HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05-20 Public Arts MIN
Minutes
Public Art Commission
May 20, 2011
Regular Meeting
Attendance
Commissioners: Davis, Bussell, Edson, Garrington, Pugh, Wilkerson, Slattery (council)
Hanks(staff)
Absent
Friend
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 8:15 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes were approved with corrections.
Citizen Issues/Proposals
Edson mentioned that this point in the regular agenda would be a good time for commission
members to inform each other of an significant conversations they may be having with the
public as it is helpful for all of the commissioners to have an idea of what is going on with
the various projects, specifically issues relating to the Gateway project.
Update on Calle
Edson contacted Christman regarding the potential sale of his existing sculpture to the City
and was informed that Christman would be willing to price the piece at $8,000 for the City to
purchase. Edson also reported that she talked with Christman about some rust areas and
potential maintenance agreements needed to restore the piece and prevent further “unnatural”
rusting.
Bussell provided an update on the Oppenheimer family fund and confirmed that the funds
would be available to use for purchase of the existing pieces. The current account balance is
$6,369.03. It was also determined that $500 would be a good estimate for a replacement or
new pedestal for the Calle.
The Commission had general discussion regarding the Calle overall and is generally in favor
of expanding the number of sculptures at a future date pending approval, of the Parks
Commission. Wilkerson suggested that the PAC review the original master plan for the Calle
to see what was originally envisioned. Wilkerson offered to track down the original plan for
Commission review at the next meeting. The Commission also discussed a one to two year
plan for the Calle, which included:
Purchase Christman piece
Replace pedestal at top of stairs
Purchase third piece
nd
Bussell motioned (2 Garrington) to direct Staff to pursue the purchase of the Christman
sculpture using the Oppenheimer funds with the remaining funds coming from the Public
Arts general fund. Motion unanimously approved.
Wilkerson suggested that the pedestal decision wait until the Commission is able to review
the original master plan for the Calle. It was also noted that the Commission should look at
the opportunity for having memorials in the Calle for sculptures. All agreed on both
comments. It was also agreed that all Commissioners would walk the Calle area for next
month’s discussion on the master plan.
Gateway Project
The committee again discussed the steps to take to initiate a process for the selection of art
for the gateway island and further discussed the three areas of focus: community/council
values (how to incorporate/articulate those values in an RFP), site/location (how the site
might dictate type of art, size of art) and public art in other communities (artistic
qualifications, artist vision, community response.
Garrington offered to collect and develop a master list of terms, phrases, ideas, etc to review
for use in the RFP/RFQ process. Wilkerson noted that he thought it might be possible to
have one RFP/RFQ process prior to the Commission deciding whether they are going to
purchase the piece or commission one.
Commissioners discussed coming up with a new name for the Gateway project using its
location, impact and use as potential names including, spoke, hub, junction, center,
crossroads, etc. Garrington also agreed to collect possible names and provide a master list
for the next meeting.
Slattery inquired about the timing of process steps regarding fund raising and art selection
and pointed out that some times of year may be better for fundraising than others. Slattery
also mentioned the Mayor’s televised Town Hall show as a possible way to promote the
project as well as maybe coordinating something with the Fourth of July.
Commissioners also discussed general cost estimates with Pugh stating that the cost question
comes up very quickly in conversations she has with the public. All agreed that giving the
public some sense of the cost is worthwhile, but since there is no specific number yet, maybe
saying something like significant or “six figures” gives a sense of the project scale for the
public.
The scale of the piece was discussed with Wilkerson noting that he feels a big risk in the
project is undersizing the piece not oversizing it. Bussell mentioned that she feels Ashland
has a local scale that needs to be factored into their decisions and that the site has a bearing
on the appropriate scale as well.
All agreed that the Commission will work on a rough draft of the RFP/RFQ at the next
meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45.