The better house bill would be to overturn Boise Ordinance 6799 and prohibit all Idaho jurisdictions from enacting similar ordinances for public or private projects. That Boise ordinance allocates 1.4% of all City capital project to public art. More correctly I would say it requires the City (and taxpayers) to add (or overpay) 1.4% to the cost of all capital projects for public art. Of the 1.4%, it seems .4% is used to fund the City employees who select the art, manage the installations, and write memos on the virtues of public art and public funding for art. Seems like something volunteers could do, not paid employees.

In a free market things that have value get assigned that value. If the general public is not willing to privately fund raise to support public art, then obviously the community does not recognize the value.

Ban all publicly funded public art requirements, let art patrons privately fund raise for the public art and let those who raised the funds chose the art to install.

This is not an anti-art statement, taxes should be used for essential services, and optional services like public art, public radio, and public TV should find their own funding model without requiring everyone to help pay for them.

10 Reasons to Support the Arts
Arts improve individual well-being.
Arts unify communities.
Arts improve academic performance.
Arts strengthen the economy.
Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses.
Arts spark creativity and innovation.
Arts drive the creative industries.
Arts have social impact.
Arts improve healthcare.
Arts for the health and well-being of our military.

The arts are fundamental to our humanity.
They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, goodness, and beauty.
The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures.
The arts are also a fundamental component of a healthy community—strengthening them socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even in difficult social and economic times.

EDITOR NOTE–Your reasons sure beat the “tourism rationale.”

pd: Fine. But, I don’t see it as an essential government function requiring subsidy by taxpayer dollars. Just like many other things I am coerced to subsidize that are rationalized as publicly beneficial. Just another cut of pork.

Let’s consider what the definition of art is. It is one of those things that is hard to define but apparent when one sees it, and conversely what isn’t art is also apparent when one sees it. The crack on the Grove Hotel has looked ridiculous ever since it was installed. Remember the steam and water dripping out of it when it was brand new? NOT art. Rusty shards of steel at City Hall? Scrap metal and a good way to catch tetanus, but NOT art. Painted intersections being driven over by cars chipping off the paint? An expensive joke, NOT art. pd’s ten reasons are all valid reasons to support the arts, and paying for it with public funds is OK. It is not OK to claim that garbage created by overpaid hacks friendly to the politicos at City Hall qualify as ‘art.’

Next thing you know, Boise will commission a statue of Saint George Floyd to be placed in one of the parks as art.

There is nothing in Boise’s charter documents that support arts & history to be a core purpose of the city. After twenty years of an ordinance to fund art, and pay the annual costs for maintenance and repairs from vandalism, it is time for this pet-project to be handed over to the private sector and philanthropy. For property tax relief, the collection side must be adjusted and the spending side must also be.

I have to laugh when the city council says the art installed around Boise draws tourists from around the world. Please elucidate the list. It is some of the most mundane, uninspiring garbage around. Yes, I have traveled and yes, I love art. What I don’t like are the ugly brown sculptures and the block design new buildings rising around Boise in the usual MUD color. They are all inspired by cheap construction with 9’x12’etc. The new Ball Ahlquist proposed building on 4th and Idaho is just such an ugly example of tear it down in 10 years construction.

I was disappointed to see the Boise Arts & History department out soliciting support on legislation to their email distribution list. If the mayor wants to speak out, the mayor can do so. It is not the role of the department to so. Focus on arts and history. Although that department does do outreach on new art projects, it often is only discussed with a small group of persons within neighborhoods/city. They need to do a better and more creative job of getting more people’s input. And no, people don’t come from around the world to see Boise’s art. They come for a safe, clean city for a reasonable price and easy outdoor activity access.

I think the state government does a good job overall. But they are really putting the screws to Boise with various legislation and is becoming a bit too big brother. Focus on your core – lower taxes, better education, better infrastructure – but don’t micromanage. You aren’t in session long enough.

Is the Lincoln Memorial public art?
Washington Monument?
Vietnam Memorial?
Iwo Jima Memorial is certainly public art, by any measure. It is beautiful and impactful.
Any guesses how much of our public government funding (taxes) goes towards those spaces just to maintain, clean, and administer?

Is there anywhere in the US ‘charter’ that mandates spending money on memorials, a national art museum?
Well, the founder would say, “yes”.
Section 8. To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts [copyrights].

Back in the days, the Washington Monument was started by PRIVATE donations. It ran out of money, stalled and stopped construction. It wasn’t till the federal govt offered money to finish it.
Do people go to DC just to look at these artistic memorials?
Maybe not, but when in Rome— do as the Romans do, people certainly make a point to visit the existing art in Rome [and Boise]. Weird. Jus because the slanted readers here don’t do that, doesn’t mean other people don’t do so.

Would the naysayers here would say scrap the D.C Capital Mall?
Make it entrance fee only and only the visitors have to financially support those places????

Same can be said of local and state government.
Moscow Idaho, not Moscow Russia!

Vet above,
Yes your point is agreeable. It seems City Council is relaying the same message to Parks Dept to be considered. Obviously not a done deal.

The same could be said of BPD Officer Stall.
Should a whole police station be named for 1 person?
While the NP 512 Fund is supporting the cost of the bronze statute for him- it ‘represents’ many more than just 1 fallen leo, right? None the less, how much BPD official time/money is spent to memorialize 1 person in art, plaques, time, etc?
Any complaints?

We now have a statute of Gov Borah downtown. Who paid for that ridiculous thing?
Boise airport has a statute of an airman. Should we have to have a city-wide vote for such an appropriate thing? Is the floor compass inside the airport art? A vote on something like that in the future?
An “!” On the library. Art???

If ya dont approve how the council spends our money- vote them out—- dont burden us all with this junk legislation.
Trash the bill.

Nice catch, Courtly.
I’ll be sure to update my auto-spell. Thanks for reading (& proof reading).
🙂

We need more statues in our parks to give BLM something to throw paint and feces at. Nobody comes here to see the art, they come to see their family members who have fled all of the states West of us!

I’m waiting for Mayor McClean to offer $1000 monthly income for “artists” just like San Francisco to do….cuz CULTURE!

https://nypost.com/2021/03/26/san-francisco-to-give-artists-1000-a-month/