City asks to fine La Jolla artist ordered to remove sculpture

Nasser Pirasteh, supporters argued his art should stay

The La Jolla artist ordered to take down what he calls a sculpture the city says is a structure had a hearing with officials Friday in which they asked he be fined more than $6,000.

Nasser Pirasteh and his wife Zari, accompanied by a handful of supporters, crowded into the small room where the administrative hearing took place as city officials made their case as to why the colorful piece, called “In Out” has to go.

Pirasteh, an artist and art teacher who has some 90 other pieces of art on the property, said at the hearing that he believed that it was his First Amendment right to express himself through art.

“This piece is our human body,” he said. “It’s not a building. It doesn’t need codes, it doesn’t need any of these permits.”

At issue is the placement of the 8-by-10 foot display. City officials say it violates municipal code because it sits too close to the street – on Avenida Manaña, at Nautilus Street. Additionally it had electricity for lighting, although that has since been removed.

The city mandates a 20-foot setback for accessory structures such as sheds and requires permits for the installation or removal of any electrical lighting.

The family says the heavy piece, which is made of concrete and metal and is covered with vivid pieces of glass and other materials, can’t be moved because it is cemented to the ground.

Administrative hearing officer James Queenan, who will make the final ruling, said he will review the case and issue his decision in the next couple of weeks.

The city got involved after one person complained last December. Since then, one additional complaint has been lodged about the work and the hundreds of messages of support that have been scrawled on the wall around Pirasteh’s yard.

Officials assessed a fine of $250 per day for every day the couple has not been in compliance for a total of $10,000, which was reduced to $5,000, and asked also that they pay administrative costs totaling $1,143.57.

Konstantin El Wardani, 16, who had studied with Pirasteh, came to the hearing with his mother to show his support. He said that the artwork was a “beautiful, inspiring thing.”

“Good people make things and bad people break things,” he said. “That’s truly what I feel from the heart.”

Skye Bentley, another student of the artist’s who also came with her mother, said, “I see Nasser’s house as a beacon of light.”

Her mother, Yvonne Bentley, called the display a “special jewel.”

“It is the most special piece of property in La Jolla and a source of pride for the community,” she said.

Juliet Sapida said the artwork was a “treasure,” and that it would be a tragedy if it had to come down.

Zari Pirasteh also spoke and talked about how art can bring people peace and healing. She also said that she and her husband both wished the person who had complained would have come and talked with them instead.

Nasser echoed that and mused that perhaps they would have become friends.

His wife went on to say, as emotion choked her voice, that the couple would like to dedicate their home to the city “after they are gone.” In addition to “In Out,” there are some 90 other pieces of art on the property.

This article originally appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune