The artists vying for a potential $50,000 commission to create and build a statue of President Reagan in Newport Beach range from local artists based in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach to out-of-state hopefuls from across the county, including Washington, Utah and Texas.
Exactly what the statue will look like is anybody’s guess at this point and what each artist has proposed to the city is still under wraps. The entire project will go through a review process, which began last week. The City’s Arts Commission has already begun the process developing a recommendation on which artist should get the nod. A committee representing donors, who raised the funds to build the statue will also review the proposals and give its opinion to the city. City Manager Dave Kiff is charged with making the final determination.
Here is a list of the prospective artist and their websites ( listed in alphabetical order), and you can take a look for yourself at the kind of work these would be Reagan statue creators have done elsewhere. Some of the artists have previously created Reagan related work for others.
If you want to see the guidelines the City put out for the artists to create their proposals, click here for details on the Ronald Reagan Centennial project.
Art as they say is in “the eye of the beholder,” but in this case there are a lot of beholders.
Which artist would you pick?
Here they are:
Miriam Baker, http://sculpturesbymiriam.homestead.com/
Richard Becker, http://richardbecker.com/
Gareth Curtiss, http://www.garethcurtiss.com/
Michael Aaron Hall, http://www.michaelaaronhall.com/
Stephen Harbst, http://www.harpst.com/home.htm
Douglas Van Howd, http://www.douglasvanhowd.com
Regina Hurley http://www.reginasart.com/Contact.htm
Lance Jost Designs, http://www.lancejostdesigns.com/
Limebrook St. Vincent Studios, http://lsvart.com/
Lawerence Ludtke, http://www.ludtkesculptor.com/
Moss Studios/Shirley Moss and Assoc., http://www.mossstudios.com/
Stan Watts / Momument Arts, http://www.atlasbronzecasting.com/
Steven Whyle’s Sculpture Studio Gallery, http://www.stevenwhytesculptor.com/
Why do we need a statue of Reagan? He has plenty of statues and highways and parks and airports and libraries already! Why don’t the donors that had the extra fifty thousand to spend on a statue try giving it to a hard working American that has lost his/her job in the financial crash and is unable to find another job and is about ready to lose their already meager condo to the banking vultures that want fifty thousand to allow the good American to stay in their home! The people of Newport Beach have very misplaced values!!