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.
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