Good Art, Good Governance

Burbank deserves a cheer for recognizing the value of public art and taking steps to restore a mural that has graced City Hall for more than 50 years. Hugo Ballin’s “Four Freedoms” consumes most of one wall in the City Council chambers, but has been obscured since the mid-1970s by renovations.

Restoring the dramatic artwork gives even greater flair to the Moderne building that in 1996 won a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. And the $200,000 it could cost to tear out obstructions and reroute air-conditioning and heating vents will be money well spent toward preserving a piece of history.

Like good art, good governance can be inspiring--and that’s the message of Ballin’s painting, which depicts the freedoms of religion, speech as well as freedom from want and fear. But the godlike figures representing the freedoms are obscured by a dropped ceiling. Renovating the ceiling would reveal again the freedoms and ideals upon which this country is based.

Who knows? Maybe the intact mural will inspire the men and women who occupy the dais below to remember and celebrate the freedoms as they go about the work of governing.