Seven works by one of Utah's best known sculptors, Mahonri M. Young, will apparently be spared at West High School.
In a split vote, the Salt Lake City Board of Education agreed Tuesday to grant $6,000 to the West High School Community Council to remove four statues and three friezes created by Young. The statues are attached to the school's 83-year-old technology building, scheduled for demolition early next year.The statues depict workers plying their trades, a man using a chisel to shape stone and a blacksmith's hammer to mold metal on an anvil. The works are mounted near the top of the two-story technology building.
Once removed, artists and school community council members will ascertain if the sculptures and friezes can be restored and displayed at the school. Restoration would be paid through private funds, said Chris Decker, chairwoman of the West High Community Council.
While board members generally agreed the school district should preserve art, some questioned whether the district should pay to remove the statues.
Said board member Diane Barlow: "I worry about giving them a grant because I do think it sets a precedent."
But board member Karen Derrick said Young's works have signficant value and the district ought to help preserve them. "To not save them would be an absolute tragedy. We have a substantial art collection in the district and this should be part of it," Derrick said.
Young's best known public sculpture pieces include This is the Place Monument, the seated figure of Brigham Young in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol and the Seagull Monument and figures of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on Temple Square. He is the grandson of former LDS Mormon Church President founder Brigham Young.
The board voted 5-2 to provide the grant, with Barlow and board president Mary Jo Rasmussen dissenting.
The technology building will be replaced with a 110,000-square-foot project that will house technical and industrial arts, an auditorium, fine arts and physical education facilities. The complex could be ready by the fall.