Local News in Brief : Sculpture Staying Put

“Moon Dial,” a sculpture in a Beverly Hills park that has roused debate over what kind of art is fit for public view, will be staying where it is.

The artist, George Herms, turned down a city offer to move the sculpture--consisting of five rusted buoys surrounding a rusted window frame and a winch--to a less public location. “In my view, any alternative site would not fit the nature of the work,” Herms said in a letter to a City Council committee that had offered to move the work.

The sculpture was installed in April as part of the city Fine Arts Committee’s program to develop a sculpture garden in Beverly Gardens Park. But nearly 350 people signed a petition objecting to the placement of the sculpture in such a prominent place, prompting the city’s attempt to persuade Herms to move it. The city cannot move the sculpture without Herms’ permission because he has a contract calling for its display in the park for at least 18 months.