Subscriber Comments for
So Mama Don't Take My Kodachrome Away

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

CHERIDIANE	2012-10-25 08:34 PM
Great picture!
COMMENT 335721	2012-10-25 08:48 PM
Maybe we should all just show up with our own paint and restore it using this as a color key!
MTNDRIVER	2012-10-25 09:55 PM
Wow, your photo almost makes me like the thing! Nice composition, perfect grey day for the contrast.
MESARATS	2012-10-25 10:01 PM
Thanks for posting Dan. It is in the process of being restored and even if people don't care if it is significant piece by likely the the last member of the Bauhaus group, (considered important if any one gives a hoot), maybe they can enjoy the whimsey and joy of the color as a frame to the beauty of Santa Barbara. I may be in the minority on edhat that has a fondness for it, but I remember when it it was installed and it is a part of my history. I look forward to completion of the restoration.
MESARATS	2012-10-25 10:05 PM
Sorry for the multi post. Must be a mobile issue thing. Edhat please delete duplicates. I don't want to piss anyone off for that n
COMMENT 335741P	2012-10-25 10:06 PM
the record's stuck the record's stuck the record's stuck :o) I like it, too. Would love to see a current shot from the same spot..
NATURE BOY	2012-10-25 10:10 PM
Whoever decided its orientation blew it. The only straight-on photo you can take has that ugly electrical box dead center right in the arch's opening.
COMMENT 335748P	2012-10-25 10:45 PM
It is garish. It may be "Bauhaus", but it is just awful. It may shine in, and be better suited to, another location.
COMMENT 335751P	2012-10-26 12:32 AM
I agree, Mesarats & thanks for the pic, Dan. I like it. I've always liked it. I learned some history from this piece; at least it taught me who Bayer was.
FIRST DISTRICT	2012-10-26 12:46 AM
The unsurpassed joy I will experience as I drive along our lovely Cabrillo Blvd. without seeing that monstrosity. . . I pray it will go the way of RV parking and as one wise poster said. . . Let's hope it gets lost in transit.
COMMENT 335756P	2012-10-26 04:32 AM
Chromatic gate. Stunningly out of place.
REXOFSB	2012-10-26 04:58 AM
Nature Boy hit it right on the head. It isn't so much the "gate" that's off-kilter, it's the location. Never mind the electric box in the dead center of it, it's simply in the wrong venue. Now is probably the only chance we have to do something about it, as I understand it's being taken away a piece at a time for refurbishing. Just put it back somewhere else, where it might fit in better with the background. Some suggestions: The SB Zoo. The Airport. The parking area between the downtown Library and the Art Museum. Moving an "artwork" is not unprecedented. A few decades ago the city removed the awful statue of Spain's King Carlos from Storke Placita near the News-Press after many people disliked it. I don't remember what was done with the statue, but I think it's around somewhere less conspicuous. Just please relocate the "gate" to a place where it isn't totally disruptive to the natural beauty of the beachfront.
COMMENT 335762P	2012-10-26 05:02 AM
Thanks for the photo! I, too, like the gate, having forgotten how handsome it was. It would be better at the beach - I think that's where it was originally? but can understand the protests when it was there. (Maybe the electrical/transformer box can be moved?) Anyway, I look forward to the repainting!
PURPLERIDER	2012-10-26 06:25 AM
The only constant in the universe is change.
COMMENT 335771	2012-10-26 06:26 AM
A big blot on the horizon it should be removed.
COMMENT 335773	2012-10-26 06:30 AM
I'll never forget my first visions of Santa Barbara when I moved here from the east coast in '96. Over the phone I had rented a duplex on corner of Puerto Vallarta and Orilla del Mar, right across the street from Tri-County Produce and just a pitching wedge from the Cabrillo ball field. Me and my U-Haul exited the 101 at Cabrillo Blvd and were greeted by the beautiful bird refuge. My breath was taken away as I rounded the corner near the East Beach volleyball courts. The mountains, the ocean, the palm trees...paradise. Then I saw the Chromatic Gate, and thought, what the hell is this piece of crap doing here?? It's an abomination.
REXOFSB	2012-10-26 06:39 AM
Seriously...does anyone know if moving this monstr--err, "artwork" to a more appropriate site is actually possible? Since it's being temporarily dismantled, it would seem that this is the ONLY opportunity we're ever going to get. How do we do this?
FLICKA	2012-10-26 07:10 AM
I believe the orginal design of this "gate" was for a shopping mall not in CA. It would possibly be something to brighten up such a place. We have thought it "ugly as sin" from the beginning, bright colors and all.
FIRST DISTRICT	2012-10-26 07:32 AM
King Carlos is happily existing on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Presidio. His comment to me was, 'I'd be so delighted to have The Chromatic Arch here with me.'
COMMENT 335792	2012-10-26 07:42 AM
Ah yes, the soon to be 'monochromatic rectangular pass-through'---when will that happen...?
COMMENT 335796	2012-10-26 07:47 AM
I just don't like it and I don't think the rest of you should either. I am ENTITLED to my point of view and the rest of you should just get on board. Thanks for caring. It was never on the beach...d'oh! It doesn't have a "front" or " back". Do a drive by with someone else at the wheel. Notice the shifting shapes, the subtle illusion of movement. Recall that the mountains and sea are the only "natural" elements in the composition. The beach, the bird refuge, the palm trees, the curvaceous flow of Cabrillo, all created by the hand of man. Our "paradise" is almost entirely man-made. The CG reminds us of that fact which seems unbearable to some. Oh wait a second, are we part of nature or ...something else? S'Auntie Barbara
COMMENT 335800	2012-10-26 08:17 AM
The color is a thin veneer of manic, twee sensuousness applied to a structure of ugly hard edge nested metal square boxes. It's a genius comment on Santa Barbara society: twee on the surface, stratified hard edge structure underneath and ramrodded in place. It may not be the Hebert Bayer we wish reflected our social structures but it does and it is the only Bayer we'll ever get. There was a parks and rec bureaucrat (now retired) who hated the public art program and went to absurd lengths to curtail it. Many who wish to monetize the waterfront hate public space.
RICHBUSYWOMAN	2012-10-26 08:27 AM
It never ceases to amaze me, the extreme opinions this thing causes!
COMMENT 335817	2012-10-26 09:04 AM
Don't worry Gate - we will keep you safe from all of the art haters. It's beautiful and we are lucky to have it. Relax people or move back to Compton!!!
COMMENT 335826	2012-10-26 09:14 AM
I am a SB native and I never liked that thing. Seemed totally out of place and out of character for our city. It never belonged there and its existence is jarring.
COMMENT 335827P	2012-10-26 09:16 AM
Oh my it's ugly. I'm an ex-hippie who saw and wore every imaginable rainbow artistic concoction from the sixties and seventies but this one takes the [MacArthur Park] cake!
AQUAHOLIC	2012-10-26 09:24 AM
This thread is proof why we need art in our lives...
COMMENT 335841	2012-10-26 09:54 AM
Thank you #335817. How can we get it re-painted?
REXOFSB	2012-10-26 10:55 AM
The structure is as out of place at its present location as it would be if it were on the Courthouse lawn. It isn't a question of whether it's art, it's a question of proper placement. It blends in with absolutely nothing where it is. Relocate it to the Airport, where it would actually brighten the landscape.
COMMENT 335826	2012-10-26 10:59 AM
Aqua: I hate to disagree with you, because I adore your nature pictures! That said, you of all people should recognize that man-made art does not always complement natural beauty. The Gate appeals to many people but it absolutely is out of place in its current location and detracts from the natural color and beauty of the ocean and surroundings. Throwing a box of crayons at nature does not improve upon nature.
COMMENT 335886	2012-10-26 11:32 AM
Add me to the list who like and appreciate it, although in it's restored/maintained condition not how it's been left to deteriorate.
COMMENT 335751P	2012-10-26 12:07 PM
872, I think Aquaholic was being philosophical about art and was not giving an opinion on the piece in question. My opinion is that no one "should agree" on public or private art. Tip of the hat to her & S'Auntie B.
COMMENT 335800	2012-10-26 12:58 PM
@800: "Santa Barbara society: twee on the surface, stratified hard edge structure underneath and ramrodded in place. It may not be the Hebert Bayer we wish reflected our social structures but it does and it is the only Bayer we'll ever get." I think this went over some heads. It's pretty funny though. There are layers to even abstract art that, in general, people don't take time to think about.
DILLYDALLY	2012-10-26 02:16 PM
Its funny when people comment on their own post and dont realize the comment number didn't change.
COMMENT 335979P	2012-10-26 03:45 PM
773... that's funny.
COMMENT 335980	2012-10-26 03:48 PM
Doesn't matter what they do to try and fix it up....you can't polish a turd.
COMMENT 336030P	2012-10-26 06:09 PM
Who do we contact do get the ball rolling to get it moved? Bet we could get enough people/votes to make a difference!
COMMENT 336045	2012-10-26 07:13 PM
The Chromatic Gate always reminds me of Summer Soltice whenever I drive by and am concerned that we let this Gate to Summer beome so faded. Maybe a move to a new location would help define its great appeal.
CHILI_CON_ARTCARNE	2012-10-26 07:34 PM
How much would it cost to move it to Berlin?
COMMENT 336053	2012-10-26 07:41 PM
Folks, it's for the touristas. Imagine you're in SB for the first time - wouldn't you take a picture? Well, if it were in better condition.
NEIGHBOR	2012-10-26 09:58 PM
For years building projects have been required to allocate a % of a project's total cost to Public Art. I haven't heard of any reserve or process that has been set up to maintain these Public Art Works. Although I found the Chromatic Gate jarring when it was first installed many years ago, I now have a fond memory of its bright presence along Cabrillo Blvd. I think a return to the fresh pure rainbow colors it originally showed would be great. Without establishing a system for "Operations & Maintenance" of what has been mandated, our Public Art is destined to sink into ugly dingy squalor.

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