Windsor preparing to install big cheese sculpture

It’s big and eye-catching. And depending on the point of view, it’s either whimsical and playful, or inappropriate and kitschy.

“Slice” hasn’t been installed yet, but the 20-foot-tall, steel sculpture of a piece of Swiss cheese planned for a Windsor roundabout is getting a reaction.

“We will be known as the cheesy downtown,” said Town Councilman Dominic Foppoli, who cast the lone vote against accepting the work by the late artist Robert Ellison.

“Are we from Wisconsin?” was among the comments on social media, said Windsor Mayor Deb Fudge, who nevertheless was “honored” to get something from Ellison, the Penngrove artist whose works are on display in some prominent Sonoma County locations.

The metallic, yellow-colored likeness of a giant piece of cheese will be installed in two to three months at the new roundabout on Old Redwood Highway and Windsor Road.

The council on a 4-1 vote approved the placement of the sculpture in late December.

“There’s a lot of negative input about ‘Slice’ from people who’ve never seen it,” Rhoann Ponseti, chair of the Public Art Advisory Commission, said last week. But it will be fun and playful and an opportunity to get “a world-class piece of sculpture.”

Art as the saying goes, is in the eye of the beholder, Ponseti noted, so “some people will like it and some won’t.”

Ellison, who died in 2012, was known for his fanciful works and colorful palette.

They include “Sun Zone,” a piece reminiscent of ice cream cones at the entrance to the Sonoma County Administration Center, “Cherry Soda” in Petaluma’s Theater District and “Bar Note Bench” at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center. He also produced the scissored “Renaissance,” which stood at Old Courthouse Square and is now at Cornerstone in Sonoma.

The Windsor art commission last year unanimously recommended “Slice” for the roundabout after sifting through 43 applications from artists.

The town agreed to refurbish and rent the piece for three years from the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation for $10,000, with an option to spend $20,000 more if it chooses to purchase it.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 707-521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.