QUICK TAKES - Jan. 31, 2009

In the wake of the Pasadena City Council’s vote to reject a recommendation by the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission to install a pair of artworks on the plaza in front of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, commission member Sasha Anawalt has resigned.

In an e-mail to city officials, Anawalt, who is director of arts journalism programs at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication, said that she was resigning her position as commissioner for the fifth district because of “a poor and cowardly decision for which the citizens ultimately pay.”

The proposed “Thinking Caps” by New York City sculptor Dennis Oppenheim and “Light Field” by German artist Hans Peter Kuhn had roused complaints from some residents and preservationists who objected to the large scale of the works. The $1.2-million project was to have been funded by a city requirement that 1% of a construction budget be spent on public art.

The Pasadena Civic Operating Co., which manages the auditorium and surrounding facilities, has recommended that no public art be installed on the plaza.

-- Diane Haithman