Canning Pop Art

Coke may have taught the world to sing, but its aesthetics could be improved, according to some in this artsy enclave.

The soft-drink company’s familiar vending machines, it turns out, violate the city’s strict sign ordinance.

The nonprofit Ojai Valley Youth Foundation unwittingly broke the law when it placed two drink machines outdoors at the park-and-ride lot on Ojai Avenue this spring. The machines--together with a third at the local hospital--generate perhaps $75 a month for the group, a small but crucial amount in a small community with few corporate donors.

After some of Ojai’s famously fussy residents complained to the city, officials told leaders of the group they had broken the strict municipal sign ordinance.

“Not broke the law,” corrects foundation board member Joan Kemper. “Bent it. I thought, ‘Omigod, we’ve got to correct it.’ ”

The solution that foundation officials dreamed up in a community notable for its ever-growing pallet of galleries was to place art on the front of the offending machines.

So Wednesday a panel of judges that included the local Coke salesman gathered at the Art Workshop & Gallery on West Ojai Avenue to pick a winning piece. In the running were 34 entries painted by students--ages 6 to 19--of gallery owner Sharon Butler.

The winner: a pastel and watercolor rendition by 14-year-old Crystal Mellein of Ojai’s hallmark downtown bell tower in green, blue, purple and yellow.

Coca-Cola will take the painting and turn it into a plastic mold to affix on the front of 10 or so machines sprinkled throughout the Ojai Valley.

“Other cities are not as strict on outside vending locations,” said Wes Peters, the company’s Ventura-based representative. “But if we can get into a graphic that reflects the community, I think it’s a great idea.”

But even Planning Director Bill King is unsure whether the redesigned machines will be legal.

“We’re on new territory here,” he said. Depending on the interpretation, it’s possible a painting lighted from within could still be regarded as violating the law, King said.

It is also possible Ojai could simply revamp its sign ordinance, he said.

Ojai officials take that law very seriously: A couple of months ago the owner of a gas station who had installed a water vending machine was forced to move it and place a fence around it, King said.

“It may sound picky to some, but I think the quality of life is in the details,” said King, who compares such machines to large billboards. “It’s not easy being the enforcer of aesthetic standards.”