The yearlong celebration of Manhattan Beach’s centennial has come and gone, with Sunday’s special fireworks show at the pier bookmarking the ceremonious year. Thankfully, residents will soon have a memento of their city’s hundredth year that will last for generations to come.
At last week’s meeting, Manhattan Beach City Council voted to approve “Light Gate” as the city’s Centennial Art piece, a decision that was met with applause throughout the chamber.
The artwork—a 15-feet tall, 12-feet wide donut-shaped sculpture made with stainless steel, prismatic film and glass—will offer a focused perspective of the horizon through a tall keyhole passageway in the center. The glass and steel construction of the sculpture plays with sunlight, and depending on where one stands, his or her view will shift from transparency to prismatic refraction to mirror reflection.
“Light Gate” will be installed in the civic center on 14th Street and Highland Avenue between City Hall and the new library. The installation is estimated to be completed in eight months, assuming no unforeseen events delay the project.
The project is estimated to cost $130,000 in total. According to city manager Dave Carmany, the funding for the project is fully covered by the public art trust fund from private developers and does not affect general tax payer’s dollars.
The final selection of “Light Gate” marks the end of a yearlong effort. Manhattan Beach first set out to find an art piece that would “create an exceptional visual experience for locals and visitors, celebrating the City’s past and inspiring future generations,” according to the vision statement.
In January, City Council approved the Centennial Art Project, allowing a budget of $150,000. The following June, the Art in Public Places Committee was formed, and alongside the Cultural Arts Commission, it reached out to more than 1,300 artists around the world. Of the 160 qualified applications received, the committee narrowed down the selection to five finalists in August.
With input from both the community and a public art consultant, the committee made a final recommendation for “Light Gate,” citing its innovative design and embrace of Manhattan Beach’s trifecta of elements: sun, surf and sand.
The conceptual nature of the art work was met with both excitement and confusion at the council meeting, with many questioning how “Light Gate” uniquely relates to Manhattan Beach. Ultimately, with council member Richard Montgomery as the only dissenting vote, council decided to give the green light.
“One of the exciting things about this design is, because it is conceptual, it remains timeless,” council member Amy Howorth said. “This generation will have one interpretation of it … but in five, 10, 15 years, it’ll be about something else because it doesn’t say what it is.”
