Send in the clowns

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The streets of Sarasota could soon be lined with fiberglass clowns.

Life-size clown statues will soon dot some Sarasota streets, but the clowns are bringing frowns to some faces.

Clowns and Sarasota have a relationship dating back to the 1930s. Clown Jackie LeClair says Sarasota was practically built around the greatest show on earth.

"I think that if [the] circus had not come, Sarasota would not be on the map," LeClair said.

Professional clowns still make up a good part of the city's population.

Hospice, an organization that helps people deal with terminal illness, end-of-life issues, caregiving, and grief, hopes the long relationship between the city and clowns will help it raise money for its childrens' services programs.

For it's 25th anniversary fundraiser hospice wants to place 70 fiberglass clowns around town. The statues will be sponsored and painted by local artists.

The clowns will hit the streets for about six months starting October 2006. Then they'll be auctioned off.

Hospice organizers say they are currently designing the clown statues and plan to have a kickoff ceremony in January to solicit sponsors for the statues and launch a wider public awareness campaign.

Artist Virginia Hoffman says she'd prefer another fundraising effort besides clowns.

Cities all over the country have done similar projects, such as cows in Chicago and Atlanta and fish in Richmond. But not everyone in Sarasota is smiling about the clowns.

Virginia Hoffman, a Sarasota sculptor and chairwoman of the public art committee, isn't eager to see the clowns in town.

"I'm not that excited about the fiberglass fundraiser," she said. "I think that's old hat. It's been done over. It's not the best medium for high-end creativity from artists."

Hoffman said that was her personal opinion as a professional artist, not that of her position as chair of the art committee.

Hoffman also says organizers should take people's clown phobia into consideration.

"It's a very real problem," she said. "I think it's something that we should be mindful of and be considerate of other people's feelings."

She added that from a public art point of view the clown phobia is a minor concern.

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