Visual_Arts_Committee
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
3:00 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70
Notes
Commissioners Present:
Jeannene Przyblyski, Dede Wilsey
Commissioners Absent:
Leonard Hunter, Lawrence Rinder, Pop Zhao
Staff Present:
Carol Marie Daniels, Tonia Macneil, Jill Manton, Ellen Shershow
Note: As there was no quorum, no votes were recorded. All motions will be continued at the next Full Commission meeting.
The meeting commenced at 3:16 p.m.
- Consent
- Motion to approve the six final designs, titled Personal Landmarks, by artist Jennifer Durrant, to be installed in 24 kiosks on Market Street from November 10, 2006, to February 8, 2007, as part of the Art on Market Street 2006 Kiosk Poster Series.
- Motion to increase the contract amount from $85,000 to an amount not to exceed $95,000 for artist Troy Corliss to complete design development, fabricate, and install a work of art at the Upper Noe Recreation Center.
- Motion to approve the establishment of a pool of jurors for the Joseph Lee Recreation Center selection panel to include: Mildred Howard, Brook Mebrahtu, D. Minor, Lena Miller, Kevin Epps and Donald Harper.
- Harvey Milk Recreation Center
Project Manager Tonia Macneil stated that the final design documents are due in two weeks, at the end of August 2006. The Harvey Milk Recreational Center, located at the intersection of Scott and Duboce Streets, is a large and unique building that serves as a performing and visual arts mecca for the city; it houses a large performance space as well as the Photography Center.
Artists Susan Schwartzenberg and Michael Davis seek to highlight the life and work of Harvey Milk and the importance of the Center to the neighborhood as well as to the City of San Francisco, as inspired by an idea that Harvey Milk articulated, that the dream of collective city life begins in the neighborhood.
The artists’ initial proposal was presented and approved by the Committee in May 2006. Staff is now requesting approval of their revised design, which has evolved in response to comments from the Commissioners and community members.
Ms. Macneil began by describing the first portion of the project. A camera obscura will be installed on a ladder-like structure at the east-facing window wall in the lobby off of Scott Street. Second, in the same lobby area will be a laminated glass panel of photographs of Harvey Milk, some of the images will be translucent and some will be opaque. The third portion of the project proposes a three-foot-diameter oculus, or skylight, in the center of the lobby. This oculus will allow natural light to flood into the space, not unlike a spotlight, referencing Harvey Milk’s theatrical background. The light will move in a path around the lobby as the seasons change. Originally conceived by the artists, this oculus is designed by the project architects and will be funded through the building construction budget.
Additionally, the artists will design and construct a curiosity cabinet, containing, among other things, exquisite handmade puppets stored at the Center. Because of the unique installation of these cabinets, the objects will be visible from both the interior and the exterior of the Recreation Center. Lastly, the entrance to the Photography Center on the lower level facing Duboce Park will highlight a montage of photographs from former photography students of the Center, some of whom are now successful artists.
Finally, at the request of several community members, the artists have proposed the installation of large graphic text on the exterior east-facing wall of the facility. The text would be a few words made of simple cutout letters glued to the wall and painted the same color as the wall. The text would refer to Harvey Milk’s quotation about neighborhoods. Funding for this element would come from the building project budget, not from the art budget, and therefore approval of this element would be in the purview of the Civic Design Committee.
Motion: Motion to approve the final design and budget for artwork by Susan Schwartzenberg and Michael Davis for Harvey Milk Recreation Center.
- Broadway Streetscape Improvements
This has been continued to a future Visual Arts Committee meeting.
- Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center
Project Manager Tonia Macneil reminded the Commissioners that artists Jon Rubin’s and Jim Goldberg’s revised conceptual design for the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreational Center was presented and approved at the May, 2006 Visual Arts Committee meeting. Since that time, the proposal has been positively received by the Recreation and Parks department, the client and the community. Currently, the artists have found that the proposed glass wall is too costly, and have come up with an alternate solution.
The artists propose using a digital high pressure laminate manufactured by Fossil. This material is superior to the glass that was originally proposed, in that it has better color saturation, is lightweight and easy to install, and is inexpensive. However, unlike glass, this material is easy to scratch. The artists have provided two samples of the laminate for the Commissioners. These samples exhibit both an interior and an exterior surface. Commissioner Przyblyski and Commissioner Wilsey agreed to leave the choice of the surface to the discretion of the artists.
Motion: Motion to approve the use of a digital high-pressure laminate for the artwork by Jon Rubin and Jim Goldberg at Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center.
- PUC Site Assessment
Public Art Program Director Jill Manton stated that the Public Utilities Commission is eager to proceed with the development of a public art program that will include multiple temporary art projects along with several significant permanent public artworks. Ms. Manton explained that we would look for artists to engage in projects about the natural elements, San Francisco Bay Area ecology and the environment. Ms. Manton stated that we have, over the past two years, discussed the possibility of creating an arts master plan for Public Utility Commission art projects. Now with security and access concerns and a more limited public art budget than anticipated, we have decided to forego hiring an outside consultant team to coordinate such a plan. She reported that the Mayor’s office would prefer that the majority of the funding be extended to directly benefit the City of San Francisco and its citizens. Ms. Manton proposed hiring artist Susan Schwartzenberg to engage in assessments and documentation of potential sites for Public Utilities Commission public art projects. Ms. Schwartzenberg would create a site profile of several locations, including Lake Merced, McLaren Park and the Embarcadero. Further, as the Public Utilities Commission allows us to pool funds, this document could serve a dual purpose as a tool to find sites for larger projects.
Motion: Motion to approve awarding to Susan Schwartzenberg an honorarium not to exceed $10,000 to develop a Site Profile including photographs and narrative descriptions of potential Public Utility Commission sites for public art descriptions of potential artist opportunities to include Lake Merced, McLaren Park and the Embarcadero, among other sites.
- Harvey Milk Commemorative Bust
Public Art Program Director Jill Manton presented the finalists for the Harvey Milk Commemorative Bust competition. Dan Nicoletta, Co-Chair of the Harvey Milk Memorial Committee, Jeannene Przyblyski, Chair of the Visual Arts Committee, Gary Nathan, Harvey Milk Memorial Committee member, Dugald Stermer, artist and former Visual Arts Commissioner, and Jewelle Gomez, writer and former Arts Commission staff member participated in the panel on Monday, August 14, 2006.
Forty-two submissions were culled down in advance of the panel meeting to twenty-six by Arts Commission staff based on selection criteria. The challenge for the panelists quickly became selecting an artist who would stand out from the strong and talented pool of applicants, all of whom worked within the genre of portraiture. The three finalists, Cedric Wentworth, Bruce Wolfe and the Daub Firmin Hendrickson Sculpture Group will each create a maquette of their proposal, which will be displayed at City Hall for a period of two weeks in mid-November, 2006. This exhibit will be publicized so that the public will have a chance to view the proposals and write comments which will be provided to the selection panel prior to their final deliberation. Artist Mario Chiodo was selected as the alternate.
Motion: Motion to accept the Harvey Milk Artist Selection Panel’s recommendation of the three finalists: Bruce Wolfe, Cedric Wentworth and the Daub Firmin Hendrickson Sculpture Group; and to accept Mario Chiodo as alternate.
Motion: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to award Bruce Wolfe, Cedric Wentworth and the Daub Firmin Hendrickson Sculpture Group an honorarium of $2,500 each to develop a specific proposal for the Harvey Milk Commemorative Bust.
- Koret Children’s Playground
Ms. Manton reminded the Commissioners that this project began three years ago. Formerly known as The Children’s Playground of Golden Gate Park, the park has since been renamed in honor of the Koret Foundation, the donor who provided the bulk of the funding for the playground. Budget problems and the increasing cost of construction have resulted in a more modest playground designation than originally planned.
To complement the water theme of the toddlers’ play area, artist Vicki Saulls has been working with a maritime theme, creating creatures such as a sea turtle, a pelican and a hermit crab. Due to the delay in implementing the project, the cost of fabrication and transportation of the work has risen. Ms. Manton has requested a $4,000 increase in the contract amount to account for this. In addition, she has asked the Commission to authorize modifying the agreement to include the transportation and installation phase of the agreement. The total proposed increase to the agreement is $15,993.
Motion: Motion to modify the contract with Vicki Saulls for the Koret Children’s Playground by authorizing Phase III of the Agreement to Design, Fabricate, Transport and Install an Artwork at the Koret Children’s Quarters for a total increase of $15,993 bringing the contract total to the amount of $53,500.
- New Business
Ms. Manton stated that she has met with Michael Farrah of the Mayor’s office, Kate Stacey, Lead Attorney of the Land Use team, and Arts Commission Attorney Adine Varah to discuss a proposed change in legislation which would consolidate management of the private Percent for Art at the Arts Commission. This will fulfill a policy proposal of Mayor Newsom’s made during his campaign, the intent of which is to make more public art accessible and of benefit to the public. Ms. Manton reported that the group discussed two models for spending the required one percent of the project cost for art. First, they discussed the Los Angeles model in which the developer spends 60% of the art funds on the private development site, and the remaining 40% goes directly into a public art trust which would be administered by the Arts Commission to commission artworks in a public space adjacent to the private development. The group also discussed an alternative idea, that developers might also have the option to direct all of the art funds into the public art trust, possibly in exchange for a reduction in the total amount they would need to provide (i.e., less than one percent of the project cost). There was much discussion as to the advantages and disadvantages of these various models. The Commissioners advised that public input and preliminary meetings with the development community would be very critical.
- Old Business
Ms. Manton publicly acknowledged and thanked Project Manager Carol Marie Daniels for her tremendous accomplishment in managing the restoration of the Mark di Suvero Sculpture on the Embarcadero. Working in collaboration with Mr. di Suvero’s studio, Architectural Resources Group and the Redevelopment Agency, the project was completed on schedule and looks wonderful.
- Adjournment
As there was no further business; the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
8/21/2006
Notices
Explanatory documents are available for public inspection and copying at the Arts Commission office, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94102 during regular business hours. INFO: Ellen Shershow (415) 252-2594.
Public comment in regard to specific items will be taken before or during consideration of the item.
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