The changing face of art city

It was what it was.

On Sept. 23, Art City was a hub of activity. Although a few more visitors than usual stopped by to stroll among towers of marble and copper and granite, life went on more or less as usual. Brad Barron, a metalworker and apprentice sculptor, washed down some pedestals in the sun. Russell Erickson casually explained to a visitor the process he was using to bore a hole in a stone as a giant cylindrical drill spun into its center. A few rottweilers dawdled about, chomping on strands of grass as Paul Lindhard — the stone sculptor who started Art City 20 years ago — stood amid paths of dirt and piles of recycled building materials and half-finished sculptures.

As visitors came to see Art City as it was one last time, Lindhard came to terms with the fact that in the following days, laborers would demolish workspaces that seemed like organic outgrowths of the 20 or so artists sculpting at Art City.

“This studio will always provide a kind of place to explore alternatives,” Lindhard said that afternoon. “Part of our transformation will be to explore these alternatives with the city’s blessing.”

Coming up to code

Years after the City of Ventura first discovered numerous code violations on Art City’s grounds, officials issued a citation to Lindhard demanding the property be brought up to code. Although he was initially shaken by the letter, Lindhard said he understands the city’s position. He sees the changes as an opportunity.

“If it is the will of some parts to have things not be the way they are because they are improvements not allowed by city statute, then we have to improve our lives better than what we have in a different and acceptable way, because there is not an artist here that doesn’t really like this community and like this site and who wants to leave,” he said.

City officials don’t appear to want Art City to leave, although they do want it to change.

The outdoor studios first came to regulators’ attention in 1999 after two fires at Art City. Records of ensuing inspections show cases of illegal occupancy, with artists living in trailers on site, no electrical power and extension cords strewn about the property. But instead of shutting down Art City immediately, Ventura’s officials tried to work with Lindhard.

“We looked at Art City and we looked at the asset that it was as an arts think tank or a protective arts facility,” said Andrew Stuffler, the city’s chief building official. “We said, ‘Let’s work with them.’ ”

Stuffler wasn’t in his position at the time, but his predecessor was able to fix some of the earlier problems.

“It was a pretty out-there, under-the-radar sort of thing,” Stuffler said. “I think that’s what people really liked about it. That created a really creative environment that had no regulation because no one was aware of it.”

By 2004, Stuffler said, Lindhard and an architect began working with the city again, but contact dropped off until new inspections this year turned up new violations. Inspections will now occur every month until Art City is brought up to compliance.

“It’s really time to get it in order,” Stuffler said. “We can’t say we’re doing our job and maintain our integrity here and at the same time allow someone to propagate or to continue to maintain hazards.”

Stuffler said there isn’t a structure at art city that would be permitted the way it is built. None have the structural integrity to withstand a windstorm or an earthquake.

“It’s easy because everything out there is illegal,” Stuffler said.

Since work began on the site on Sept. 24, crews have removed a precarious roof in Art City’s central workspace, Lindhard said. Each artist’s individual footprints — workspaces that have evolved to suit the artists needs — have been retained. They will now have more uniform partitions for privacy, some dust protection from those working next to them and shelving to hold tools and lockers.

“Ultimately, everybody here is a member of a tribe,” Lindhard said. “We work for the Earth before we work for the city or anybody. The new Art City will be a mix of art studios and a lab for exploring green practices and sustainability.”

With local photographer Stephen Schafer — who rents a darkroom at Art City — negotiating with the city on how Art City can pay its fines and meet obligations, Lindhard is working with engineers and the other artists at the facility to determine how to make improvements that meet code requirements. Lindhard said the work gives Art City an opportunity to be innovative with environmentally sustainable building practices without spending too much money.

“Rather than tear things down … we would like to identify some uses that we would have beyond that that would satisfy any concerns,” he said. “We’re going to do it out of used materials or we’re going to have to buy Tupperware crap from Home Depot. It’s up to each artist now to solve those problems. We’re going to do it in three phases.”

Almost all the work is being volunteered by the sculptors at Art City, Lindhard said. Meanwhile, noted art philanthropists Brenda and Jordan Laby have committed money to help pay for work that can’t be donated.

“They don’t just say they are art lovers and philanthropists,” Lindhard said. “They are willing to put money towards it.”

According to Lindhard, each artist will add their own flair to redesigning their own space. They are all as concerned about safety and they will explore a number of options to keep Art City unique while trying to build something that meets city requirements, he said.

“I can’t just get all ‘woe is me’ and feel like an anachronism,” Lindhard said. “We’re teachable and we can grow into a new way to describe what it is and how we do it. We’re going to start in from the ground and from a compliant position in the city because, in general, the city is our ally here. I think artists are great citizens in a community and obviously there’s a strong will to have them come here.”

A place for inventors and warriors of love

According to Kerry Adams Hapner, the city’s cultural affairs manager, the city wants Art City to remain as long as it brings itself up to code.

“Art City is recognized as a very important cultural asset in Ventura for its history, its mentorship of artists [and] its production of high quality art work. One of the ways in which we’ve been offering assistance is really through the facilitation of working with the building and safety office,” Hapner said. “The building and safety office, to its credit, has really been understanding of the cultural value of Art City. Because of that, they’ve offered a lot of time and meetings. A lot of thought [and] time has gone on with this project.”

Stuffler said the fact that Art City has struggled with code violations shouldn’t take away from recognition of Lindhard’s contributions to the artistic community.

“He has a lot of integrity,” Stuffler said. “Paul has never lied to me. Paul is not the kind of person to tell me, ‘Everything is okay, come on out and look,’ and I find all sorts of problems. He just flat out tells me, ‘I\\'ve been really busy, I\\'m struggling to get by, come out and take a look.’ ”

When officials start looking at Art City again, Lindhard hopes they and others will see how his artists have developed a compliant and safe space that is also environmentally sensitive.

“Five days ago it would have been hard to embrace taking down my place just before the rains,” Lindhard says. “But the thing I can embrace about this is, I can make our efforts not only aesthetically appealing and legal, but embraceable to those people who need it the most.”

People like Ramon Byrne, an artist whose series of sculptures shaped like a fusion of musical instruments and animals stood near Art City’s front entrance the day before renovations began.

“This two years of work comes from Paul’s heart to my heart, into my hands, and it wouldn’t be possible without the love and support of Paul Lindhard, Art City, and Russell Erickson,” Byrne said as he hugged Lindhard. “I could cry because I love this man and this place so much. We’re inventors and we’re warriors of love; we don’t fight with violence, we fight with love in our heart. This will set us back in a small increment of time, but it’s going to empower us.”