City and County of San FranciscoSan Francisco Arts Commission

Visual Arts Committee - June 30, 2014 - Meeting Minutes

Visual Arts Committee - June 30, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION
VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE
SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, June 30, 2014
3 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70
San Francisco, CA 94102

________________________________________

DRAFT MINUTES

 

The meeting commenced at 3:16 p.m.

1. Roll Call

Present:
Dorka Keehn, Chair
Barbara Sklar
Jessica Silverman

Absent:
JD Beltran, President
Greg Chew

2. Consent Calendar
Action

  1. Motion to approve the following arts professionals as panelists for public art selection panels for the 2014/15 Fiscal Year:

Regina Almaguer, arts administrator;
Michael Arcega, artist;
Jaime Austin, Curator and Director of Programs, ZERO1;
Lucinda Barnes, Chief Curator and Director of Programs and Collections, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive;
Joseph Becker, Assistant Curator of Architecture and Design, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Dena Beard, Assistant Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive;
Elisheva Biernoff, artist;
Janet C. Bishop, Curator of Painting and Sculpture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Cath Brunner, Public Art Program Director, 4Culture;
Timothy Burgard, Curator-in-Charge of American Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco;
Abby Chen, Program Director, Chinese Culture Center;
Kevin Chen, artist;
René de Guzman, Chief Curator, Oakland Museum of California; 
Joseph del Pesco, Director, Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco;
Lewis deSoto, artist; Professor of Art, San Francisco State University;
Apsara DiQuinzio, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and Phyllis C. Wattis MATRIX Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive;
Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Acting Head of Architecture and Design, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Jennifer Easton, Senior Project Manager, Public Art, City of San Jose;
Amy Ellingson, artist;
Jennie Emiré Rodríguez, Executive Director of Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts;
Maya Emsden, Deputy Executive Officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro);
Courtney Fink, Executive Director, Southern Exposure;
Rupert Garcia, artist;
Gary Garrels, Elise S. Haas Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Jeanne Gerrity, independent curator;
Jenny Gheith, Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Barbara Goldstein, Principal at Barbara Goldstein & Associates, Creative Placemaking and Public Art Planning;
Donna Graves, Consultant, Arts & Cultural Planning;
Susan Gray, Creative Services Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transport Authority;
Melorra Green, independent curator; Curator, African American Art and Culture Complex;
Maude Haak-Frendscho, Program Manager, Headlands Center for the Arts;
Stephanie Hanor, Director, Mills College Art Museum;
Glen Helfand, independent writer, critic, curator, and educator;
Dana Hemenway, artist;
Kendal Henry, artist; Public Art Consultant in Residence at Maribyrnong City Council;
Betti-Sue Hertz, Director of Visual Arts, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts;
Katie Hood Morgan, Interim Exhibitions Coordinator, Walter and McBean Galleries;
Justin Hoover, artist; Curator or Exhibitions at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center;
Anthony Huberman, Director, CCA Wattis institute for Contemporary Arts;
Steve Huss, Cultural Arts Manager, Public Art Program, City of Oakland;
Valerie Imus, Exhibitions and Programs Manager, Southern Exposure;
Chris Johnson, artist; Professor of Photography and Fine Art, California College of the Arts;
Mark Johnson, Director, San Francisco State University Fine Arts Gallery;
Stephanie Johnson, Instructor of Sculpture, Installation, Performance Art and Public Art
California State University, Monterey Bay - Visual and Public Arts Institute
Ned Kahn, artist;
Brooke Kellaway, independent curator;
Walter Kitundu, artist;
Carrie Lederer, artist; Curator of Exhibitions and Programs, Bedford Gallery;
Aimee Le Duc, Executive Director, Berkeley Art Center;
Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins, Manager, Visual Arts Program, Museum of the African Diaspora;
Lex Leifheit, Executive Director, SOMArts Cultural Center;
Constance Lewallen, Adjunct Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive;
Christina Linden, independent curator;
Hung Liu, artist;
Linda Lucero, Executive/Artistic Director, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Juan Luna-Avin, artist;
Sharon Maidenberg, Executive Director, Headlands Center for the Arts;
Patricia Maloney, Director, Art Practical;
Leigh Markopoulos, Chair, California College of the Arts Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice;
Marina McDougall, Director, Center for Art & Inquiry, Exploratorium;
Hesse McGraw, Vice President for Exhibitions and Public Programs, San Francisco Art Institute;
Katya Min, Curator of Public Programs, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts;
Judy Moran, art consultant;
Ceci Moss, Assistant Curator, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts;
Ellen Oh, Program Administrator, Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University;
Amy Owen, Curator, di Rosa;
Marc Pally, Public Art Curator and Artistic Director, Glow;
Matthew Passmore, artist;
Maurizzio Hector Pineda, independent curator;
Carolina Ponce de León, art critic;
Renny Pritikin, Chief Curator; Contemporary Jewish Museum
Diana Pumpelly Bates, artist;
Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, Associate Director and Senior Curator, MACLA;
Jerome Reyes, artist;
Lawrence Rinder, Director, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive;
Rebeka Rodriguez, Program Director: Education & Community Engagement, Intersection for the Arts;
Mary Rubin, Senior Project Manager, Public Art, City of San Jose;
Ron Moultrie Saunders, artist;
Norie Sato, artist;
Richard Shaw, artist;
Stephanie Syjuco, artist;
Karen Tsujimoto, Curator, Contemporary Jewish Museum;
Po Shu Wang, artist
Nate Watson, artist; Executive Director of Public Glass;
Maysoun Wazwaz, Program Manager, Mills College Art Museum;
Xiaoyu Weng, Curator of Asia Programs, Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco;
Shelly Willis, Interim Executive Director/Art in Public Places Director, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission;
Dominic Willsdon, Leanne and George Roberts Curator of Education and Public Programs, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Jenifer Wofford, artist;
Anuradha Vikram, Director of Residency Programs, 18th Street Arts Center;
Tanya Zimbardo, Assistant Curator of Media Arts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve consent calendar items.
Moved: Sklar/Silverman
The motion was unanimously approved.

3. General Hospital Acute Care Building: Second Floor Mosaics
Jennifer Lovvorn
Action

Senior Project Manager Jennifer Lovvorn presented the fabrication sample for a mosaic artwork by Lena Wolff for the second floor of General Hospital Acute Care Building.  Ms. Lovvorn presented the original design drawings that were previously approved for three walls; all are 6 foot high and range from six to eight feet wide. The original images, consisting of whimsical animal scenes, were done in gouache and are being translated into mosaic by Mosaika in Canada.

Ms. Lovvorn presented the fabrication sample, stating that the artist likes how it turned out, but would like to make a couple changes. She would prefer that the foreground elements be grouted with a darker color and she feels that the white background tile is too bright and would like to change it to a warmer white. Ms. Lovvorn presented the warmer white tile samples selected by the artist for the Committee’s review. The Committee recommended that the white in the fabrication sample should remain as is.  The Committee discussed the options for the grout colors and asked to see the earlier samples to better visualize the changes being discussed.

Ms. Lovvorn deferred her presentation in order to retrieve the original mosaic samples.

After hearing Agenda Item #7, Ms. Lovvorn resumed her presentation with the original mosaic samples that contained the darker mocha grout and varying degrees of white backgrounds. The Committee concluded to approve the sample with the condition that the grout within and around the foreground elements be the darker “mocha” colored grout. Ms. Lovvorn stated she would relay the feedback to the artist and if the artist did not agree another sample would be brought to the Committee for review.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

THE FOLLOWING MOTION WAS AMENDED

Motion: Motion to approve the fabrication sample for a mosaic artwork by Lena Wolff for the General Hospital Acute Care Building: Second Floor, with the condition that the grout color used within and to outline the foreground elements be the darker colored grout that was used in the proposal sample (“Mocha”).
Moved: Sklar/Silverman
The motion was unanimously approved.

4. General Hospital Acute Care Building: Emergency Department
Zoë Taleporos
Action

Program Associate Zoë Taleporos presented the artwork designs by Jetro Martinez for a curved wall located at the entrance to the Emergency Department at the new General Hospital Acute Care Building. The design incorporates fauna and flora inspired by traditional Mexican Amate bark paintings. She explained that the focal point of the original proposal had been a red deer. However, the panel had felt the color red was not an appropriate color selection for the Emergency Department.  The panel also wished to see the background color lightened. With that feedback, the artist re-worked the palette of the design to have an overall lighter background and changed the color of the deer to blue.

Ms. Taleporos continued with the presentation of materials samples, including an initial sample done on aluminum panel. However, both artist and  Arts Commission staff did not  feel the imaged translated well  in aluminum. Staff advised the artist to explore mosaic as a medium and encouraged him to work with the fabricator Mosaika. She presented a mosaic sample fabricated by Mosaika showing the proposed tile technique and color palette. Ms. Taleporos added that the artist will work with Mosaika to refine the background tile palette and showed a range of tile samples demonstrating the new color direction.

Commissioner Silverman  stated her opinion that the overall design had become too busy as a result of the grout outlines of the background tiles that caused them to no longer recede. The Committee agreed that the intricate design elements of flora and fauna had become too interrupted by the background tiles.  They requested that the artist explore smoother options for the background that would help define the foreground design elements. Ms. Taleporos stated she would relay their feedback to the artist.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve the Design Phase deliverables (material samples and revised design) for an artwork by Jetro Martinez for the General Hospital Acute Care Building: Emergency Department.
Moved: Silverman/Sklar
The motion was unanimously approved.

5. San Francisco International Airport: Terminal 3 - Ursula von Rydingsvard
Justine Topfer
Action

Project Manager Justine Topfer presented details regarding the location and purchase of Ursula von Rydingvard’s sculpture, Ocean Voices III at the San Francisco International Airport: Terminal 3. She explained that the construction plans for the club lounge for United Airlines had changed, eliminating the originally selected site location and sculpture.

The new site location is a larger, naturally lit space and staff felt the scale of the sculpture should be increased.Ocean Voices III was selected due to its’ larger scale,  roughly ten feet tall and five feet around, and will be placed on a one foot high platform.  The design of the platform will be determined in consultation of the artist and will not be as shown in the mock-up presented.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve the purchase of the artwork, Ocean Voices III, 2013 by Ursula von Rydingsvard in the amount of $450,000 plus applicable sales tax from Galerie Lelong, New York, for the San Francisco International Airport: Terminal 3, Sculpture Opportunity, as recommended by the San Francisco International Airport Three-Dimensional Selection Panel, and as approved by the Airport Commission.
Moved: Sklar/Silverman
The motion was unanimously approved.

6. 2015/16 Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series
Justine Topfer
Action

Ms. Topfer presented images and gave a brief overview of the selected finalists for the 2015/16 Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series. The selected finalists are; Andrea Bergen, Susie Cagle, Jeremy Fish, Kelly Inouye, Leah Rosenberg and Chelsea Wong.

She reminded the Committee that the overarching theme of the series Birthday Bash is the overarching title for the 2015/16 Art on Market Street Kiosk Poster Series and that the artists will respond to the 2015 centenary of San Francisco City Hall.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve the following finalists for the 2015/16 Art on Market Street Kiosk Posters Series as recommended by the Art on Market Street Selection Panel: Andrea Bergen, Susie Cagle, Jeremy Fish, Kelly Inouye, Leah Rosenberg and Chelsea Wong.
Moved: Silverman/Sklar
The motion was unanimously approved.

7. SOMA West Skatepark
Mary Chou
Action

Project Manager Mary Chou presented images of the revised designs for the mural, There Slipped Saturn A Perpetual Tock - a.k.a. The Saturn Clock, 2014 by Jovi Schnell at SOMA West Skatepark. She explained that the artist and her installers have determined they are unable to complete the final design as previously approved and have requested the following changes: The elimination of the designs on the lintels that span between columns will be replaced with the same aqua-colored background of the columns; and elimination of the design on the upper area of the second column, to be replaced with the aqua-colored background of the columns.

Arts Commission staff had reviewed the changes and support the artist’s proposed changes. The revision still maintains the original design on all six columns, which are the most visible from the street, and as well as the upper area of the column closest to on Otis, which is more visible than the upper area of the second column.

She further explained the columns will be sealed as soon as possible with the anti-graffiti coating.  The coating will enable Recreation and Parks Department, who will be maintaining the site, to remove graffiti from the mural with the same products they already use to remove graffiti from other surfaces.

Commissioner Keehn asked if there might have been a way to better anticipate the site difficulties. Ms. Chou explained that the difficulties arose due to site challenges such as wind, the rough surface to be painted, and that the stepped base of the columns made the movement of scaffolding more difficult. All had lent to an increase in the cost, time-line and difficulty of the painting schedule. She concluded by stating it was the feeling of the staff that the artist had, diligently and successfully, completed as much as could be done within the given budget and time-frame. The Committee agreed.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

The following motion was amended.

Motion: Motion to approve the revised design for the mural, There Slipped Saturn A Perpetual Tock - a.k.a. The Saturn Clock, 2014 by Jovi Schnell for the SOMA West Skatepark, which eliminates the designs on the lintels between the freeway columns.
Moved: Sklar/Silverman
The motion was unanimously approved.

8. Proposed Use of Public Art Trust from Emerald Fund Developments for Public
Art Project on West Façade of Civic Auditorium
Jill Manton
Action

Director of Public Art Trust and Special Initiatives Jill Manton presented two possible projects that would be funded by art enrichment funds generated from the development of two projects, at 101 Polk Street and at 100 Van Ness, by the Emerald Fund.  She explained that in fulfilling the mandated Art Enrichment Ordinance, developers have the option to contribute all or a portion of their 1% to the Public Art Trust for residential projects in the C3 District. Emerald Fund will contribute approximately $1,000,000 of their 1% to this project. There may be a second Public Art Trust project on the Hayes Street elevation of Van Ness which may be managed through Emerald Fund with the balance of their 1%.

Emerald Fund would like the trust contribution to be used to commission an artwork for the Polk Street and west facing portion of the Hayes Streets elevations of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.  Due to the historic nature of the building, the artwork will not be able adhere to the façade. However, various treatments will be explored. Artworks that will utilize the stairwells are of special interest because there are no restrictions due to their newer construction.

Ms. Manton has been consulting with the Department of Real Estate, City Planning and the staff of the Historic Preservation Commission to make certain that they would provisionally approve of the site for an art installation that are in accordance with the guidelines they have developed.  All will need to review any proposal selected.

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to authorize the use of the west façade of the Civic Auditorium as a site for a permanent public art installation with an approximate budget of $1 million from Public Art Trust proceeds generated by the Emerald Fund from developments at 101 Polk Street and at 100 Van Ness and to authorize staff to proceed with the development of a Request for Qualifications, selection panel and artist selection process.
Moved: Sklar/Silverman
The motion was unanimously approved.

9. Public Comment
Discussion

Commissioner Keehn called for public comment. There was no public comment.

10. New Business and Announcements
Discussion

Mary Chou announced the dedication for the Arelious Walker Steps Project on Wednesday, July 2 at 3:30 p.m.  The artwork commissioned for that project, Flights of Fancy, 2014, by the artist team Colette Crutcher and Aileen Barr consists of handmade tiles installed on the risers of 87 steps that extend uphill from Innes Avenue to Northridge Road in the Bayview neighborhood. The tiles had been made at community workshops and the final installation was managed by the Department of Public Works with the help of The San Francisco Conservation Corps.

11. Old Business
Discussion

Commissioner Keehn called for comment. There was no comment.

12. Adjournment
Action
The meeting adjourned at 4:02 p.m.

JDC 7/8/14

Notices

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Program Associate Jenn Doyle Crane, 415-252-2586, jennifer.crane@sfgov.org.

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Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Program Associate Jenn Doyle Crane, 415-252-2586, jennifer.crane@sfgov.org.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Program Associate Jenn Doyle Crane, 415-252-2586,jennifer.crane@sfgov.org.