HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-05-2008 Public Art Advisory Committee
Public Art Advisory Committee
Thursday, June 5,2008
3:00PM
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 May 15, 2008 meeting
D. Committee time/updates
E. Discussion of updated Washington Hills Neighborhood Art Project
concept
F. Trail Art - see attached memo
G. Update on Robert A Lee Recreation Center Pool Wall Artwork
H. Adjournment
MINUTES
PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE
THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2008
LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM - CITY HALL
VARIOUS TRAIL LOVATIONS -IOWA CITY
PRELIMINARY
Members Present: Mark Seabold, Patrick Carney, Rick Fosse, DaLayne Williamson,
Annadora Khan, Jan Finlayson
Members Absent: Terry Trueblood
Staff Present: Marcia Klingaman, Jeff Davidson, Nate Kabat, Tracy Hightshoe,
Terry Robinson
Public Present: Shirley Wyrick, Washington Hills Neighborhood Representative;
Jill Harper, Pheasant Hill Park Project Designer
CALL TO ORDER
Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:05 PM.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
None.
CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MARCH 6.2008 MEETING
MOTION: Finlayson moved to approve the minutes; Fosse seconded. The motion
passed 7:0.
COMMITTEE TIME/UPDATES
Marcia informed the committee the "Tunnel Vision" art piece will be installed next
Thursday, May 22, 2008 as the Iowa Sculptor's Showcase piece. A brochure
announcing the piece to the public will be distributed in lieu of a dedication ceremony.
Marcia announced acquisition of the art piece titled "Impermanence Is Inevitable" located
on the pedestrian spiral bridge at the corner of Hwy 6 and Iowa Avenue was approved
by the City Council.
Marcia also told the committee installation of the new B.J. Katz pool wall piece has
become a challenge. City engineers were hoping to use stainless steel cables to hang
the piece from the ceiling, but learned chlorine can cause stainless steel to fail. Marcia
said she is working with city engineers to find a solution; they are looking into using a
higher ~auged cable or other materials. As of now the dedication ceremony is still set for
June 6t at noon. Marcia asked Jan to speak at the dedication ceremony. Jan accepted.
Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes
May 15, 2008
Page 2
PRESENTATION OF WASHINGTON HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ART PROJECT
CONCEPT
Shirley Wyrick, Washington Hills Neighborhood Representative, and Jill Harper,
Pheasant Hill Park Project Designer, presented the proposal for a neighborhood art
project for Pheasant Hill Park. Jill would like to use "characters of imagination" designs
from K-12 kids from Hoover and Lemme Elementary schools to create 3-D characters to
display in the park. The characters would be used to create a path beginning at Green
Mountain Dr. and ending at the playground. She hopes to create 30-35 sculptures with
metal interiors and mosaic coverings that would be about 2.5' tall and 2.5' at the base.
City High students would be responsible for creating the sculptures. Jill said 2-D mosaic
path markers could be used as an alternative, but she was worried about upkeep issues
created by grass growth. Jill also showed concepts for an archway that could be used as
signage for the park entrance. She said she still needs to refine plans for an arch and
get cost estimates as well. She proposed a timeline that would begin in June 2008 with
completion in June 2009.
Shirley commented Pheasant Hills Park is not well known because it lacks proper
signage. She believes this project would help create a needed identity for the park and
for Washington Hills neighborhood. She wondered how the kids would be given credit for
their work. Shirley also brought up the issue of vandalism and wondered how the project
might be affected by a snow fence that is placed in the proposed project area every
winter. Jill noted the kids' artwork would include their name and age on the piece. Terry
Robinson explained the snow fence is needed to control drifting due to the direction of
winds in that part of the park. He said the fence could be made to work if the project was
placed in that spot.
Jill asked Terry about accessibility requirements that might arise from the project and
how the bases should be configured. Terry said grass or woodchips would not be
considered fully accessible, so if the project creates a path it would need to be concrete.
Terry explained a concrete walkway would add extra expense in both materials and
maintenance since it would have to be cleared in the winter. He suggested the figures be
placed in an alternating pattern to avoid creating the need for a concrete path. He said
the bases should go below the frost line to avoid winter damage and suggested circular
shaped bases to make mowing around them easier. Marcia asked how much a base
would cost. Terry estimated about $80/base, but noted a round base might cut costs.
The committee wondered how much the total cost of this project could be. Marcia stated
$15,000 is the amount the City can dedicate to the project. She also said there was a
PIN grant given for a bench in the park, which could be integrated into this project as
well. Jill asked if the project could be phased to leverage more funds and if funding might
be available for a cement walkway. Marcia said the city funding is typically a one time
thing, so phasing would not be an option. She also said any costs for the walkway would
need to come from the total project budget. The committee agreed the project was good
and should keep moving forward. Jill agreed to refine the plans and come up with more
specifics for the next meeting.
TOUR OF LOCAL TRAILS
Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes
May 15, 2008
Page 3
To get ideas for possible trail art projects, the committee took a tour of three Iowa City
trails. The tour was lead by Terry. Marcia suggested the committee should think about
what types of art would be most appropriate for each trail such as progressive signage
that would provide an educational component along the trail, a more concentrated
sculpture garden on the trail, or something else.
Trail #1: South leg of the Iowa River Corridor trail
Jeff explained the trail goes up into the nearby subdivision. He said upcoming trail
additions will make the area into a major intersection of trails in the near future. Because
of the additions, Jeff suggested the committee might want to wait on placing public art
here until the area is completed.
Trail #2: Court Hill Trail -
Marcia told the committee once this trail is completed scheduled for this fall, it will be one
of the first residentially oriented trails in Iowa City. Jeff added a crosswalk will be
established at Creekside Park across Muscatine Avenue and also on 151 Ave where a
refuge island will be installed as well.
Trail #3: Water Treatment Plant
Terry pointed out the place where a new amphitheater will be built near the trail
entrance. He also explained a new dock will be built to allow a universally accessible
fishing facility. Rick noted the water well and intake buildings might present a good
opportunity for art installments.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 4:55 pm. Next meeting scheduled for June 5, 2008.
Minutes submitted by Nate Kabat
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Examples: Public Art Trail Improvements
Ted Jones Trail, St. Louis, MO:
http://www.trailnet.org/p tediones.php
. Artists worked with local high school students and teachers to create a 3-D mural
along a 392 ft. long box tunnel section under 1-70.
Snoqualmie Valley Trail, King County, WA:
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wriasl7 /trail.htm;
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wriasl7 /pdfs/trail art sites.pdf
. Art work has been placed along the trail to explain the impact of salmon on the
community.
. Informational signage: explains the history of the watershed, how changes to the
landscape affect the fish, preservation efforts being made.
. School children have created and designed much of the artwork.
Hudson River School Art Trail, Greene County, NY:
http://www . thomascole.org/trail/index.html
. Integrates artwork done by famous American artists such as Thomas Cole,
Frederic Church and Asher Durand who created paintings of Hudson River
scenery.
. Painting replicas are posted at the sites where they were painted so trail visitors
can compare how things have changed over time.
Steel Valley Trail Community Trail Art Initiative, Allegheny County, PA:
http://www . steel vallevtrail.org/trailart/
. Seeks to increase grassroots participation and stewardship of the trail.
. Created banners to welcome bike riders (a key user group) to the trail.
. Created events that would partner professional artists with art students at the
elementary through college levels to both design and create the artwork.
. Held design and creation workshops at schools, non-profit youth organizations,
community festivals and events and other non-profits of interest.
. Funded by community partnership of foundations, City Redevelopment Authority,
National Park Service, conservations group.
Art Escapes Trail, Essex County, MA:
http://www .essexheritage. org/ artescapes/;
http://www.escapesnorth.com/trail art/trail.php?sec=art
. Designed to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of the area.
. Collaboration between North Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Essex
National Heritage Commission, and the Peabody Essex Museum.
Harmony-Preston Valley Trail, Harmony, MN:
http://www .americantrails. org/resources/ art/MN - Harmony HobosA WS .html
. Large scale wood sculptures of hobos recreate a long-lost Hobo Camp along the
trail.
. The sculptures help tell how hobos contributed to American folk art through the
carvings they made.
. Project used many partners: City of Harmony, Harmony Tourism Committee, SE
Minnesota Arts Council, Minn. DNR, Harmony Lions Club, etc.
Wastewater Trail, New York City, NY:
http://www.restlus.com/2007 /11/ snaphot - wastewater-trail-art - review .html
. Created by Percent-for-Art funds.
. Gives walking access to areas around a new wastewater treatment facility and
Newton Creek.
. Problem: The art lacks connection with the surrounding features
. Would have been better to create educational signs about creek's past and the
treatment plant's function.
Forest Art Wisconsin" WI:
http://www.waldkunst.com/2007 /
http://www.northwoodstoday.com/Articles/Raven - N ature- T rail- Art - Exhibit. asp
. 3 week international artist symposium resulted in artwork integrated into a forest
trail.
. Focus on forest's ecological, social, and historical nativeness and invasiveness.
. Visitors could view the progress of the pieces over their 3 week creation.
. Upon completion the pieces remained in place for the entire summer.