THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995 TAG: 9512210408
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
Art critics in Virginia's capital have quietly mounted an effort to do what Confederate aficionados last summer could not: delay the placement of a statue of Arthur Ashe Jr. on Monument Avenue.
Unlike last summer, however, when controversy over the Ashe statue drew international attention, the issue is not location, but the statue itself.
Everyone in the newly resurfaced debate agrees that the work should rest on Monument Avenue, Richmond's storied boulevard honoring Confederate war heroes.
The question now is whether to elevate the work of a local sculptor who consulted with Ashe about the project before his death from AIDS in 1993 - or to launch an international competition.
In their first public outing on Wednesday, the critics - including Frances Lewis, a founder of Best Products and one of Virginia's premier art patrons - suffered a setback before the city's Commission of Architectural Review.
The commission gave unanimous ``conditional approval'' to the statue of Ashe under construction by local sculptor Paul DiPasquale, although several members of the commission were assigned to meet with him to consider revisions.
Admirers of DiPasquale's work, including members of the Ashe family, have praised his vision in launching the Ashe project even before the death of the legendary tennis star and internationally acknowledged humanitarian.
The critics countered with words such as ``wooden'' and ``embarrassing mediocrity'' in urging the commission to sponsor an international competition to honor one of Richmond's best-known native sons.
``Arthur Ashe's lovingness, his energy, his humanity, his intelligence . . improvement,'' said Lewis, who joined several local art professors and patrons in speaking for the competition.
Lewis and her husband, Sydney, are two of the primary benefactors of the west wing of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. They have contributed numerous works of art to the museum.
The critics were unanimous in saying that they support placement of an Ashe statue on Monument Avenue.
Admirers were equally adamant in saying that DiPasquale had been true to the requests of Ashe and his family and that the rendering, which many of the critics have seen only in newspaper photographs, is an inspiring one.
``The best way to pay tribute to anyone is to remember them in the manner they want,'' said Thomas N. Chewning, a local businessman and co-chairman of the effort to raise $400,000 to pay for the placement of DePasquale's statue. ``It completely captures the spirit and messages Arthur wished to leave with us.''
Chewning said that Virginia Heroes Inc., the organization sponsoring the fund-raising project, has collected about $340,000, including a $100,000 appropriation from the Richmond City Council.
Most Richmonders had thought the Ashe statue controversy was settled last summer after an emotional debate over its placement. Following a public hearing in July that drew about 100 speakers, the city council voted for the Monument Avenue site.
But an opening for revisiting the controversy was created when city officials and others agreed that the statue should be moved slightly east to the center of a Monument Avenue intersection, rather than placed in a grassy median.
The shift put the statue within the Monument Avenue Historic District, and meant that approval by the architectural commission is required.
The critics began quietly circulating petitions calling for an international competition last fall, and said they have collected several hundred names.
Architectural Review Commission Chairman Tom Fahed said a primary concern is that no one has come forward to pay for such a competition or to pay for the statue that it might produce. Both the city's donation and the Virginia Heroes fund-raising specifically relate to the DiPasquale statue.
DiPasquale began his work in 1992 after hearing Ashe speak at a local Parks and Recreation Department youth tennis clinic. The sculptor and Ashe had a phone conversation in which Ashe outlined his preferences for the statue, including that he be informally dressed in tennis sweats, that his shoes be untied, and that he be interacting with children.
Various members of the Ashe family, including his widow and brother, evaluated the work as it progressed, providing both a critique and encouragement.
``It is a wonderful likeness of Arthur as he asked to be portrayed,'' said Randy Ashe, who represented the Ashe family in speaking Wednesday.
But critics suggested that the informality and the depiction of Ashe as he looked near the end of his life create a less-than-dignified impression.
Since Ashe will be the first African American to be honored on Monument Avenue, ``it's very important to me that it be done with great dignity,'' said Sandi Stovall, a commission member and president of the Jackson Ward Historic Foundation.
Stovall was among three commission members assigned to meet with DiPasquale during the next few weeks to see if alterations addressing some concerns can be made.
Lewis scoffed at that solution. ``A camel is a horse designed by a committee, so we'll get a camel now,'' she said.
Some of the critics said they will appeal the commission's decision to the City Council, assuming final approval is granted. Others seemed uncertain about what will come next.
Virginia Heroes had hoped that the statue could be erected by next July, in time for what would have been Ashe's 53rd birthday.
But Stovall said the city, which took some 17 years to erect a statue to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee at the turn of the century, should not rush. ``I don't really care how long it takes to get it right, just as long as we get it right,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot file
Sculptor Paul DiPasquale created the statue of Arthur Ashe according
to the wishes of the tennis star.
by CNB