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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-08-2009 Public Art Advisory CommitteePublic Art Advisory Committee Thursday, January 8, 2009 3: OOPM Lobby Conference Room City Hall 410 E. Washington A. Call to order B. Public discussion of any item not on the agenda C. Consideration of the minutes of the November 6, 2008 and December 4, 2008 meeting D. Sculpture project at Water Works Prairie Park -review of funding options and discussion of potential fund raising E. Lemme Elementary -Community Initiated Public Art proposal - continued from December 2008 meeting F. Committee time/updates G. Adjournment MINUTES PRELIMINARY PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2008 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM -CITY HALL Members Present: Patrick Carney, Jan Finlayson, Rick Fosse, Ann Kahn, Mark Seabold, Terry Trueblood, DaLayne Williamson Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Nate Kabat, Jeff Davidson Public Present: Melissa Mitchell, interested party; Dale Merrill, Liberty Iron Works of Mt. Vernon, IA CALL TO ORDER Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:03 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 4. 2008 MEETING MOTION: Fosse moved to approve the minutes; Carney seconded. The motion passed 6:0. DALE MERRILL -LIBERTY IRON WORKS MT. VERNON IOWA -DISCUSSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ART AT THE WATER WORKS PRAIRIE PARK Dale Merrill, Artist and Owner of Liberty Iron Works in Mt. Vernon, IA, presented a picture slide show, printed pictures, and short videos to the committee showing past works he has completed. He explained his artistic focus for the past 10 years has been on wildlife and kinetic sculptures. He has a particular interest in harnessing wind energy to move his sculptures. He recently completed a project in the new Coralville Library and is finishing a project in West Des Moines that incorporates a water feature. Merrill believes a sculpture of monumental size that takes advantage of the vantage points provided by I-80 and Dubuque St. would be best for the Water Works Prairie Park site. He would like to create a sculpture that is natural, organic, playful, stylized and has kinetic elements. Merrill envisions a sculpture between 30 and 40 feet tall to take advantage of the space. He works mostly with aluminum, steel stainless steel, and copper. Merrill presented four concepts to the committee: Concept #1: Involves 3, 30-40 foot tall, 15 foot wide metal tree sculptures. The base, or trunk, would be made of darker, naturally colored steel. The top foliage would be made from aluminum or stainless steel. The foliage would revolve around the steel trunk structure, propelled by the wind. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes November 4, 2008 Page 2 Concept #2: Also involves tree-like sculptures with a more humanistic shape to them. The base would be an organic styled metal with the humanistic top created of pendulum style moving parts. Concept #3: Based on prairie plants. The drawing consisted of 3-4, 30-40 foot daisy-like metal sculptures. The petals would be perforated metal designed to sway in the wind. Concept #4: Would incorporate three to four large pendulum structures emulating large weathervanes. Each pendulum would represent an element of nature like leaves, fish, bird wings and insects. The counter weight of the pendulum would be large boulders encased by a metal frame. Bollinger asked if the sculptures might be placed on the island of the park's lake. Merrill explained he is concerned about the fluctuating water levels in that area. The water could harm the foundation of the sculpture and/or leave water rims along the base, which would detract from the art. Merrill is not completely against the location, but encouraged the committee to consider these negative factors. He thinks placing sculptures along the park's trails would provide a better sight line from I-80 and Dubuque St. as well as within the park. Fosse asked where the sightline from I-80 and Dubuque St. is maximized. Merrill explained the crossroads of the trail near the park's northern pump house close to the parking lot provides a line of sight from I-80, has lots of space and the capacity to support a large structure. Fosse, Finlayson, and Seabold expressed interest in concept #1. Seabold thought #1 would catch the observer's eye from a distance. Carney said he also likes concept #4 since it incorporates different life forms. Carney asked what color concept #1 would be. Merrill said he is thinking of using natural steel on the stem and stainless or aluminum on the foliage to create a contrast. Trueblood asked if the new fishing pier in the pond would affect placement of the sculpture. Merrill didn't believe that it would. Seabold said he likes the proposed site because it encourages people to use the trail in order to get close to the sculpture. Fosse pointed out to the committee that the proposed location has utility lines running through that area, so that would need to be considered. Bollinger asked how much the proposal is estimated to cost and when Merrill would be able to begin. She reminded the committee the remaining funding for FY 09 as well as future FY 10 funds could be committed to the project. Merrill said he based his proposals on an $80,000 budget, but the project could be scaled to fit a larger or smaller amount. He said he would be able to begin working on the sculptures in the spring of 2009. Seabold asked how much the committee has to commit to this project. Bollinger said $80,000 would consumer the remaining FY 09 budget and all of the FY 10 allocations. Seabold asked if there are any other projects that need to be considered for the money. Bollinger said all current outlays have been included in the figures. Fosse said the committee should commit the next year's budget until they have the money in hand because the next year's budget will likely be tight. Carney suggested the committee commence some fundraising to help support the project. The group agreed with Carney and Bollinger encouraged the idea. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes November 4, 2008 Page 3 Fosse asked what the next step would be. Merrill said the next steps would be to pin down a site location, create scale drawings, decide on materials and create a clear budget. Merrill encouraged the committee to try to maximize visibility from key vantage points like I-80 when deciding on a final location. Bollinger encouraged the group to visit the park before the next meeting to help brainstorm the best locations for the artwork. Finlayson encouraged the group to brainstorm fundraising options for the next meeting. The committee agreed Merrill would be a great artist to work with on this project and asked him to prepare a more detailed proposal based on option #1 for next month's meeting. PENINSULA PARK SHOWCASE PAD Bollinger informed the committee that "Blade", the sculpture by Mark NeuCollins is now gone from the display pad in Peninsula Park. The artist decided to donate the piece to the City of Solon in memoriam of a friend who passed away. Bollinger explained the committee now needs to figure out what they would like to do with the display pad. She said she has received many comments about how nice it is to have artwork in that location. Due to the tall grasses in that location, a replacement piece would need to be large enough that it would stand out from its surroundings. The committee should consider whether it would like to continue to have rotating displays at that location or would like to pursue a permanent piece. Bollinger said she is willing to pursue either option, but a permanent piece would cost more money. The committee agreed it would be good to continue the revolving displays and it would be nice to focus on displaying student art in that location. Seabold asked if UI students will be able to produce art at the temporary Menards location. Finlayson asked why it has been so difficult to connect with students in the past. Bollinger explained the UI is more about conceptual art than art production. However, she is happy to try to make a connection again; she believes collaboration with the UI art program would be positive. Seabold said he liked the idea of involving students and asked how big the display pad is. Bollinger said the pad is 4'X4'. UPDATE ON WASHINGTON HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ART PROJECT WETHERBY PARK MURAL PROJECT AND REC CENTER POOL WALL PROJECT Bollinger passed pictures of the cement bench that has been placed in Washington Hills Park. The mosaic tiles have yet to be installed on the bench, the artist plans to work on that once the weather gets warmer next spring. Bollinger also updated the committee to the progress of the Wetherby Park shelter mural. The project is about 3/4 done. The artist plans to incorporate portraits of historical Iowa City people and images of wildlife into the mural. Elementary students will soon begin painting sky scenes on panels that will later be installed on the shelter ceiling. Lights have been installed on the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center art project. Committee members agreed the project looks very good and the lighting makes the piece very visible from the street at night. Bollinger informed the committee she has not received any nominations for the "Recognition of Private Art in Public Spaces". Fosse asked if the public is not interested, why do the program? Bollinger explained that people who have received recognition in Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes November 4, 2008 Page 4 the past were extremely happy and it would be nice to keep that going. Kahn suggested using neighborhood newsletters to advertise the program. Williamson suggested promoting the program at ArtsFest to take advantage of the art-minded crowds. Bollinger agreed the program should be attempted one more time. COMMITTEE TIME/UPDATES Bollinger informed the committee she had meet with the new City Manager, Michael Lombardo. She explained he is an advocate of the public art program and had some suggestions for future projects. First, he would like to see a community art mural project on the blank U.S. Bank building wall downtown. Lombardo has already approached the bank manager about the idea, and the manager is on board. Second, Lombardo suggested starting a performing arts festival in Iowa City similar to the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC or the Fringe Festival in the Twin Cities, MN. Lombardo plans to come to the December meeting to meet the committee and discuss his ideas. Seabold said he would like to give Lombardo a tour of Iowa City art. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Williamson moved to adjourn; Finlayson seconded. The motion passed 7:0. Meeting adjourned at 4:08 PM. Next meeting scheduled for December 4, 2008. Minutes submitted by Nate Kabat .~ 3 C_ ~_ O U O .~ Q Q °~ U O N 7 ~ ~ w~ U E~ 3oc°'u ~z~ a~ a~ .~ o ~ U a o0 •~ " °o ~ ~ N '~ C~ ~ ~ a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~C ~C ~C ~C ~ ~ O O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ i i ~ M i ~ O ~ ~ ~ ~ O N i i 0 ~ .--i ~ i .-ti .--1 r-+ e~ 01 Q ~--~ .--I ~ .--I 01 • .~-i .--I \ .--I \ ~ \ '--~1 \ r-i \ r--1 X ~ \ ~ \ ~ \ ~ \ ~ \ ~ \ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~ ~ .ry., ~ O ~ ~ ~ C b C ~ C ~ ~ ,~ u ~„ b U ?C ~ i-+ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ p..,Q~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~, w 0 ~ MINUTES PRELIMINARY PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM -CITY HALL Members Present: Mark Seabold, Patrick Carney, DeLayne Williamson Members Absent: Ann Khan, Jan Finlayson, Rick Fosse, Terry Trueblood Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Nate Kabat, Jeff Davidson, Michael Lombardo Public Present: Melissa Mitchell, interested party; Dale Merrill, Liberty Iron Works of Mt. Vernon, IA; John Bacon, Lemme Elementary School Principal CALL TO ORDER Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:06 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 6 2008 MEETING DEFERRED; due to no quorum DALE MERRILL -LIBERTY IRON WORKS MT. VERNON IOWA -CONTINUED DISCUSSION OF ART AT THE WATER WORKS PRAIRIE PARK Dale Merrill, Artist and Owner of Liberty Iron Works in Mt. Vernon, IA, told the committee he is considering the materials to be used for the sculpture and the best location. Merrill brought in material samples of stainless steel for the committee to review. Merrill believes stainless steel would be the best material for the foliage portion of the sculpture because it would hold the shiny finish over time. Merrill stated that a structural engineer suggested the trunk should be made of 8 inch steel tubing. It would have a galvanized finish to help maintain the material over time and provide a contrasting texture to the stainless steel foliage. Merrill told the committee he would not like to do less than three trees and suggested the heights would be one 40ft., one 32ft., and one 26ft. tree. To work with the committee's budget for the project, Merrill said the heights could be adjusted accordingly. Merrill said more trees could be added to the collection later on, but he thinks there should be at least three to start in order to create an adequate presence in the park. Marcia Bollinger told the committee she had met with the waterworks engineer to find out utility locations and determine the best locations for the project. Bollinger told the committee that about 100ft of access space needs to be preserved along utility line locations and presented a map displaying unfit locations for the sculptures. Bollinger explained a sculpture area was originally planned for the park when it was created and was intended to provide a good line of sight from I-80. Bollinger suggested committee members and Merrill drive by the park on I-80 to determine if the line of sight is suitable. Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, December 4, 2008 Page 2 of 5 Mark Seabold said he believes the sculpture park location would provide the line of sight the committee is hoping to provide for the sculpture. Merrill said he thinks the area near the amphitheater might allow the artwork to be a good compliment by providing an intimate park-like setting in the area. He also encouraged the committee to consider wind levels in areas of the park when selecting the location. Overall, Merrill said he is leaning towards the sculpture park area near I-80. Jeff Davidson told the committee a study to improve I-80 aesthetics was recently completed. The study suggested that efforts need to be done to create iconic structures that would demarcate Iowa City along the I-80 corridor. Davidson thought placing the trees along I-80 would be a great way to address that need. Seabold offered to create 3D digital images of the artwork to show models of how the trees would look in various locations in the park. Merrill and the committee agreed that would be very helpful. Bollinger asked Merrill how much he is projecting the project to cost. Merrill said he has been working within the $80,000 budget that was proposed at the last meeting. Bollinger asked what was included in that price. Merrill explained he included the cost of installation, materials and labor; the only thing that is not included is the lighting. Merrill said he typically asks for a commission down payment of 30% to begin the project. Bollinger and Seabold asked how long the project would take. Merrill said a project like this would take about 12 to 20 weeks. Merrill said he does a lot of art exhibitions beginning in May and through the summer, so winter and early spring are the best times for him to begin projects. Bollinger said a funding decision wouldn't be able to come until January. She said the committee has never done fundraising before, so she isn't sure how that would go. Seabold said fundraising should be pursued to support the project and suggested people could be asked to sponsor a tree or parts of a tree. He said it would be good to get a better sense of potential supporters before making a financial commitment to the project. Seabold suggested the committee dedicate about $10,000 per tree and seek to raise the rest of the funds. Carney said he learned that money was originally budgeted for the sculpture garden when the park was created. He thought that money could still be there. Bollinger said she would look into that. Seabold said he could create some brochures displaying the 3D model to start raising support for the project. MICHAEL LOMBARDO -CITY MANAGER -PUBLIC ART THOUGHTS Bollinger introduced Michael Lombardo, the new City Manager, to the committee. The committee in turn introduced their selves to Lombardo. Seabold invited Lombardo on a public art tour of the city and Lombardo thanked Seabold for the opportunity. Bollinger explained the impetus for inviting Lombardo to the meeting was not only to introduce him, but also to allow him to share his ideas on public art that he had previously shared with Bollinger. Lombardo told the committee he is interested in seeing some mural projects in the downtown area, specifically on the large blank wall of the US Bank building. Lombardo said he has already approached the bank manager about the idea and the bank manager has been receptive to the possibility. Lombardo thought there are other areas of downtown that would benefit from mural projects as well. Lombardo thought a mural design contest would be a good way to get the community involved in public art. Bollinger told the committee that a teacher from Southwest Jr. High has talked about initiating mural projects in the downtown area as part of her PhD studies. Bollinger also explained that the committee has supported mural projects in the past, including the mural in Wetherby Park that is nearly completed. Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, December 4, 2008 Page 3 of 5 Lombardo also explained his idea for an arts festival to be held in Iowa City similar to the Spoleto Festival held in Charleston, SC. It is a 17 day festival that provides a venue for all types of artists to display their work. Lombardo believes the rich arts culture in Iowa City makes the city the perfect place to hold such a festival. He believes there are many ways the details of the festival could be worked out, and thought the City would not necessarily be the one to put the event on. Lombardo thought it might be better for the City to support a nonprofit group that would head the event. Seabold said the public arts program funds must go to physical obtainment of art, so it would be difficult for the committee to support an event like that under current fund structures. Williamson asked if Jan Finlayson is on the Summer of Arts Board. Lombardo said he has spoken with Mary Friedman, who is on the Summer of Arts Board and she said the board is interested in such an event. Bollinger said the Committee has done things with the Summer Arts Festival before, but a larger event and being more involved in future events would be good for the committee. Bollinger said she would contact Friedman to see if she would meet with the committee to discuss a larger arts festival. Lombardo also told the committee that he is interested in creating live-work spaces in the city to encourage the arts community. He suggested the redeveloping the north wastewater treatment plant for live-work space would be positive for the city. He mentioned the Torpedo Building in Alexandria, VA as a model for alive-work redevelopment. JOHN BACON -PRINCIPAL - LEMME ELEMENTARY -COMMUNITY INITIATED PUBLIC ART PROPOSAL Committee members exchanged introductions with John Bacon, the Lemme Elementary School Principal. Bacon explained to the committee that he is trying to fundraise to support a project that would create a bronze leopard cub statue to be placed at the entrance of his school. He wants to tap into a broad group of supporters due to current economic conditions. The statue would help create a greater sense of school spirit and help children gain a sense of pride about their school. Bacon shared a vision of parents taking pictures of kindergarteners next to the leopard statue on their first day of school and dressing up the statue for holidays and special events to get kids excited about school. Bacon also explained the statue would be a good artistic addition to the neighborhood. Bacon has been working with John Coyne, a local artist, to create a model for the statue. Coyne has agreed to do the project for $7,000 which is greatly discounted from Cone's typical commission for such a project. Bacon only needs to raise another $2,500 to fully fund the statue. Bacon handed out pictures of the statue for the committee to view. The statue would be 5-1/2 feet tall including a 2-1/2 foot base that would hold a plaque with the school pledge inscribed on it. The cub would be cast in bronze. To raise community involvement in the statue's creation, Bacon plans to initiate the "Bronze Leopard Challenge". The challenge will say that sponsors will give money to the project only if families work through the "Leopard Challenge" goals aimed at encouraging parent-student interaction in learning. Families would need to complete goals in the categories of Academic Support, Community Service, Visiting Community Attractions as a Family, Family Fun, Family Fitness and a Family Reflection Statement. Bacon believes 90% of the families will participate in the challenge. He plans to hold a big BBQ picnic to unveil the statue. Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, December 4, 2008 Page 4 of 5 Seabold asked how much money Bacon is asking from the committee. Bacon said he needs $2,500 to complete fund raising, but is only asking for whatever the committee is comfortable with. Williamson asked how long the leopard has been the mascot. Bacon said since the school's inception. He said the leopard is a big part of the school's identity. Seabold said he likes the idea of John Coyne doing the statue since he is a very good artist. Bacon agreed and said he is excited to be involving a local artist. Bollinger told Bacon that since the committee did not have a quorum, a decision would not be able to be made at this meeting. She said the committee would be able to consider this project at the next meeting and would let Bacon know of a decision in January. Bacon thanked the committee and excused himself from the meeting. Seabold asked what the relationship between the schools and the Public Art Committee is. Bollinger said this project would be considered "public art", so supporting it would be ok. Williamson asked if the project could be supported by PIN grants. Bollinger said PIN grants are typically not used to support school property related projects. Carney said he was concerned about the precedent that supporting this project might set. If the committee helps Lemme, would they be willing to help all other schools looking to create a mascot statue? Seabold suggested the committee decide an amount it would be willing to dedicate to school mascot projects with the stipulation that local artists be used. Williamson thought the committee could consider sponsoring city-wide projects that would dedicate up to $1,000 to schools using a local artist to create a mascot statue. The committee agreed to consider this idea. Williamson said she didn't know if the committee could give the full $2,500, but she thought some support would be nice. Williamson suggested dedicating a certain amount per challenge form completed. The committee agreed with Williamson that the project should be supported in some way. COMMITTEE TIME/UPDATES Bollinger asked the committee when the best time to hold the next meeting would be since the first Thursday in January is New Year's Day. The committee agreed to meet on January 8`h instead of the 15` ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 4:24 PM. Next meeting scheduled for January 8, 2009. 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