ARTS PANEL DOWNPLAYS LEGAL OPINION OF WORK : COPPER CURTAIN TERMED ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

To members of the city's Arts Commission, it doesn't matter that state and federal definitions of art fail to include copper slats affixed to a wall: An artist designed and created the mural of sorts, and the artist should have a say about its future.

``Being artists ourselves, it's very difficult for us to touch someone else's work,'' said commission member Howard Leong, a jewelry designer.

``To tell you the truth, the legal definition doesn't matter to me,'' he added. ``Art is art. It was a piece of art he was affixing to the theater.''

In a legal definition, however, given to the commission at its meeting Thursday, City Attorney Mark Sellers defines visual art only as ``a painting, drawing, print or sculpture.'' Further, unlike the Copper Curtain, a sculpture can be moved, Sellers' written opinion states.

The commission had sought the legal opinion to resolve questions members had about artists' rights to preserving their work and the public's right to change pieces it does not like.

The Thousand Oaks City Council has charged the commission with giving a recommendation on how the Copper Curtain could be changed to make it more pleasing to the public while staying within a $10,000 budget.

The legal definition appears to give the city the power to change it without Predock's consent. Sellers states that the Copper Curtain is more an architectural feature, added to the Civic Arts Plaza by renowned architect/artist Antoine Predock to break up the monotony of the wall facing the Ventura Freeway.

``Like the architectural features of the imported sandstone on other portions of that building or the drilled holes filled with plexiglass in the balcony lobbies, the Copper Curtain has no intrinsic artistic value standing alone unattached to the auditorium wall,'' Sellers' memo states.

But commission members said the legal opinion didn't resolve the issue, and they continue struggling for an answer to what some have called the back of a refrigerator, a car grill or a blank billboard.

``It's just a legal opinion, and we take that for what it's worth,'' Commissioner Karen La Fleur said. ``A lot of commissioners share the feelings of the community, that we don't like it. But that doesn't mean you change public art.''

The curtain's 2,100 strips of copper were once brilliant, but became dull and dark shortly after the curtain went up in fall 1994. Not long afterward, residents began complaining.

In 1995, the council set aside $10,000 in arts money to improve the $150,000 adornment.

But the commission hasn't found answers, particularly since some of the changes members would like require more than $10,000. One commissioner noted that erecting and taking down scaffolding alone would cost about $3,000 to $6,000.

Many commissioners said they would like to see the curtain changed so that it meets with the artist's original intention. A letter Predock sent to the commission says that he would be interested in participating in any changes.

Predock had envisioned a design that would allow the copper strips to flutter in the wind, La Fleur said, with the copper eventually taking on a patina.

But the city had the panels pinned down out of concern that the clanging would affect the center's acoustics. Officials also feared that strong winds would eventually dislodge the panels and send them flying onto cars.

Leong said he doubted the panels could travel much more than a couple dozen feet, even in the strongest winds - not nearly enough distance to affect cars in the area. And he contended the noise impact would be minimal.

``Everyone hates it, but it isn't his design,'' said commission member Jane Brooks, an interior designer. ``What's there is not near what his concept was. I would resent someone changing something I did without asking me. The important thing is to preserve the integrity of art.''