PANEL TO STUDY COPPER CURTAIN, ARTS PLAZA SIGNS; SOLUTIONS SOUGHT TO DILEMMA.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

The saga of the maligned Copper Curtain facing motorists from the Civic Arts Plaza, and the mounting of freeway signs on the massive building are now problems for an unprecedented panel of arts leaders.

The City Council and the Thousand Oaks Arts Commission couldn't agree on how the Copper Curtain can be altered to more clearly represent a stage curtain. Agreement on freeway identification signs has been nearly as troublesome, with the council rejecting a massive marquee last year that was similar to the auto mall sign.

So the council decided Tuesday night to appoint a special committee to recommend potential solutions within 60 days. The panel will have two representatives from the Thousand Oaks Arts Commission, the Alliance for the Arts and the Performing Arts Center Board of Governors, two representatives from the general public, and two council members.

``It's been going on so we need to get some closure to this stuff,'' said Mayor Mike Markey. ``By bringing everyone together, we will get this back to the council in a timely manner. Otherwise, it just keeps going and going.''

Markey said community arts leaders suggested the panel as the various groups already are dealing with similar issues all involving the Civic Arts Plaza, a centerpiece of community pride that rises over the Ventura Freeway.

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah was the only dissenting vote. She contended that the various arts groups are capable of doing their work separately, and at the least council members shouldn't be part of the panel.

``The Copper Curtain and the naming are both controversial issues, we have learned, and the council is going to be the judge,'' she said. ``And I feel council members should not personally be involved in making a proposal to the council.

``That hinders our objectivity. It only takes three votes and two council members will come in with their minds made up.''

The Civic Arts Plaza opened in 1994 and features the 1,800-seat Probst Performing Arts Center and the 400-seat Forum Theatre, as well as city offices.

While the name of the complex stands tall on an electronic message board on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, the only distinguishing features visible from the freeway are abstract metal architectural features on the roof and the Copper Curtain facing east.

Since its unveiling three years ago, the Copper Curtain has been controversial. The $150,000 curtain is intended to represent a stage curtain symbolizing the two theaters. But the curtain was altered from its original conception by city officials who were worried that loose-hanging copper strips would bang against the wall and disrupt performances or even come off with gusts of wind.

The city has set aside $10,000 for improvements, but arts commissioners have said that won't pay for any improvements.

Earlier this year, the commission recommended that the council let the public decide from 30 or so suggestions from local artists and others for improving the artwork. But the commission also supported restoring the sculpture to architect Antoine Predock's original design.

Jane Brooks, the commission's chairwoman, welcomed the new panel and said she would even like to be a member.

``There's been a lot of heat about it, a lot of things people didn't understand,'' Brooks said. ``I think it's a big charge to dump onto the Arts Commission, because the Arts Commission could really only make a recommendation.''

Further, Brooks said the Copper Curtain and the need for freeway signage should be considered by the same group.

The city has budgeted $75,000 to install a freeway identification sign on the Civic Arts Plaza exterior. That followed the council's rejection of the 18-foot-tall freeway message board recommended by the Performing Arts Center Board last year, which was expected to cost $467,000.

``There's been so many ideas. There isn't a forum to make a final recommendation,'' said Tom Mitze, the city's theaters director. ``You want a consensus, to get something everybody agrees to.''