Full_Commission
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 MEETING OF THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION
Monday, June 6, 2005
3:00 p.m.
City Hall Room 416
Minutes
President Johnston called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m.
- Roll Call
Commissioners Present
P.J. Johnston
Andrea Cochran
José Cuellar
Leonard Hunter
John Kriken
Janice Mirikitani
Beverly Prior
Jeannene Przyblyski
Lawrence Rinder
Ethel Pitts Walker
Pop Zhao
Commissioners Absent
Blanche Brown
Maya Draisin
Alexander Lloyd
Dede Wilsey
Shelley Bradford Bell
- Approval of Minutes
The following Resolution was moved, seconded, and unanimously adopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-104: APPROVAL OF MINUTES ADOPTED
RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby approve the Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of May 2, 2005.
NOTE: ALL ADOPTIONS ARE UNANIMOUS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
- Consent Calendar
President Johnston briefly welcomed the new Commissioners and everyone attending the meeting, reminding them that they were on camera at all times in the meeting room. In deference to the appearance of Supervisor Bevan Dufty, President Johnston took up item 6 from the consent calendar, regarding the Bufano sculptures from Valencia Gardens, out of order.
Supervisor Dufty thanked the Commission for its indulgence, and asked the Commission to delay its action on returning the Bufano sculptures to Valencia Gardens from their temporary location at the Randall Museum, where they have also been very popular and are beautifully displayed. He acknowledged the proactive work of staff, and expected that further discussions would produce a “win-win” situation for both the Randall and Valencia Gardens, possibly including the reproduction of the sculpture.
Director of Cultural Affairs Richard Newirth said that staff stood ready to explain the background on the loan and to discuss plans and options currently under consideration. Commissioner Przyblyski reported that she and other Commissioners and staff were working hard on this question, and said that she understood the views expressed on behalf of the Randall. She was confident that a good solution for all could be found. She also expressed pride in San Francisco’s long history of placing public art in all areas of the city.
President Johnston thanked Supervisor Dufty as a friend of the Arts Commission, and agreed that with further discussion a comprehensive solution could be found to address all parties’ concerns. He called for a vote on the Consent Calendar, severing item 6, the motion to approve the return of the Bufano sculptures to Valencia Gardens, as follows.
RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-105
Approval: RESOLVED, that this Commission does hereby adopt the following items on the Consent Calendar as amended and their related Resolutions:
Approval of Committee Minutes
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-106: Motion to approve the Visual Arts Committee Meeting Minutes of May 3, 2005.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-107: Motion to approve the Civic Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes of May 16, 2005.
Visual Arts Committee Recommendations (May 3, 2005)
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-108: Motion to approve an increase in the contract amount with Suzanne Biaggi for fabrication, transportation and installation of a sculpture at Laguna Honda Hospital, from $55,000 to $64,300, to allow for three additional basalt “marker” columns and insurance against loss for four years.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-109: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with the artist team of Jeff Northam and Rufus Butler Seder for final design, fabrication, transportation and installation of an artwork for the new Glen Park Branch Library in an amount not to exceed $36,000.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-110: Motion to accept artist Vicki Saulls’s public artworks “Nuotatori” and “Locus” into the Civic Art Collection.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-111: Motion to approve the following artists as finalists for the Sava Pool Public Art Project: the Los Angeles-based collaborative group, Electroland; Catherine Wagner; and Relja Penezic; and to approve Seyed Alavi as an alternate.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-112: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to pay each finalist for the Sava Pool Public Art Project (the Los Angeles-based collaborative group, Electroland; Catherine Wagner; and Relja Penezic; or the alternate Seyed Alavi) $1,000 to develop a site-specific proposal for the second phase of the selection process.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-113: Motion to approve the artist team of Susan Schwartzenberg (San Francisco) and Michael Davis (San Pedro, CA) for the Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Center Public Art Project.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-114: Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with Susan Schwartzenberg and Michael Davis for an amount not to exceed $82,000 to develop final designs, fabricate and install a work of art for the Harvey Milk Recreational Arts Center.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-115: Motion to approve revised designs for “Earth” and “Air” images for tapestries by Ann Chamberlain and Bernie Lubell for Laguna Honda Hospital.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-116: Motion to authorize the Arts Commission staff to negotiate the private sale of “Masquerade in Black” by Jay DeFeo to a Bay Area arts institution.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-117: Motion to approve an honorarium payment to Lewis deSoto of $2,000 to develop a proposal that incorporates recognition of San Francisco’s sister cities into his artwork “On the Air” at San Francisco International Airport.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-118: Motion to approve the final inspection and completion of the Diller + Scofidio project at Moscone West.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-119: Motion to approve the design proposal submitted by David Best for the Hayes Green project and to approve the temporary installation of the sculpture from May 25 to September 30, 2005.
Civic Design Review Committee Recommendations (May 16, 2005)
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-120: Motion to approve location as presented, exclusive to the proposed pump station at Park P-18, pending further review of the design of the building.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-121: Motion to approve Little Saigon Phase 3.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-122: Motion to approve California Japantown Monument Phase 3.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-123: Motion to approve Academy of Sciences Phase 3.
- President’s Report
President Johnston welcomed all of the new Commissioners. At his invitation, both new and continuing Commissioners briefly introduced themselves.
President Johnston announced committee assignments, explaining that the bulk of the Commission’s work is done at the committee level. He briefly described each of the committees and said that he planned to meet with Commissioners individually to discuss their interests and goals for their service on the Commission. He acknowledged that the time commitment is significant, and emphasized the importance of having a quorum for each of the meetings.
- Director’s Report
Mr. Newirth also welcomed the new Commissioners, and described the materials they had received, including Ethics and Sunshine Ordinance forms, the Arts Commission organizational chart, and the Mayor’s press release on the David Best sculpture and the appointment of new Arts Commissioners. He distributed boxed sets of books from WritersCorps and announced the Symphony’s Summer in the City series.
He announced that Gallery Director Rupert Jenkins would be leaving on June 24, and invited Commissioners to the opening of his last exhibit at the Gallery on that day, including a gathering with the artist and Mr. Jenkins. He also announced that Public Art Program Manager Nina Dunbar would be taking a year’s leave beginning July 1 to spend more time with her small children.
He announced that the Arts Task Force was meeting every other week, and at the last meeting he gave a presentation on the Arts Commission. There has been little activity recently from the Arts Forum.
Mr. Newirth said that the first interviews for a new Gallery Director have been scheduled. Deputy Director Nancy Gonchar and Commissioner Przyblyski have been looking at permanent locations for the Gallery.
He mentioned that he and the rest of the staff were pleased to see so many Commissioners attending the final presentation of Coro Fellow Abbie Conlee on the evaluation of the Cultural Centers.
He reported that the utility box project was temporarily on hold.
He announced that the Mayor’s budget went to the Board of Supervisors on May 31, with relatively minor cuts to the Arts Commission this year. The Arts Commission’s budget will be heard by the Board’s budget committee on June 23, with the final hearing June 30 before presentation to the full Board. He noted one success in the budget: funds to finish the Portals of the Past monument in Golden Gate Park.
Mr. Newirth reported on his very positive meeting with the new City Librarian, Luis Herrera, where they discussed branch renovations coming to Civic Design Review and upcoming public art projects. Mr. Herrera also gave a great welcome to the recent WritersCorps event.
He thanked Commissioner Mirikitani for her role in the dedication of the new Japantown monument which bears her poem. He advised that he is working to ensure that the Arts Commission has an active role in the planning for the 1906 earthquake centenary events. And he antcipates an event to mark the opening of the David Best Hayes Green temporary sculpture.
Mr. Newirth introduced Deputy City Attorney Adine Varah, who explained, particularly to the new Commissioners, that she was available to help with understanding conflict-of-interest issues and other matters concerning service on the Commission.
Mr. Newirth reiterated the critical importance of committees and committee meetings to doing the Commission’s work efficiently, and he introduced the Program Directors.
Mr. Newirth then gave a short history of the Arts Commission, its legislative authorities beginning with the Charter in 1932, and the evolution and mandates of each of the programs.
President Johnston thanked Mr. Newirth for the presentation.
- Committee Reports
- Executive Committee—P.J. Johnston, Chair
- President Johnston reported that the Committee did not meet. He explained that it was now directed more toward planning, budget and other “big-picture” questions, with grants moved to the Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee.
- Civic Design Review Committee
- Commissioner Cochran reported that the Committee met and reviewed a Mission Bay project (the installation of additional pumps to separate wastewater and stormwater) and a smaller project at the Academy of Sciences.
- Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee—Blanche Brown, Chair
- President Johnston reported that the Committee did not meet, and that he was looking forward to planned meetings at the Cultural Centers, to strengthen connections between the Commission and the community, and to let Commissioners see for themselves what the Centers are doing. He praised Community Arts and Education Program Director Judy Nemzoff’s hard work.
He presented the following motions. In response to Commissioners’ questions, he explained that these motions came directly to the full Commission because the Committee had been unable to meet. Ms. Nemzoff explained that the Programs in the Community grantees listed were the top choices from a pool of twenty-five entries, as chosen by the review panel in a meeting open to the public. She explained that the motions to extend the contracts of Judith Tannenbaum, Meroe Elahi, Kimberly Nelson and the San Francisco Foundation Community Initiatives Fund were to continue their current work, and that extending the existing contracts was simpler than writing new ones under City procedures.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-124: Motion to approve the following panelists for the Cultural Equity Grants panel pool:
Clarence Ting, media artist
EG Crichton, visual artist, former Individual Artist Commission recipient
Jess Wells, novelist
Nancy Suib, book distributor
Truong Tran, poet and teacher
Raissa de la Rosa, Cultural Funding Program Coordinator, City of Oakland
Indra Mungal, Community Programs Manager, Oakland Museum of California
Marc Vogl, Artistic Director, Killing My Lobster theatre company
John Federco, photographer, teacher
Holly Babe Faust, former Executive Director of the Oakland Youth Chorus
Keina Elswick Davis, painter, former Individual Artist Commission recipient
Peikwen Cheng, photographer, former Individual Artist Commission recipient
JD Beltran, visual artist, member of the advisory board for the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery
Eleanor Harwood, curator at the Adobe Books galleries
Tucker Nichols, visual artist
Tod Booth, Program Director, San Francisco Independent Film Festival
Felicia Lowe, independent and KQED film producer
Taro Goto, Program Director, National Asian American Telecommunications Association
Ariella Ben-Dov, director of MadCat Women’s Film Festival
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-125: Motion to approve the Programs in the Community (PIC) grant to the following PIC grantee organizations, recommended by the PIC review panel, from the 2005-2006 Grants for the Arts Fund, pending written confirmation from Grants for the Arts:
Bay Area Community Resources (for CHALK), $12,000
Central City Hospitality House, $17,000
Community Educational Services (for Chinatown Beacon Center), $16,000
Eldergivers, $17,000
Filipino-American Development Foundation, $17,000
Hunters Point Family, $17,000
Kimochi, Inc., $16,000
People Organized to Win Employment Rights, $17,000
Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired, $12,750
Urban Services YMCA, $16,980
TOTAL: $158,730
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-126: Motion to modify the 2003-2005 contract of Judith Tannenbaum from $76,545 to $82,545 to pay for increased services in training and editing for WritersCorps from Youth Arts Fund.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-127: Motion to modify the 2003-2005 contract of Meroe (also known as Mahru) Elahi from $47,135 to $49,135 to pay for increased services in teaching from Youth Arts Fund.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-128: Motion for Director of Cultural Affairs to modify the contract of WritersCorps Log Cabin teacher Kimberly Nelson from $31,722 to $38,722, supported by funds from the Youth Arts Fund.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-129: Motion to increase the contract with San Francisco Foundation Community Initiatives Fund, as originally authorized by Resolution No. 1101-04-248, by $26,500, to total $61,500, to support 2005-2006 Arts Education Funders Collaborative projects, and to support an arts education intern. Funds are from the Youth Arts Fund, Arts Education Fund, and Arts Education Organization Grant Fund.
- Street Artists Committee
- President Johnston reported that the Committee did not meet, and he presented the following motion.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-130: Motion to approve former certificate-holder for priority issuance of certificate and waiver of re-screening of wares: Josh Martin.
- Visual Arts Committee—Jeannene Przyblyski, Chair
- Commissioner Przyblyski welcomed the new Commissioners on behalf of herself and Commissioner Wilsey. She invited everyone to the Gallery’s events, including the June 24 opening. She noted the great excitement over the David Best piece, the first large temporary artwork this year. She praised the hard work of staff and of Commissioners Draisin, Wilsey and Johnston, noting that the idea was first discussed in February and the piece opened in June, funded largely by private donations with Black Rock Foundation.
She said that there are many new commissions on the horizon, including projects at the Academy of Sciences, Central Subway and Public Utilities Commission work at Hetch Hetchy. She also praised yeoman’s work from other City departments and, noting the absence of Department of Public Works landscape architect John Thomas, withdrew the motion acknowledging his contribution until a time when Mr. Thomas could attend the Commission meeting.
Gallery Director Rupert Jenkins explained that the final motion on the agenda was to offer a curatorial practice opportunity for a graduate student in arts or curatorial practice to help develop programming in 155 Grove Street and in City Hall. The amount of money requested will help the Gallery to find an experienced person for the project.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-131: Motion to approve the loan of three Edvard Munch prints, “Separation I,” lithograph, “Death in the Sickroom,” lithograph, and “Head by Head,” woodcut, to the exhibition “Prints by Edvard Munch” organized by the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University. Loan dates are: February 22, 2006 to July 25, 2006.
- RESOLUTION NO. 0606-05-132: Motion to approve artist honorarium up to a total of $8,000 for one artist as yet to be named, for summer residency project.
- New Business
There was no new business brought before the Commission.
- San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery Presentation
Gallery Director Rupert Jenkins expressed his regret that he would not be able to work with the new Commissioners, explaining that he would be going to the University of Denver for graduate study. He then gave a short illustrated history of the Gallery, discussing some of the more notable shows and events, and chronicling the various spaces it has occupied. In closing, he announced that its next fundraiser was scheduled for October 21, 2005.
- Reports and Announcements
There were no other reports or announcements.
- Public Comment
There was no other public comment.
- Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
6/17/05 spr
