East Hampton Village will soon be home to an enormous platinum bull.
"I met this great artist at a dinner, and we came up with this idea for him to be the first of many to put an art installation on the Village Hall lawn," Sandra Melendez, a village trustee, said at the East Hampton Village Board meeting on Friday.
That was the beginning of a long conversation between the board and Enrique Cabrera, a Mexican artist who lives in Bridgehampton. On Cinco de Mayo, Mr. Cabrera installed a golden bull, "El Toro de Oro," on a huge butcher block in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan. Mr. Cabrera told the board his art is also displayed at the Louvre and at the Museum Picasso d'Antibes in France.
The East Hampton bull, named "The Platinum Bull," is a Cubist-inspired sculpture that is 16 feet long and 8 feet high. It stands on a base encircled by solar-powered lights that will keep it aglow at night.
"At night, it is a real show," said Mr. Cabrera.
Ms. Melendez explained that it wouldn't cost the village any money, and that the placement of the bull would be temporary, for two or three months, before a new local artist would be featured in the space.
Sarah Amaden, a trustee, wondered if the bull would encourage more visitors. His meatpacking bull had received a lot of press, and people had traveled to see it. She worried August wasn't the right time. "We're so saturated already. Where do they park?" she asked.
"We want the summer crowd to see it too," said Ms. Melendez. She said a "bold start-up" would create "more buzz" for other artists down the line.
"I like the idea. The location is where we have a little separation on where to put it," said Mayor Jerry Larsen, who described the bull as "flashy" and "large." "We want to pick the right place to display the art," he said.
"This would be kind of like a pilot project," said Vincent Messina, the village attorney, to see if it is appropriate or if it works. "If it does, then we can set up a selection committee or some process, going forward, for other people to submit," he said.
"Why wouldn't we do that before this selection was made?" asked Carrie Doyle, another trustee. "What's the urgency?" she asked.
"Because now you're talking a year away," said Mr. Messina.
"There's no urgency, but if we have it," said Ms. Melendez, referring to the bull, "we can do this."
Christopher Minardi, the deputy mayor, said the lawn near the Gardiner Mill Cottage Gallery was a better option than Village Hall.
"Would we ask the neighbors? Would we get approval from them?" asked Ms. Doyle.
"No," said Mayor Larsen. "The size of this, I think Village Hall, it would be a little overwhelming," he said, agreeing with Mr. Minardi.
"I would also offer the park near Newtown Lane," said Marcos Baladron, the village administrator.
"My only fear about the park is that kids see it and start jumping on it," said Ms. Melendez. "I think Gardiner's would be a fair location at this time," she said.
Ms. Doyle was not happy with that idea. "I like the idea of art. But I feel like us just hastily picking an artist and putting it in the village right now, when there's already so much contention about the things we're adding to the village, I think it needs to be thoughtful," she said. "I think there should be a committee to select it, and a process. I think if you put it where you're suggesting that we'll get a lot of pushback."
"I think we should give it a go," said Ms. Melendez. "It's not like it's right next to any house, it's not like it's going to affect anybody. The windmill has lighting, and no one says nothing about it."
"Are we voting on this right now?" asked Ms. Amaden.
"No, we're talking about it right now," said Mayor Larsen.
"Herrick Park is not an option?" asked Ms. Doyle.
"I don't think it's a good option," said Ms. Melendez.
Because of the rash of vandalism in the village, Mayor Larsen wondered what would happen if someone spray-painted it. "I don't want your art piece being ruined," he said to Mr. Cabrera.
"It cleans up," said Ms. Melendez, translating for Mr. Cabrera.
Ms. Doyle again questioned the idea of trustees "deciding art." She said it should be left to the design review board, but the D.R.B. doesn't have jurisdiction over village property, the mayor said.
"I wish there was more of a process," Ms. Doyle said.
"This is the process," said Mayor Larsen. "That's what we're talking about."
"We're starting a new thing," said Ms. Melendez, "and we are the process."
"Sarah, can you live with the park?" asked Mayor Larsen.
"I would feel more comfortable with it in the park," said Ms. Amaden. "It's a gigantic space so there's no one that's going to be looking out on it. It's a beautiful piece, but art is very subjective."
"The park it is!" said the mayor. "Congratulations," he said to Ms. Melendez.
Mayor Larsen, in a text, confirmed that "The Platinum Bull" will be installed next Thursday and Friday in Herrick Park and unveiled on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 11 a.m.
