Savings The Cascades

During the April 19th Monterey Park City Council Meeting the chambers were packed with residents, visiting students and guests either supporting Equitable Vitrines request to have their statue of Eve placed in the center of the pool in the Cascades waterfall or requesting the Council not vote to approve their request.

Their original request was to remove the statue of Athena and replace it with Eve for six to twelve months in the Cascades waterfall.

Members of the Monterey Park Parks and Recreation Commission supported their request with their recommendation to the City Council on January 10th to approve this project.

Long time residents stormed the Council chambers to demand the Council not honor Equitable Vitrines request before the item was placed on the agenda.

During this April meeting Matt Connolly and Ellie Lee of Equitable Vitrines presented their case that it is their mission to provide the public with artwork.  They determined that the Cascades waterfall was the perfect location to place a statue called Eve, carved by a Chinese artist Xu Wang with Chinese features.

Approximately twenty-six speakers and six letter writers addressed the issue that could have altered the Cascades and Monterey Park history.

Ten long time residents requested the Council to vote against this agenda issue. They stated the history of our hometown was very important to us and did not want Equitable Vitrines, an outside organization, altering our history. They were also concerned that having tourists visit a park in the residential neighborhood would cause traffic issues since parking is already an issue.  This park does not have any public facility for the visitors.  This statue could be a liability to the city. It was also suggested that this garden statue be placed at another location is the city.

Twenty-two people support Equitable Vitrines asked the Council to allow Eve to be placed in the Cascades as part of their public art display.  Most of these speakers were not residents of Monterey Park, so they did not care if they altered the city’s history.

Residents were wondering if Equitable Vitrines chose Monterey Park since it is also known as the “First Suburban Chinatown”.  This was a commercial venture for Equitable Vitrines.

Monterey Park has an Ordinance No. 1934 protecting our open space in our parks. Section Two 21.07.010 Purpose, which protects our historical, cultural and scenic parks from any modifications.

Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Lam said the residents of Monterey Park elected him. He makes decisions for the residents and they are opposed to the Eve statue.  Athena is our Statue of Liberty in Monterey Park. It would be like removing the statues of George Washing and Abe Lincoln. You cannot replace them. We don’t add to our historical site. He will vote NO.

Mayor Teresa Real Sebastian stated art is symbolic and is in the view of the viewer. Art moves people. Athena is Monterey Park’s Statue of Liberty. The Cascades is water. Each of us is a drop of water. The Cascades is ingrained in her. It is home.  She suggested that the art be placed in a museum.

Councilmember Peter Chan said he looks at the Cascades like art. He gets to know his neighbors. We don’t displace people and we don’t displace Athena. The artist creates art. People have a different interpretation of art. Why place Eve in the middle of the waterfall? He suggested that it be place in another location. He cannot support this idea.

Councilmember Hans Liang stated sharing art is good. The history of Monterey Park is important. We have “Pride in our Past and Faith in our Future”.  He referred to the artwork of the Sistine Chapel that the Michelangelo created but he wanted to do another project. He spoke about the various artworks carved around the world. It is the location. He suggested that Eve be located at a different location. He supports the past. He cannot support putting Eve in Cascades Park.

Councilmember Mitch Ing spoke about his father who wanted to be an artist. He painted abstracts. He later found out that his father was a famous local artist. He had an art show in his lifetime. Art is in his blood. He father-in-law is also an artist. He stated that Eve is semi-nude. This is not artwork for the children. Residents don’t want it here. It would be a liability for the city. We all appreciate art. It needs to be place in a better location.

Mayor Real Sebastian asked staff to check on other locations for this statue in the city.

Matt Connolly stated this artwork was a site proposal. He rescinded their proposal.

Ellie Lee expressed her disappointment on the Council’s decision to deny their proposal to place Eve in the center of the Cascades waterfall.