Proposed public artwork consisting of black and white photographs of ginseng roots set in glass and scaled to the proportion of human figures got the boot from Richmond city councillors Carol Day, Linda McPhail and Harold Steves at a parks and recreation committee meeting last week.
The art was intended for the foot of the Dinsmore Bridge in the Oval Village neighbourhood,
Coun. Bill McNulty approved the artwork, which will now be sent back to Intracorp River Park Place and city staff for review.
The councillors questioned how it fit in with the community.
The artwork is a community amenity contribution by the developer of the planned 582-unit high-rise mixed-use project.
The artwork is by artist Evan Lee and would have cost a total of $195,000.
The Public Art Review Panel (consisting of art experts and members of the development team) had initially approved the pieces.
City staff approved the art on various technical merits such as accessibility, location, safety, vehicular visibility and maintenance costs.
