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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-07-2006 Public Art Advisory Committee Agenda Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, December 7, 2006 3:30PM Lobby Conference Room Iowa City City Hall 410 E. Washington St. A. Call to order B. Public discussion of any item not on the agenda C. Consideration of the minutes of the November 2, 2006 meeting D. Discussion with Gene Anderson regarding his proposal for the Grand Avenue roundabout project. E. Discussion of potential project to highlight Artsfest 20th Anniversary in cooperation with the Summer of the Arts. F. Discussion of 2007 Iowa Sculptors Showcase Call (downtown ped mall) G. Discussion of 2007 Peninsula Park Sculptors Showcase Call H. Committee time/updates I. Adjournment MINUTES PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2006 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Preliminary Members Present: Mark Seabold, Chuck Felling, Terry Trueblood, DeLayne Williamson, Emily Martin, Emily Carter-Walsh, Rick Fosse Members Absent: none Staff Present: Karin Franklin, Brian Boelk Others Present: Jean Walker, Howard Collinson, Rod Lehnertz, , Pam Trimpe CALL TO ORDER Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:33 PM. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA Walker mentioned that she thought the statue of Irving Weber on Iowa Avenue looked diminished. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 5. 2006 MEETING MOTION: Fosse moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Carter-Walsh seconded the motion. Motion passed 7:0. REVIEW OF SUBMITTALS FOR THE GRAND AVENUE ROUNDABOUT PROJECT Franklin said that the committee has gone through a preliminary screening of the artists' submittals. The committee sent the remaining proposals on to the University officials and the Melrose Neighborhood Association after this meeting's review; the next step is to select one to three artists as finalists for consideration. Gene Anderson Seabold said that the art is pretty organic. The second submitted proposal is more typical of Anderson's work. Walker said that the stone proposal was Melrose neighborhood's third favorite choice. The neighborhood was concerned that cars would not be able to see pedestrians walking around. Franklin mentioned that the committee could work with the artist to incorporate changes to the artwork if there were particular things the committee disliked. John Anderson-Bricker Seabold said that the committee all liked this piece. The perimeter may need to be modified to ward off leaves and garbage getting trapped in the art. Franklin said that the inner circle is 8 feet tall and the outer circle is 5 feet tall. The middle portion is 12 feet tall. Walker said that Melrose neighborhood thought that this piece of art is too busy. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes August 3, 2006 Page 2 David Black Seabold said that this piece is totally different from other submissions. He really likes that it has a lot of movement. Everyone seemed to agree that this piece would really stand out on the hill. Seabold mentioned that there is always an opportunity for a berm or a limestone wall around the art. Lehnertz brought up that the way the artwork is landscaped can help to keep people off and downplay the maintenance required. Pam Trimpe came in late and asked if the public art committee is set upon having artwork in the roundabout. Trimpe mentioned that the area is already a very busy place with a lot to look out for. Walker mentioned that Melrose neighborhood also had that concern. Franklin said that the group needs to keep in mind that the purpose for the roundabout is to organize traffic and pedestrians that are currently passing through the area. The pedestrian crossings will be pushed back and they will be clearly marked. The roundabout will better organize the traffic. Walker mentioned that artwork with landscape qualities may not be as distracting. Ed Carpenter Franklin said that Carpenter's pieces do not move. He does use light in most of his work. Franklin said that if the committee is interested in this artist, the City would be looking at something that is very much scaled down from his proposals of past work. Presumably, the costs will be scaled down as well. Robert Ellison Walker said that Melrose was concerned that people would be drawn to the artwork and want to climb on it. Carter-Walsh said that the colors make the piece look dated. Collinson said that the upkeep on this piece would be very difficult and it would not look good once it got dirty. David Hale Franklin said that David Hale is a University student. Walker said that this piece was the neighborhood's first choice, but they were concerned about whether he had the experience to pull it off. Walker said that the neighborhood felt that this piece fit the sight well, the color would blend in, but not disappear, and they liked the feeling of motion caused by the clouds on top. Seabold said that the piece is predominantly granite with steel bars in between. Trimpe thought that people would climb on it as if it were a jungle gym. Carter-Walsh said the piece is attractive. Seabold said that it is more inviting than Gene's piece. Lehnertz wondered whether the group is looking for something that will be a beacon drawing the driver up the hill. Seabold said that the site is probably one of the most prominent sites in the city. Lehnertz said that something very large and prominent would be very hard to take in as a driver is moving past the site. Jon Barlow-Hudson Walker said the neighborhood thought the first proposal was too tall for the width. Trimpe said the shapes in this proposal were great. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes August 3, 2006 Page 3 Howard Kalish Walker said that this proposal was not a favorite of the neighborhood. She thought it would be referred to as pick up sticks. Martin said that it is not very substantial as far as blocking the site. Williamson said that she liked it, but not for this site. Lehnertz said that from a distance the colors would disappear. Fosse clarified that in roundabouts, it is a design technique to include artwork that you cannot see through so that you do not see oncoming traffic. Mark LaMair Seabold mentioned that LaMair just did a sculpture for the Sycamore Greenways Trail. He said that it looks inviting. Lehnertz mentioned that it looks like a bench to sit on. Fosse wished that all of the artists would have included the surrounding buildings in their proposals. Tuck Langland Franklin said that this piece is three dancers that are all pointing in the direction of the . streets. Walker said that the neighborhood did not think that the location was good for a figurative piece. It would attract too much attention. Mark Leichliter Williamson said that duet is 12 feet tall. She pointed out that the sculptures show an 'I' and a 'C' for Iowa City. Walker said that the neighborhood thought it was too thin. Don Mitchell Seabold mentioned that Mitchell recently created the sculpture at the Kicker's Soccer Park. Fosse said that the purpose of the roundabout is to bring order, and this sculpture is not calming. Walker said that the neighborhood felt that the second proposal looked like a ferris wheel. Steven Woodward Walker said that the neighborhood thought that this piece would be the most polarizing. People would either love it for being whimsical or hate it for being too obvious. Carter- Walsh said that the piece is 6'9" feet tall. Fosse said that the piece would be a great place to sit and would attract too many people to it. Seabold suggested that the group make a short list of the proposals they like. Fosse wanted to hear from the University. Lehnertz said that he wants the piece to stay practical. The major concerns for the University are the idea of traffic order and calming. He thinks that no matter what is done at the intersection, it will still be a challenging intersection. Almost all of the traffic is coming from one direction, so people on the other sides are not used to people coming from other directions. Lehnertz said the piece should be centered in landscaping and less-visually impressive. He mentioned creating a prairie, or something similar, to landscape the roundabout. He mentioned that Gene Anderson's pieces would fit the site without distracting drivers. Collinson said that he likes Gene's second proposal. He thought that the group should ask the artist for a couple of other proposals. He likes the idea of some interesting artificial boulders. Lehnertz said that the artist could work with the University's landscaper. Trimpe said that her first preference would be only landscaping. Her second Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes August 3, 2006 Page 4 preference would be to go with Gene Anderson. She said that she does not want the piece to look as random as Gene's first proposal and suggested bringing in the artist to voice likes and dislikes. Trimpe left the meetinQ at 4:22 PM to teach a class. Boelk likes Gene's proposal as well. He wondered if blackening or engraving the art could be a possibility to provide direction to drivers. Lehnertz said that the University wants a 20 foot tall directional sign. He said that if people do not have enough guidance there will be accidents. Walker said that she understands the practicality, but this is meant to be a work of art. Lehnertz said that preparatory signs could get the signs off the island. He said the University's biggest concern is people coming from Melrose. Fosse said he likes the idea of working with Gene and asking him to come back with additional options. Lehnertz said that he would encourage Gene to think about the island from a landscape perspective. He said that Bob Brooks would be happy to work with him. If he wants a landscape consultant, Brian Clark is usually the University's first choice. Seabold asked if the group wants to work with anyone else, or if they would like to select Gene Anderson. The group seemed to agree that everyone would be happy with Gene Anderson. Fosse said ornamental grass would be more effective than prairie grass. Lehnertz said that if the group wants to go with Bob Brooks, since this project is not too intensive, that he would be happy to meet with the committee to discuss landscaping options. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 P.M. Minutes submitted by Abby Attoun. ~ ~ ...... ...... ..... S s"C o J. 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