$300,000 Art Piece, Originally Approved at $275,000, Unveiled at Cerritos Sculpture Garden

The $300,000 art piece at the Cerritos Sculpture Garden entitled, “Infinity”

By Brian Hews

Officials at Cerritos City Hall have rolled out the latest piece of public art this past week with at the Cerritos Sculpture Garden.
With a price tag of $300,000, the quirky, twisted medal artwork sits dramatically at the north entry point of the Sculpture Garden located at the Cerritos Civic Center at the corner of 183rd Street and Bloomfield Avenue.
Cliff Garten, the artist and creator of the work that was given the formal name of “Infinity,” was in the works for almost two years, and was originally slated to be completed this past July 4th to be unveiled as part of the city’s annual “Let Freedom Ring” Celebration.
But a complex fabrication process was cited for the delay.
It was July 9, 2012 when the Cerritos City Council approved the concept for a “well illuminated art piece,” but it seemed city officials, along with the Fine Arts Commission, did not investigate what it would take to install the piece.
Assistant City Manager Kathy Matsumoto cited publicly during the past several months that a “complex fabrication process” was being cited as the main reason why the art piece was several months behind schedule.
Matsumoto told city council members that after the original engineering and “foundation design process” was completed, she along with Garten and city engineers determined that the piece needed to have a durable, “solid base” installed in order to “keep the art piece intact for the next 50 years.”
The cost of the artwork was first approved at $275,000.
Annie Hylton, the Public Information Officer for the City of Cerritos, told Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper this week that the final price of the work was $300,000.
In the past, Matsumoto stressed publicly that is was “important that the lights be strategically positioned far enough from the art piece so as to highlight the various curves of the sculpture, while creating ways to protect the lights from water, vandalism and damage and the city from potential liability and additional costs.”
Hylton said the final touches on the lighting should be completed with a week.
“We are very pleased on how it turned out, and so far the comments we have gotten from the community has been very positive,” Hylton said in a phone interview.
Hylton also confirmed that the lighting will be on a timer and that different colors will be used to highlight the unusual art piece.
Hylton said that there are no formal plans for a public dedication or unveiling ceremony, but did say that members of the Cerritos

City Council and members if the Fine Arts and Historical Commission gathered this past week at the site of the art work and poised for a photo.

A Lynwood resident who was visiting the Cerritos Library on Wednesday paused and looked at the artwork and remarked, “It sort of looks like a Mexican pastry, a Banuelo.”

Another Cerritos resident, Lei Pham instantly “loved it.”

“It’s beautiful, and dramatic,” Pham said.

A third on looker said, “It looks like a slinky to me. It is very provocative.”