The project, entitled “Fine Balance,” is aptly named: Victorian bathtubs will be balanced upon iron stilts on downtown Petaluma’s Water Street. Goggin’s public statement on his website asserts that the inspiration is drawn from Petaluma’s history as a shipping hub, trading goods with San Francisco; more specifically, trading produce and poultry for clawfoot bathtubs. Although public art in Petaluma has often been connected to the local poultry and dairy industries, this piece addresses a frequently forgotten aspect of those industries. Throughout time, the riverfront location of Petaluma has made it very appealing for tourists and trading — and much of it survived a 1906 earthquake in Sonoma and Marin counties, meaning downtown Petaluma serves often as a time capsule of what life was like in the 19th century. 

“Many claw and ball tubs procured from this trade activity are still in use at many local residences,” Goggin’s statement says. This style of surrealism is typical for Goggin: he has worked with furniture as a part of a structure that behaves in a bizarre way or seems to have come to life in his history with public art pieces. For example, in his piece “Defenestration” (meaning to throw something out of a window), chairs, couches, and tables are attached to the outside of an abandoned, four-story apartment building in San Francisco. The same animated, lively approach is reflected in “Fine Balance.”

In January, Goggin and the PPAC conducted what they called a “story pole event.” Goggin set up a mock-up of what the piece would look like when completed. Since this event and Goggin’s public meetings describing his motivations and inspiration for creating the piece, “Fine Balance” has received many strong reactions.

The 1,119 people who have banded against Goggin’s work refer to themselves as “Citizens Against Bathtubs on Stilts on Water Street” on a public Facebook page. Scott Andrews started this page after he observed a lot of interactions on social media and on Nextdoor, a social network for communities and neighborhoods that exhibited negative feedback toward Goggin’s piece and the PPAC.

“Public art is something that should serve the public and should provide the public with, you know, a sense of place,” said Andrews. “And most people that I’ve talked to, many artists included, don’t really feel that that piece is appropriate in that location. So there’s been a pretty good discussion about that. And I think most of us have gotten clearer about kind of what we want in public art.”

There are, of course, many aspects of the project for consideration. There have been reactions based on different parts of the installation, including location, aesthetics, the process of choosing Goggin by the PPAC, and the response from the PPAC after feedback came in from the public.

Petaluma mayor Teresa Barrett supports the PPAC’s process. The seven members of the PPAC are appointed by the City Council and serve staggered four-year terms. Barrett believes that projects like this are significant to the community and Petaluma as a whole.

“I just think public art is like a public park. It’s just another indication of a community that wants to have things in it that are a pleasant experience for the residents and visitors,” said Barrett. Because art is supposed to make an onlooker ‘think about things in a different way,’ Goggin’s work has been successful in bringing up dialogue about public art projects and their impact, according to Barrett.

This discussion has not always been constructive, though. Chair of the PPAC Beverly Schor agrees.

“The current tone, especially that on the internet, has been so negative that it really has prohibited discussion because people who want to discuss it seem to get flamed,” said Schor. She adds how this could have been prevented.

“It’s always best to have community involvement at the front of the project instead of coming in at the end,” said Schor. “And whatever we can do to get people involved will only make the process not only better but more constructive for everyone. Because, you know, without public input at the beginning, there’s very little that we can actually do because we can’t second guess what people want.”

Barrett adds she is also surprised by the tone of the negative reaction.

“I really have been extremely disappointed with the number of people who have been kind of rigid and rude about their opinions on this, and that that has really been disappointing and not something that I usually associate with people from Petaluma,” she said.

Andrews recognizes that there are “less-than-diplomatic responses” on social media, especially within his Facebook organization. However, he argues that there have been many well-articulated responses that are overlooked.

“I guess my problem with the PPAC’s reaction is that they just sort of lump it all together … and dismiss the entire commentary from social media, because, you know, there are a handful of negative comments that probably were not very well thought through. But the fact is that there has also been a lot of very good discussion on social media,” said Andrews.

Arguably, though, this dialogue has been overall a beneficial aspect of public art installations. PPAC member Heather Mackin agrees with this sentiment.

“I am personally dismayed at the level of negativity it has brought out in our community … [However,] I think art is inherently open to controversy. Art has held this position and responsibility throughout history. Art should make us think, ask questions, discuss. It should challenge or soothe or just make us feel something — good or bad,” said Mackin.

Goggin has described publicly the Victorian era inspiration for “Fine Balance,” but Andrews disagrees with the historical context, calling it “concocted.”