10 Finalists Selected in River Trail Art Contest

VENTURA — A towering windmill composed of cast-off pier wood and railroad ties. An iron totem pole of wheels, including those from a Mission-era ox cart, a Model T, a truck and a modern bicycle. And a field of sunflowers to clean the soil of toxic byproducts from the area’s oil industry.

These are just three of 10 projects selected as finalists for the Ventura River Trail public art project, according to Jennifer Easton, the city’s cultural affairs supervisor. The finalists, from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, were selected two weeks ago by the Art in Public Places Advisory Committee from a field of 30 entries.

The Ventura River Trail will be for bicyclists, pedestrians and equestrians and will link the Ojai Valley Trail with the coastal Omer Rains Trail. The $2.5-million river trail--built with money from private sources and federal, state and city funds--is scheduled to be completed in May 1998.

The artworks will dot the six-mile trail as it wends its way from Foster Park, where the Ojai bike trail ends, to the sea, where the coastal bike trail picks up.

The works will allude to the rich history of the area--from the era of Chumash settlements to the oil and agricultural businesses that thrived locally, to the railroad itself--which forms the foundation for the trail.

“I think it is going to be a real signature piece for the area,” Easton said. “As much as people say, ‘Let’s use that money to fill in potholes,’ I think this is going to be really unique.”

Some works will be functional, such as a drinking fountain of stone and steel that resembles the stonework of a Chumash aqueduct that once ran through the area; and some will be playful, such as the piles of aluminum oranges that will lie next to the trail’s sharp curves, as if they had rolled off the train cars that once carried local citrus to market.

“The overarching concept for the trail . . . is to be a great marker of the natural history and cultural history of the area,” Easton said. “All the projects somehow interpret that, even the sunflowers.”

Los Angeles artist Jud Fine will oversee the $170,000 project and contribute a piece or two of his own, Easton said.

Fine has designed public art works throughout Greater Los Angeles, including “Spine,” an outdoor sculpture at the downtown Los Angeles Public Library. Although he lives and works in Venice, Fine has also lived and worked in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, Easton said.

Of the $170,000 approved for the project in February, $22,000 will be set aside for administration, education and conservation. The remaining $148,000 will be used for the design, construction and installation of the public art works.

The City Council on Monday night approved a $26,000 contract with Fine for the preparation of the public art plan and designs for the Ventura River Trail. This launches the project’s second phase.

In the first phase, Fine, acting as lead artist for the project, came up with the main theme and worked with city engineers to plot the course and design of the trail.

The city’s Art in Public Places Advisory Committee will have final approval of the individual art projects because each of the projects will cost less than $25,000. Projects that cost more than $25,000, such as Fine’s contract, must have council approval.

Easton said the artists will work to make sure their projects come in under budget, while she works to scrape together the additional construction dollars necessary for some of the practical projects.

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Trail Artists Get Creative

The finalists and their proposed projects are:

* Ralph Massey of Ojai, “Avian Travelers.” Cast bronze figures of indigenous birds atop tall steel tubes.

* Wyndra Roche of Ventura, “Windmill.” A 25-foot-high windmill made of old pier wood, railroad ties and discarded heavy metal tools.

* Eric Richards of Ventura, “Drinking Fountain.” Fountain with a stone base reflecting the rock walls common to the area, with a basin of local black and white granite.

* Jeff Sanders of Ojai, “Orange Trace.” Cast aluminum oranges near turns in the trail.

* Joseph and Annette Four Bears of Ojai, “Wheel Commemorative Pole.” Iron framework encloses and supports wheels that represent different periods of development in Ventura County.

* Valerie Temple of Ventura, trash receptacles--either a unique trash can or coverings for normal trash cans.

* Ryan Ilhy of Santa Barbara, “Sunflower Interregnum.”--Field of actual sunflowers and interpretive signs about their ability to purify soil.

* Allen Quigg of Ventura. Barrier posts and striping icons for the trail. Also, an etched tile mural depicting the last steam engine to use the railroad will be placed on a levee gate retaining wall.