Visual_Arts_Committee
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
3:00 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70
Minutes
Commissioners Present:
Leonard Hunter, Jeannene Przyblyski, Dede Wilsey, Pop Zhao
Absent: Lawrence Rinder
Staff Present:
Carol Marie Daniels, Marcus Davies,Nancy Gonchar, Tonia Macneil, Jill Manton, Judy Moran, Susan Pontious, Ellen Shershow, Meg Shiffler
Note: All votes are unanimous unless recorded otherwise.
The meeting commenced at 3:03 p.m.
- Consent
1. Motion to approve H.O.M.E.Y. design proposal for a mural at 24th and Capp Streets.
Motion: Motion to adopt the consent calendar items.
Moved: Hunter/Wilsey
- Gallery Report
Gallery Director Meg Shiffler presented the upcoming exhibit, Conversations 4, and the current Grove Street window installation, Renee Gertler: Flood.
Ms. Shiffler stated that Conversations 4 is an ongoing series of exhibitions at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery featuring a local artist alongside an artist from another point on the globe. The intent of this series is twofold: on an intimate level it allows for a closer look at the production of two individual artists, and it also informs an expansive perspective of how artists from our region participate in an international contemporary art dialogue. Conversation 4 features San Francisco-based artist Mark Lee Morris and New York-based artist Jillian Mcdonald.
Ms. Shiffler stated that she conceived of the upcoming exhibition based on the notion of celebrity, and how this is affected by the media, reality TV and the internet.
Artist Jillian Mcdonald has literally edited herself into Billy Bob Thornton movies by replacing Mr. Thornton’s female costars with clips of herself. Ms. Mcdonald has chosen silent but passionate moments, furthering the notion of the fantasy of secret celebrity affairs.
Artist Mark Lee Morris will work in the Grove Street window space to create a series of soap opera episodes. These one- to three-minute episodes will be on view at the Gallery, and downloadable via the Gallery website. The episodes will each deal with tragedies and steamy love scenes in which Mr. Morris plays all of the characters himself.
Artist Renee Gertler has created an installation that is currently on view in the Grove Street window. Ms. Gertler has been creating fantastical recreations of natural phenomena. In this installation, she has painted wood splinters blue, creating a river that begins at a single point in the ceiling and streams down toward the floor.
Motion: Motion to approve an additional artist honorarium in the amount of $3,000 for Mark Lee Morris for his participation in the upcoming Conversations 4 exhibition. This additional amount will increase his total honorarium from the previously approved $1,000 to $4,000.
Moved: Hunter/Wilsey
Motion: Motion to approve an honorarium in the amount of $500 to artist Renee Gertler for her participation in Renee Gertler: Flood at the Grove Street window installation site.
Moved: Wilsey/Zhao
- Portola Library
Public Art Project Manager Judy Moran introduced Portola Branch Library artist Dana Zed.
Ms. Zed presented the final design for the Portola Branch Library. She stated that she has designed four rotating shutters for the front window of the library. The library shutters measure two feet wide by eight feet tall. The inspiration for the design of the shutters was the result of a Portola community meeting. Ms. Zed explained that many of the people who attended this meeting had lived in the area their entire lives, and remembered when the landscape was lush with plant life, and there were many nurseries in the area. This led Ms. Zed to design a colorful flower motif. Ms. Zed showed a number of samples, and stated that her working style tends to be very process-oriented, making it difficult for her to plan the design specifics in advance. Ms. Moran requested that the Commission approve the current design, and that a Commissioner visit Ms. Zed’s studio to approve the later stages of the finished shutters.
Commissioner Przyblyski stated that the current design shows a strong sense of direction; that the library is a contemporary building and that Ms. Zed’s aesthetic will add a strong sense of warmth. Commissioner Przyblyski stated that she feels comfortable approving the design as it is, and is not too concerned with small details, an orange flower being replaced with a blue one, for example.
Ms. Zed concluded by detailing some of the technical aspects of the project, She explained that the glass will be tempered, will be approximately 3/8” thick, with a stainless steel frame structure. The shutters will be easy to clean and the colors will not fade with time.
Motion: Motion to approve the final design of four glass and metal panel shutters for the Portola Branch Library by artist Dana Zed, and to authorize the artist to move to the fabrication phase of her artwork.
Moved: Wilsey/Zhao
- Laguna Honda Hospital
Project Manager Susan Pontious presented Takenobu Igarashi’s artworks for Laguna Honda Hospital and Cliff Garten’s revised handrail design.
Ms. Pontious passed around terra cotta samples from artist Takenobu Igarashi. She explained that these will vary in thickness and texture, with some being lighter and some being darker. Ms. Pontious continued by passing around wood samples representing the atrium sculpture, and stated that she had concerns regarding graffiti removal from these objects; she will consult with ARG Conservation Services regarding anti-graffiti coatings that will protect the objects without affecting the color of the wood. The discussion continued regarding the use of wood. Commissioner Wilsey stated that she was concerned about splinters, particularly because Mr. Igarashi would like people to be able to touch the wood objects. The Commissioners voiced additional concerns regarding the color terra cotta samples intended for the residence building. Ms. Pontious will research these concerns and bring the specified samples to a future Visual Arts Committee meeting.
Ms. Pontious reported on Mr. Garten’s revised handrail design. She stated that Mr. Garten has submitted a revised budget, indicating the cost of bronze versus polyurethane and the corresponding length of the handrail. Mr. Garten’s current design proposes a 600 foot handrail. This will be enough to travel the ‘knuckle’ between the Link building and the historic building, so long as the brackets are constructed from stainless steel. The discussion continued as to the cost, look and durability of various materials.
This motion has been amended
Motion: Motion to approve the following mock-ups of Takenobu Igarashi’s artworks for Laguna Honda Hospital:
-Living Room terra cotta artwork
-Dining Room terra cotta artwork
-Residence Floor artwork
-Residence Floor artwork
The following items will be approved at a future Visuals Arts Committee meeting:
-Residence Floor terra cotta artwork
-Atrium Sculpture color sample
Moved: Hunter/Zhao
Motion: Motion to approve the revised scope for Cliff Garten’s sculptural handrail to include the link and knuckle buildings (600 linear ft.), and to include bronze as the revised material.
Moved: Wilsey/Zhao
- Civic Art Collection Guidelines
Project Manager Susan Pontious presented the revised Civic Art Collection guidelines, which added language to provide a mission statement and goals for the Civic Art Collection.
Ms. Pontious reviewed the proposed goals with the Committee. She compared and contrasted them to the SFO collection guidelines, which are more specific in terms of historic time periods. Commissioner Przyblyski had several very specific edits which were incorporated into the guidelines.
The following motion was approved per Commissioner Przyblyski’s revised guideline edits:
Motion: Motion to approve the June, 2007, revised guidelines for the Civic Art Collection.
Moved: Zhao/Wilsey
- Collections
Project Manager Susan Pontious presented the recommendation to regild the bust of Giuseppe Verdi monument by Ozario Grossoni, and to refabricate one new plaque to replace the two missing original plaques.
Ms. Pontious showed several slides of the monument both before and after conservation efforts. She stated that the bronze figures and base were thoroughly cleaned of corrosion, algae, and graffiti. The lower figures on the monument were repatinated. The gold leaf was reapplied to inscriptions on the pedestal. The conservator did not complete work on the actual Verdi bust due to the discovery of clear evidence that that part of the sculpture was also once gilded. The conservator’s recommendation was that the Verdi bust should be regilded in keeping with the artist’s original intent .
In addition, the sculpture originally had two bronze plaques which were present at the time of the 1994 Save Outdoor Sculpture (SOS!) survey. The text was recorded at that time, but there is some discrepancy about the validity of the text described for the plaque on the left side of the sculpture. The person who did the survey records the text as being the same as is incised on the back of the pedestal, but the length of the text is too long to fit on the “ghost” of the missing plaque. The conservator’s recommendation is to recreate a plaque with the text attributed to the right side of the monument, and place it on the back of the monument.
Ms. Pontious stated that it is less expensive to restore the monuments in Golden Gate Park than on Market Street, because, unlike Market Street, streets do not have to be closed off.
The Commission felt strongly that it is an important part of our role to restore these monuments whenever possible.
Motion: Motion to approve regilding the bust of Giuseppe Verdi monument by Ozario Grossoni in order to restore the sculpture according to the artist’s original intent, and to refabricate one new plaque to replace the two missing original plaques.
Moved: Hunter/Zhao
- Central Subway
Public Art Program Director Jill Manton and Project Manager Judy Moran presented a discussion of the timing and coordination of architecturally integrated artwork and requested suggestions of additional artists to recruit for architecturally integrated artwork.
Ms. Manton and Ms. Moran introduced Tân Dieu Chow, Senior Community Organizer from the Chinatown Community Development Center. Mr. Chow stated that the Chinatown CDC will conduct a series of community meetings to discuss ways in which the public can be involved in this process. Mr. Chow stated that the project is ahead of schedule, and we therefore need to move forward with the first phase of architecturally integrated artwork.
Ms. Moran and Ms. Manton went on to explain that the Public Art Program will pull from the current artists pool in addition to recruiting additional artists. The total budget is not yet finalized, but will likely be eleven to fifteen million dollars, including administrative costs.
Commissioner Przyblyski commented that this is a significant opportunity for the Arts Commission, and that she would like to see a survey of artworks from transit programs nationally. She requested that this visual presentation be presented to the communities, Muni and the Commission when it is completed. In addition, Commissioner Przyblyski stated that she would like to see an assessment of the art opportunities available in the three Central Subway stations. She went on to say that while we are selecting artists this year, in 2007, the art elements will not be installed until 2011 or 2012. This means that many of the people who are selecting the artwork will not be at the Arts Commission for the installation or public reaction to the art. With this in mind, we need to take a long view of this project, and to “think outside the box” of current art trends during the selection process. In addition, an artist that we select now may change significantly in style and aesthetic over the next five years, yet that that artist will be tied to the design that they propose now.
Ms. Manton and Ms. Moran stated that they have already begun to assemble images of transit artwork from different cities, and that they are prepared to do several site assessments. Commissioner Hunter commented that the Commission should consider hiring an outside consultant to write a master plan, and Commissioner Zhao encouraged the Commission to look at the transit system in Milan, Italy, which includes a transit museum. The discussion continued regarding the ways in which art and commerce might be integrated in these sorts of indoor/outdoor public spaces.
Tân Chow commented that the Chinatown community has been advocating for this sort of transit for twenty years, and that it represents more than simply linking Chinatown to downtown; it is about transforming a community. The community is viewing this as a mixed-use development, with the hope that it will increase foot traffic in areas such as Jackson Street, as well as revitalizing Chinatown as a whole. This is the largest redevelopment plan in the Northeast sector of San Francisco since the opening of the Broadway tunnel in 1952. It is Mr. Chow’s hope that we therefore maximize the potential of this project by focusing on ways in which the community will benefit from it; for example, he suggested choosing young Asian artists who are already living here, rather than recruiting artists from China.
Motion: Motion to authorize staff to proceed with first round of artist selections for artworks that will be integral to construction using the pre-qualified artists pool and additional recruited artists.
Moved: Wilsey/Zhao
This motion has been amended
Motion: Motion to approve the following candidates to serve on the artist selection panels for the Central Subway transit stations: representatives from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Museum of the African Diaspora, the Asian Art Museum, and the Jewish Museum; as well as the Chinatown Community Development Center, the Union Square Association, the Yerba Buena Alliance and other artists’ spaces and community groups as appropriate.
Moved: Hunter/Zhao
- Louise Bourgeois Temporary Sculpture on the Embarcadero at Pier 14
Public Art Program Director Jill Mantonreported on project negotiations and logistics for the Louise Bourgeois Temporary Sculpture on the Embarcadero at Pier 14.
Ms. Manton stated the Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture will be on display for approximately one year, and that in response to safety concerns the spider will be installed atop a large plinth. Ms. Bourgeois is amenable to this solution. The plinth will be low, perhaps four to six inches in height, but will serve as a physical barrier to protect the sculpture from skateboarders, shopping carts and the like. The Bourgeois studio will ship the sculpture in ten pieces, as when the entire sculpture is assembled it weighs approximately 5,000 pounds.
Other spider sculptures from this series have already been installed at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Tate Modern in London, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Acknowledging that these are very different contexts than San Francisco’s Embarcadero, Ms. Manton has researched security concerns. Ms. Manton stated that there are seven security firms in the immediate vicinity of Pier 14, so obtaining security services should not be difficult. In addition, we will plan to hire extra security for large events. Ms. Manton went on to say that she is currently preparing for the July 17, 2007, Port Commission meeting, where we will ask for Port approval of the sculpture proposal.
Motion: Motion to approve the temporary exhibition of a sculpture entitled Crouching Spider by artist Louise Bourgeois in the Pier 14 Plaza along the Embarcadero for a period not to exceed one year, commencing November, 2007, pending approval from the Port Commission and resolution of issues regarding liability, safety and security.
Moved: Wilsey/Zhao
- Public Art Policy Discussion
Public Art Program Director Jill Manton introduced a discussion regarding a threshold for Arts Commission approval of temporary projects. Ms. Manton stated that there is a grey area regarding whether or not the Commission needs to grant approval for smaller public art events or installations. Currently, we do not have any firm guidelines or policies in place, and tend to evaluate these events on a case-by-case basis. For example, last year an artist wanted to paint an elephant on a water tower in Potrero Hill. The project was not realized for other reasons, but there was some confusion on the part of Arts Commission staff as to whether the project was significant enough to warrant Arts Commission approval.
The discussion continued as to whether projects of a certain size and duration needed to come to the Commission, and whether the Commission should be more specific regarding the criteria for such projects. The Commissioners concluded that staff should continue to evaluate these projects on a case-by-case basis and refer projects to the Commission for approval at staff’s discretion.
- Endangered Garden at Sunnydale Pump Station
P ublic Art Program Director Jill Manton reported on the Art Commission’s ability to sustain the Endangered Garden at Sunnydale Pump Station project. Ms. Manton stated that this project was begun in 1987, making it one of her longest-running projects. Endangered Garden is based on the image of the San Francisco garter snake, a subspecies that has been on the endangered list since 1967. The “snake” begins in the fields of Candlestick Cove, with the head and part of the body of the snake comprised of native plants; the body was originally intended to extend into the bay where it would help to rebuild historic shellfish beds. The native plants on dry land, in turn, were meant to become a butterfly habitat. Currently, we are working to make this area ADA-compliant, and have received funds from the Public Utilities Commission to modify the paving and to install a handrail. However, the more pressing issue is locating additional funds and the staff time to maintain the garden, which has been a challenge thus far. Ms. Manton stated that she has tried a number of different approaches: involving students from City College and the Bayview neighborhood, and paying a gardener to do basic weeding. These have been costly options that have not been sufficient to maintain the garden. Ms. Manton stated that we currently have no more funds to do even this basic maintenance. Complicating matters further, the garden sits on State property. Ms. Manton will contact the State Parks Department, but it is doubtful whether the State will agree to take over the ongoing care of the garden.
The discussion continued for some time. The Commissioners agreed that art constructed from the landscape, much like murals on urban buildings, has a finite life span. It was unanimously agreed that Ms. Manton would contact the artist, the State, and a few other possible helpers, such as Friends of Candlestick Park and funders from San Francisco’s unrealized Butterfly Museum, and report back to the Visual Arts Committee.
Motion: Motion to approve ADA required handrail design for the Endangered Garden project at the Sunnydale Pump Station.
Moved: Hunter/Zhao
- Transbay Terminal
Public Art Program Director Jill Manton reported on the staff andCommission role in public art program management at Transbay Terminal. Ms. Manton stated that the Public Art Program may take an unusual role in the artwork at Transbay in that we may serve as consultants. This means that we would lend our expertise in project management, but that the art proposals, design, and final installation would not necessarily be required to go through the Commission approval process, as the Transbay Terminal is a multijurisdictional project. The discussion continued for some time on this issue. It is currently not clear whether this arrangement is set, and whether Arts Commission staff and resources can legally be used, even with compensation, without vetting the project in question through the Commission. Ms. Manton has suggested that one of the Visual Arts Commissioners serve on the Transbay Steering Committee, and has contacted the City Attorney’s office to ascertain what the rules and regulations are regarding this sort of arrangement. In addition, Ms. Manton stated that more research is needed as to what the fee would be, the amount of staff time required, and whether federal contractual requirements could be incorporated into the City’s standard artists’ contracts.
- PUC Various Art Endeavors
This report was continued to the next meeting.
- Sunnyside Conservatory
This report was continued to the next meeting.
- Public Art Reports
This report was continued to the next meeting.
- New Business
- Old Business
- Adjournment
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
Submitted by Ellen Shershow, Public Art Program Associate
Approved by Nancy Gonchar, Director of Cultural Affairs
8/1/2007
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.
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