Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout 04-06-2006 Public Art Advisory Committee Agenda Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, April 6, 2006 3:30PM Lobby Conference Room A. Call to order B. Public discussion of any item not on the agenda C. Consideration of the minutes of the March 2, 2006 meeting D. Discussion of potential public art projects: . Roundabout on Grand and South Grand . Burlington Street median E. Consideration of sculpture for the Downtown Sculptors' showcase. F. Committee time/Other business/Updates G. Adjournment MINUTES IOWA CITY PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2006, 3:30 P.M. LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL PRELIMINARY Members Present: Charles Felling, Emily Martin, Mark Seabold, Terry Trueblood, DaLayne Williamson Members Absent: Emily Carter-Walsh, Rick Fosse Staff Present: Marcia Klingaman Others Present: Whitney Givens (UI Journalism student) Call to Order Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. Public discussion of anv item not on the agenda There was no discussion. Consideration of the Minutes of the Februarv 2. 2006 Meetina Minutes MOTION: Martin moved to accept the minutes as submitted, and Felling seconded. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0. Discussion of Council reauest for public art tour durina Arts Fest Klingaman said this topic arose from a discussion about placing a sign at the head of the Sycamore Greenway trail to indicate where "Birds in Flight" is located, once it has been installed. The idea was that a tour would promote public art, and a good time to do it might be during Arts Fest. Martin suggested a self-guided tour map could be made available. Klingaman agreed. Klingaman said this was discussed at council meeting, and the idea was to include all the University artwork as well. The issue with University art is determining who the contact person is for such a project, a process that is possible but will take time. Seabold said a map was created for Arts Fest in 2005 that was put into the kiosk created for the installation for "Politically Purple." He said he was updating it for 2006 and the plan is to make a downloadable file for the internet, or a newspaper insert. Klingaman said the InfoVision people had an idea for an interactive map with information in a similar setup as what was done for Herky on Parade. She told them that would be fine, and asked them to work with the committee. They also discussed in general the need to promote public art. Martin and Seabold agreed there is a lot of public art, and most people are probably unaware of how much is available. Martin said it would be nice to have a way to find the pieces, rather than relying on chance encounters. Seabold said the kiosk had cropped images of several pieces, the idea being that the image gives an idea about the piece, but someone would still have to see it in person. Martin said that sounds like a great approach. Seabold suggested creating a downloadable iPod tour as well. A tour map would still be necessary, which could be a printable file to download at the same time. He noted that some museums are beginning to take that approach. Martin agreed it is an extension of the museum gallery guides. She said from what she understands it is not difficult to generate the files for the iPods, and it is a handy way to distribute a lot of information. Klingaman said she would talk to the InfoVision people about it. She added that the person she spoke to said the idea he had was already interactive through the website. Seabold asked when Arts Fest is. Klingaman said it is the first week in June. Martin said the project could be done at different levels with different time frames. Seabold said that putting the a PDF on the web is easy. Klingaman suggested focusing on the Iowa City program, and then bringing in the University art as time permits and as the information is gathered. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes March 2, 2006 Page 2 Felling said this project would be more advanced than the DVD from Seattle. Klingaman agreed, though she noted the video was from a few years ago. Discussion of submittals for Sculotors' showcases Klingaman said the contacts from the School of Art she received from Martin were wonderful and very helpful. She said she dropped off some posters, and extended the deadline for delivery and installation to August 2006. She has already had a few students call to find out more information. Seabold asked when submissions would be presented. Klingaman said April 6. Klingaman said she has not been able to follow up on the downtown Sculptor's Showcase by making phone calls or other contacts. Seabold asked if there have been any late calls. Klingaman said no, though she plans to work on this next week. She asked if the committee would consider keeping the current sculpture a few extra months. At this point, unless the artist has the proposed piece already finished and ready to install, it is unlikely to be ready in time for a June installation. She has not approached the artist regarding the idea of keeping the current piece in place. Martin said that sounded fine. Felling said it seems like the level of interest and submissions for that project is highly variable. Seabold ag reed. Update on Poetrv in Public Klingaman said the subcommittee reviewed 280 student entries this year, which was an increase from 36 in 2005. She said the language arts instructors in the junior high schools were very enthusiastic about pursuing this with their students. Though there were a lot of submissions, evaluating them went quickly. She added that there were also 80 adult submissions this year, compared to 56 in 2005. Williamson arrived at this point. Klingaman reported the program would be expanded this year. Previously there were 42 poems accepted, which meant the 21 city buses each had two poems posted. This year 69 poems were accepted, and as there are now 23 buses, each bus will have three poems. The poems have all been reviewed and selected. The selected poems are about equally divided between student and adult submissions. They will be printed up in the next few weeks, and in the buses in early April. They will also be posted in the kiosks and in the recreation centers. She added that a press release would go out with more information. Klingaman said she hopes to make a booklet with all the selected poems since she has been asked in previous years to publish a booklet. The poems are also available on the web. Martin asked if Klingaman was pleased with the submissions this year. Klingaman said she was pleased with the higher level of participation from the students, though that was mostly from the junior high level. She said the quality did not seem any higher, perhaps because many students were forced to participate. However, there were several very high quality submissions from the junior high students, which gives a different voice and viewpoint from the elementary student submissions. Klingaman said she was pleased with the submissions on the adult side, and added that it is never easy to choose them. Martin said it was good to know the number of adult submissions went up, since their participation is voluntary. Klingaman said increasing the numbers much more would make reviewing and selecting the poems a challenge. She noted there was a decrease in the 15t through 6th grade submissions, so more focus will be given to publicizing at that level next year. Klingaman said there were only about six submissions at the high school level. She said there was also a lot of work done at the high school level this year to increase their numbers. Committee time/Other business Trueblood said he spoke to someone with the Johnson County dog park group (JCDogPAC) about interest in some form of public art for the signage for the park. They heard about the sign project for the Benton Hill Park. He said he told them that the Benton Park project cost $30K overall, $10K of which came from the project budget while the other $20K came from the Public Art Committee. He said they inquired about the process involved with initiating such a project, and he said he was not sure, though perhaps it would be similar to the one used for the neighborhood art projects. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes March 2, 2006 Page 3 Klingaman said Jean Walker emailed Franklin regarding this, and since Walker is involved in the Melrose project, she is familiar with the process. Klingaman said this sort of project would follow the process for community-initiated public art. She added that Franklin directed Walker to the appropriate application form. Trueblood reported that he told his contact, Jim Kelly with Lucky Pawz, that the committee has taken the first steps for putting public art in the peninsula parkland, and that it is a good location. He is not sure how it would work into the dog park, but it may be possible. Williamson asked for confirmation that this would be part of their signage. Trueblood said that is what Kelly said, though Kelly mentioned that idea in part because he was familiar with the Benton Hill sign project. Trueblood said he is not sure what else the group might be discussing. Williamson asked if the money would still come from the same place if it was a part of their sign as it would for a piece of art. Trueblood said not necessarily. The Benton Hill art project happened in conjunction with a park development project, and the neighborhood association wanted to incorporate some public art into the sign. In that case, part of the money for the sign came out of the park development fund, and part of it came from Public Art. At Benton Hill, there was a park development fund available, whereas the dog park is being funded through donations. Martin asked if JCDogPAC could apply for city funding with matching funds from their end. Klingaman said yes, through the community-initiated program. She added that the Irving Weber statue was a project that involved cost sharing. Felling said a similar approach was also taken for the mural at Dulcinea. Klingaman reported the City Council liked the public art recognition program and adopted it at their last meeting. The proposal has a nomination deadline of April 30, so some promotional activities need to happen soon to get the word out. She asked if anyone on the committee would like to participate in promotion, and if so, in what ways. She added that she will give the information to the neighborhood associations and newspapers, and might have a brochure made. She said she is also looking for other ideas about ways to circulate the information, and said if anyone wishes to participate or has ideas, to contact her soon. Felling said the committee had discussed relying on the neighborhood associations for nominations. Williamson asked whether someone should present the program by meeting with the associations. Klingaman said yes, if the associations would be meeting. Otherwise the associations' newsletters might be a better route. For example, she noted that the Longfellow association would have a story about the upcoming historic preservation nomination deadlines. Klingaman added that the recognition program should be advertised more broadly than just with the neighborhoods. Felling asked if any of the other neighborhoods have online information besides Longfellow. Klingaman said yes, though she does not know how current the sites are. Many of the sites were hosted by the Johnson County network, which folded about 1.5 years ago, and have not been re-established. Felling noted that Longfellow has an online newsletter that goes out every month. Klingaman said Longfellow has an extensive emaillist, and said she thinks a lot of other neighborhoods go that route as well. Felling said one of the issues with using that medium is getting interested people to put their email addresses in. Martin asked if the city has an area where information about the recognition program could be posted on the web. Klingaman said yes, in the Highlights section. Also, a press release will go out. She said advertising should be broad, not focused only on the artist community, but also on the people who live in the neighborhoods and see the art. Williamson asked whether this could be put into school newsletters. Klingaman said she would try that and would give the committee an update at the next meeting. Martin asked for confirmation that Klingaman planned to have a brochure. Klingaman said yes, something short and snappy to give an impression of the program, contact information, and the dates. She added a poster would be another option to put in the schools or recreation centers. Klingaman reported that the Wetherby Park contract was approved by council at their Tuesday meeting. Council also approved the concept for the Melrose project. She added that there was some discussion, but many of the council members are consistent in their support of public art. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes March 2, 2006 Page 4 Martin asked for the status on the council member's proposal about funding Summer of the Arts (SOTA). Klingaman said it did not go anywhere. Seabold said it was just a memo proposing that half of Public Art's budget go to support SOTA, the idea perhaps being all the expenses relating to art could be shared. He noted that SOT A is very different from the public art program, however. Trueblood said SOT A did get the money they requested. Seabold said yes, and the public art budget stayed intact as well. Trueblood said the council member who submitted the proposal has not been a strong supporter of public art. Seabold said there appeared to be support from many of the people attending the meeting on Tuesday when he made his statement. People see the value in public art, and are supportive. Klingaman said the "Just for Kicks" sculpture is progressing, and is currently in process of being fabricated. She said Terry Robinson reported a concern to her with the sculpture's design, specifically with the curved portions of the pipes protruding enough for people to possibly climb the sculpture and also getting heads stuck in the pipes. Though it is not playground equipment and is not intended for play, he would like to adhere to the requirements for playground equipment that say if there is an open space in the object, the space needs to be less than four inches or greater than nine. Klingaman said she approached the artist with this concern. The artist is confident that the piece is not climbable, but has investigated alternatives to address these concerns. One proposal was to reduce the number of pipes to four, which would increase the spacing. However, that would not be structurally sound, so that option has been dismissed. The other option currently being investigated is pulling out the curved sections on all the pipes about two inches, which would increase the spacing. The artist said visually it would be hard to see them as curved with the increased space, but is working on sketches. Trueblood said kids will try to climb anything, and there is little to be done about that. He noted that he did not think of questioning the space in the curved section because there appeared to be plenty of space. Klingaman said the artist also thought there was enough space, but after working out the math came up with just over eight inches of space. Klingaman said Robinson also suggested putting a fence around it, though she noted kids would climb that as well. Klingaman said the pad for the Kicker's piece will be poured soon, and she said another option would be to raise the piece higher to make climbing it more difficult. That would have to happen in the pad area, which should be decided soon. Trueblood asked when the piece would be installed. Klingaman said the middle of April, though it might be earlier. She said the artist has been very reasonable to work with. Adiournment There being no further business to come before the committee, Martin moved to adjourn. Felling seconded and the meeting was adjourned. s:/pcdlminutesJPublicArV2006103-02-06. doc ~ ~ ..... ..... .- E E"O o .... u 8 ~~ o~\C ~ ., 0 .- - 0 .. = M "0 ~ <"g ..... ~ ......... <..... (J< .- - .c = ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ te ~ M 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ te ~ ~ ~ N 0 V) te 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - 0 - rn 00 0'1 0'1 00 t'-- e ~ 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - 'p - - - - - o ~ S2 0 0 S2 0 - - - t--~ - - - - - 0 0 0 0 0 .c = 0 ~ ~ - E ~ "0 ~ ~ ~ 0 .- "0 0 - = .... - - .- ~ - .c ~ - .- 0 ..... - 1: ~ .... ~ .c ~ = ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .... u ~ ~ rJ:J. 0 ~ .a ~ b ~ ~ - ~ 0 .... ~ ~ ~ .- ~ ~ .- .... E .c ~ E ~ (J ~ z ~ u ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "'0 o tI) ~ bIJ u s:: ~ ..... ~~~~ ~o5~ o rn tI) 0 ~~~z II II II II ~~O~~