Editor,
It is fascinating to see the Irvine Company opposing the planned development on the site of the current Orange County Museum of Art. The two-acre site was donated by the Irvine Company to the City of Newport Beach on the condition that it would be used for cultural development until 2055.
The developers apparently feel that naming the new 25-story luxury condominium complex Museum House amounts to cultural improvement. Surely the Irvine Company feels differently.
It sounds like Museum House will be neither museum nor house, though they plan to put something in the basement. If this donated property is to be used for maximizing high rent living space instead of art, further congesting Newport Center, why would we expect that the space next to the furnace downstairs will continue to be earmarked for the arts after the excitement of having another high-rise has worn off. Perhaps the OCMA nonprofit is a lost cause, and the space should be given over to another non-profit. If OCMA can’t make it in the shadow of Fashion Island, they probably can’t make it in South Coast Metro either, their new home.
Please recall that Orange County Museum of Art is the nonprofit that tried to bully their way into acquiring all of the assets of the Laguna Art Museum years ago by packing the board of directors under cover of darkness. While their takeover attempt failed thanks to a vigorous uprising by local art lovers, a 2009 court decision awarded half of the Laguna Art Museum permanent collection to OCMA anyway. Those holdings were comprised of many plein air paintings created by founders of the Laguna Art Museum. OCMA further publicly displayed their regard for the arts by selling their portion of the collection to an undisclosed private collector for millions of dollars. Where are they now?
I wonder what became of OCMAs ill-gotten proceeds of the sale. Did they spend it all on lawn maintenance, private wine tastings and a giant sculpture of a dog urinating on their building? Some think Newport Beach should vote on the plan. I think the Irvine Company should decide. I favor reverting ownership of the land to the Irvine Company so that they can use the acreage for cultural purposes, as was the original intention of the gift to Newport Beach in 1977.
Jim Rue, Laguna Beach
