Sculpture Splits

After six years of controversy about whether it was art or junk, the Split Pavilion sculpture garden overlooking the beach in Carlsbad is being dismantled.

The public art project began as an effort to beautify the Carlsbad bluff, but quickly deteriorated into ridicule, outrage and then political backlash. The sculpture, commissioned by the Carlsbad Arts Commission from New York artist Andrea Blum for $35,000, cost the city an additional $350,000 to install.

To Blum and some art lovers, it was a thing of beauty, with trellises and reflecting pools on a triangular 7,500-square-foot site. To others, it was a monstrosity, known best for its 8-foot-high steel fence. Bumper stickers demanding “Remove the Bars” sprouted.

In June, Carlsbad voters decided overwhelmingly to tear down the sculpture. A settlement was reached with the artist. It will cost $123,000 to remove the Split Pavilion and replace it with grass and a bench.

Some metal bars will be used as railings for bleachers at a high school baseball field. Others will be painted gold and sold at auction for anyone desiring a souvenir of the political controversy. The proceeds will go to charity.