The first of three anthropomorphic figures that will greet visitors to the new Central Library in East Village has been set in place but one city councillor says the art pieces, and the library itself, are nothing more than feel good exercises.

TRIO, created by artist Christian Moeller, will consist of two sculptures installed on the west side of the library while the third will be placed to the east.

“They’re quite large sculptures, they’re nine and 10 metres high,” explained Clare LePan, director of marketing & communications for Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC). “What you can’t see yet is that they do have this graceful pendulum swing. When they’re operational, come the end of this weekend, they have this visual choreography that you can see as you approach the library from both sides.”

LePan say Moeller’s piece was selected from a field of 239 applicants. A volunteer art committee assisted the CMLC with the selection process.

“The playfulness, the delightfulness, the colourfulness of his work we thought was really appropriate to the context of what the library will be,” said LePan. “(It’s) also a great compliment to the architect of the building.”

Inside the library, visitors to the third floor will encounter FISH – an approximately 14 metre long, three metre tall book wall that consists of 10,000 books arranged by the colour of their spines to create the image of a fish. “It’s a really casual, informal area of the library where people will be able to get up close and experience and touch the wall and see the books and take it in,” explained LePan. “It’s a great tieback to where library’s started.”

LePan says the total cost of TRIO and FISH is $2 million, an amount that adheres with the guidelines of the City of Calgary’s public art program. The total includes artist fees as well as the cost of fabrication and installation.

Ward 4 councillor Sean Chu questions the use of public funds for both the new Central Library as well as the art installations.

“Fundamentally, I believe, in this economic downturn, any expensive art is a feel good exercise – to look good, everybody feels good – (but) it’s not the way to go,” said Chu. “How would those thousands of Calgarians (that) lost jobs feel about it?”

Chu suggests the initial cost to taxpayers is alarming and the burden will increase once the library opens.

“I’m against this library because why should we spend a quarter-billion dollars for someone’s legacy,” explained Chu. “Operationally, it’s going to cost millions, millions more every year just to upkeep.”

The councillor did not indicate whose legacy was benefiting from the project. Chu says he is not against art, he’s against frivolous spending.

“I’m not against public art. Those electrical boxes at the intersections and at the corner, those are wonderful. I love those,” said Chu. “If you lost your job, would you buy $10,000 art so you can put it on your wall? No, you’re going to buy food to put on the table for your children.”

Ward 4 is situated in Calgary's north and Chu says it's unlikely its residents will make the trip to East Village to visit the new library.

The CMLC encourages Calgarians to experience the installations themselves before cementing an opinion.

“From our standpoint, public art, both in the library and East Village as a community as well, has served a great role in creating a character for the community, an identity for the community,” said LePan. “Come see it and experience it and get a sense of the scale of the pieces and all that goes into the creation of them.”

The grand opening of the new Central Library is scheduled for November 1, 2018.

With files from CTV’s Brenna Rose