Council accepts artwork

The late Lew Geiser will have his last wish granted after all — a bequest of sculptures from Paris to the city.

The City Council unanimously overruled the Arts Commission Tuesday and accepted Geiser’s donation of two sculptures by French artist Victor Magni.

It was the first appeal of an Arts Commission decision in recent memory.

The Council agreed to accept the sculptures — calling them “too fun and too cute” not to display in the city — and ordered the Arts Commission to select locations and the exact pieces to be displayed.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider had worked with Geiser so he could spend his last days in his red-tagged Bluebird Canyon home, which was damaged in the landslide.

Geiser, a frequent visitor to Paris, died of cancer on April 1.

Pearson-Schneider — who was mayor at the time of the landslide — suggested that one of Magni’s sculptures of a woman and bird would be appropriate to place in Bluebird Park.

Arts Commissioners had rejected the metal sculptures, stating they would deteriorate in the ocean air and would be an “attractive nuisance” for children who would be inclined to climb on them.

The sculptures — made of metal that bends and sways when touched — are intended to be interactive.

Katy Moss, a friend of Geiser’s, presented nearly 400 signatures on petitions to the Council seeking to have the sculptures accepted.

Moss said she is very pleased that the Council agreed to accept the donation, which has a value of $25,000.

“The Arts Commission will select the location and then choose two of four possible sculptures, if they’re still available,” Moss said.

Moss will travel to Paris in late October to arrange for the sculptures to be transported to Laguna.

“It will be a much happier trip because of the outcome,” Moss said. “I’m very grateful for the support of Lew’s and my friends and the people who may not have known him but appreciate his generosity.”

One possible location for the sculptures could be the Council chambers, where Moss believes they would lighten the often-somber mood of city meetings.