Revives Debate Over Spending Priorities

A curious tubelike device rises from the roof of the Peninsula Center Library, pointed at the sky like a wayward telescope.

This is “Stellar Axis,” a piece of abstract art intended as the crown jewel of the public library’s $19-million renovation project in Rolling Hills Estates. But even before the construction dust has settled, the artwork--an assemblage of marble discs, gold-leaf-lined domes and the rooftop tube--is stirring discord.

While some praise the $150,000 Lita Albuquerque work as innovative and thought-provoking, critics question why library trustees are spending so much money on aesthetics, not books.

“Books and services are what a library is all about. Not weird artwork,” critic John Dixon said.

In an era when many Los Angeles-area libraries have struggled to keep their doors open, “Stellar Axis” illuminates a different kind of library lifestyle, one that incorporates domes and discs and a fervent commitment to public art.

Whether that approach suits the money-strapped 1990s is a topic sharply dividing residents of the upscale Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Four years ago, voters narrowly approved a bond sale for a sweeping expansion of the central library for the Palos Verdes Library District, which serves the peninsula’s four bedroom communities. Plans called for doubling square footage, adding space for books, videos, computers and carrels.

Although it was unnoticed by many residents, plans also included the commissioning of two major pieces of public art--the Albuquerque piece and a second work for the children’s area, consisting of two bronze cheetahs and a stone column by artist Gwynn Murrill. Total cost: $265,000.

In better times, this art might not have spawned such bickering.

But when the recession came home to the peninsula, leaving aerospace engineers jobless and deflating the value of gracious hillside homes, some began wondering about the wisdom of investing so heavily in art.

“It’s a ridiculous waste of money. It’s ugly,” said library Trustee Harold Jesse.

Residents’ chagrin deepened when state funding cutbacks forced painful curtailing of library staff and nearly shut down the district’s branch libraries at Malaga Cove and Miraleste.

In the end, the branch libraries were saved. But outraged taxpayers prompted a board election shake-up. The new board canceled expensive furniture for the central library project. The artwork survived because it had already been commissioned and the marble was on order.

The $150,000 spent on the Albuquerque piece grates on critics when they compare it with the $94,000 budget that keeps the Malaga Cove branch open 23 hours a week--down from 38 hours several years ago.

But the money for “Stellar Axis” is construction bond funding that cannot be spent on buying books or other operating expenses, said library spokesman Nancy Mahr.

Some praise the Los Angeles artist’s creation, predicting that it will draw art lovers from many miles around.

“The arts are about making people think,” said 10-year Trustee Janet Smith, who championed the project. “I think that goes right along with libraries, because libraries are repositories of art and culture.”

“Stellar Axis,” still a work in progress, will unite the library’s four stories, library officials say.

On each level, a wide marble disc has been embedded in the floor. Each disc is cut from a different type of marble: gold-toned, representing the sun and stars; blue, for the sea and sky; red, for magma, and black, for the Earth’s core.

Dome-like ceiling indentations will be painted with gold leaf next month and, when lit by floodlights, will reflect down onto the discs. Above the uppermost disc, the rooftop tube is tilted at the same angle as Earth’s axis.

“It’s a cerebral piece,” said Deedee Rechtin, an independent curator. “It’s not something you just walk up to and say, ‘Isn’t that pretty?’ ”