Peach and eggplant sculptures stir unexpected drama in Ellicott City

No one had any problem with the eggplant, then the peach showed up.

To those who are a little too much on the Internet, all they may see are phallic and derrière references.

But to others, the peach sculpture in front of Georgia Grace Cafe and the aubergine, or eggplant, statue tucked under The Wine Bin’s awning, represent the whimsical and charming nature of Old Ellicott City’s Main Street.

But art lovers came up short at a recent meeting of Howard County’s historic preservation commission. The panel agreed to let the eggplant stay for another year but denied a petition to keep the peach.

“My work is meant to give joy, not cause controversy,” said Jan Kirsch, an artist and landscape designer who made both sculptures. “I’ve never been the recipient of such negativity.”

Kirsch, who lives in Bozman on the Eastern Shore, has had her fruit and vegetable sculptures featured all over Howard County for years. There was her “Chile Pepper #2,” which was displayed at the Robinson Nature Center, and her original “Aubergine,” which stood in front of the Howard County Welcome Center on Ellicott City’s Main Street. She also had a six-foot pear outside the George Howard Building and a couple of intertwined carrots at the Howard County Center for the Arts.

After the “Aubergine” sculpture left the welcome center, The Fund for Art in Ellicott City reached out to say the community missed the eggplant and commissioned Kirsch to make another one. A new eggplant sprouted up on Main Street in 2018.

This past spring, when Don Reuwer, president of the Waverly Real Estate Group, commissioned her to sculpt the peach, she was happy to do so.

Kirsch knew nothing about peach and eggplant emojis being used suggestively to represent body parts.

“I am dismayed,” Kirsch said. “Given where we are politically, socially and culturally in our country … good heavens folks, don’t we have something more interesting and important to think about?”

Apparently not.

A couple of anonymous complaints about the sculptures were filed with the county’s planning and zoning department in June, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The complaint about the peach sculpture states that it “completely overwhelms the historic Merryman House and blocks the Main St. views.”

The complaints also assert that both sculptures had not been approved for their respective locations by the historic preservation commission. And Julie Danna, the commission’s chair, acknowledged earlier this month that she has trouble looking past the double meaning of the fruits on social media.

Reuwer, who owns The Wine Bin’s building and others in the historic district, filed retroactive applications to allow the sculptures to remain where they are. Like Kirsch, he was unaware of how some see the peach and eggplant.

“I didn’t even know what the kids were up to,” Reuwer said.

Reuwer appeared before the commission earlier this month. After amending his application to state that the art works would only be displayed at their current locations for 12 months, the commission voted unanimously to let the eggplant stay — for now. But it said the peach couldn’t remain in front of the cafe, even temporarily.

“As a National Register historic district, we found that it did not comply with the current guidelines or county code,” Danna said of the peach in an interview.

Commissioner Ben Barlow stressed at the Sept. 4 meeting that the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning will make the final call.

“We don’t have any power to tell people that they have to take something down,” he said.

The planning and zoning department did not respond to a request for comment.

But Reuwer said that without the historic preservation commission’s approval, the department will tell him to remove the peach. He plans to ask the panel for permission to display the peach at a different location. He also has the option of appealing directly to Howard County Circuit Court.

The commission acknowledged in docket materials that its own guidelines “currently do not have specific recommendations for dealing with public art.” The panel instead referenced rules for street furniture and a section of the county code.

Several commission members said at the Sept. 4 meeting that they felt the peach was too big and too bright.

Danna said the peach would be found in a “more modern setting,” like on a college campus or The Mall in Columbia.

Reuwer disagreed.

It’s “ridiculous to think you can’t have modern art in a historic city,” he said. “I disagree with that whole notion.”

Reuwer said he brought many letters of support for the sculptures from Main Street merchants to the commission meeting, but was unable to enter them into the record because they were submitted too late.

Dave Carney, owner of The Wine Bin, is a fan of Kirsch’s art. The Bin’s wine group calls itself “The Aubergine.” When the eggplant sculpture was up for grabs, Carney didn’t hesitate to claim dibs.

“It’s kitschy,” Carney said.

It also hasn’t hurt his business. People come by and take selfies with it, and in the colder months, wrap the eggplant in a scarf, Carney said.

Carney never received a complaint about the eggplant, though he was troubled by remarks that Danna made at the recent commission meeting.

The chair told the commission: “There’s a lot of talk about how well the store owners feel. The store owners are temporary, and we are temporary on this, but we as a commission are the caretakers of how this town looks and the history of this town at the moment.”

Carney called the remarks “beyond offensive.”

He has owned The Wine Bin for almost two decades and his business survived two deadly floods that ripped apart Main Street in 2016 and 2018.

Paula Dwyer, owner of the Georgia Grace Cafe, loves having the peach outside her restaurant. Diners can find her cafe easily and often pose with the sculpture, she said.

On Thursday night, Carney and Dwyer are hosting a sold-out wine dinner to celebrate the eggplant and the peach.

“Ellicott City is a very eclectic place. It’s quirky, fun and artsy,” Dwyer said of the peach.