Visual_Arts_Committee
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
3:00 pm
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70
Minutes
Commissioners Present:
JD Beltran, Lorraine Garcia-Nakata, Greg Chew, PJ Johnston
Absent: Barbara Sklar
Staff Present:
Jill Manton, Judy Moran, Mary Chou, Marcus Davies, Jennifer Lovvorn, Susan Pontious, Kate Patterson
Note: All votes are unanimous unless recorded otherwise.
The meeting commenced at 3:07 pm.
- Consent Calendar
1. Motion to approve art installation “Ecstasy,” a figurative sculpture made entirely of salvaged steel by Dan Das Mann, to be installed at Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley from January 01, 2010 to June 30, 2010.
2. Motion to approve six portrait collage poster designs by Jonathan Burstein for the Art on Market Street 2009/2010 Program, to be exhibited in 24 kiosks on Market Street from January 4 to April 1, 2010, and to authorize the artist to proceed to printing and installation of the posters.
3. Motion to approve the following artists selected by the panel as finalists for the Art Glass opportunities for General Hospital Acute Care Unit (Floors 3 – 7): Alan Masaoka, Lisa Levine, Nancy Blum, Gordon Huether, Arthur Stern, and Carrie Leeb.
4. Motion to approve Lynne Kimura, Academic Liaison at the Berkeley Art Museum, for the panelist pool for the Central Subway Chinatown Artist Selection Panel.
Motion: Accept consent calendar items.
Moved: Chew/Beltran
- General Hospital Acute Care Unit – Main Entry Drive Sculpture and Plaza Artwork
Project Manager Jennifer Lovvorn presented the finalists selected by the General Hospital Artist Selection Panel for the Main Entry Drive Sculpture and Plaza Artwork for General Hospital Acute Care Unit. The panel met on November 10th and consisted of two arts professionals (Carolina Ponce de Leon, Galeria de la Raza, and Betti-Sue Hertz, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts), the architect David Fong, several staff of General Hospital who were represented by two representative votes, and Arts Commissioner Johnston. The panel reviewed the qualifications of 18 artists culled from the General Hospital Artist Pool as well as applicants to the General Hospital Main Entry Drive Sculpture and Plaza Artwork RFQ. Ms. Lovvorn explained that the RFQ was advertised specifically for the two opportunities in order to augment the pool with more local artists. For the Main Entry Drive Sculpture, the panel identified four finalists: Cliff Garten, Anna Murch, Lorna Jordan, and the artist team of Wang Po Shu and Louise Bertelsen, collectively known as Living Lenses. For the Plaza Artwork, the panel made a recommendation to select one artist, Anna Murch, for the site as the architectural timeline was moving forward very quickly and it would be advantageous to have an artist begin working with the architects as soon as possible.
Commissioner Johnston explained that during the voting process, the same four artists rose to the top for each opportunity. He expressed his concern that two of the top artists, Anna Murch and Lorna Jordan, focused primarily on landscapes, whereas the artwork for the main entry drive called for a sculpture that could function as a signature work for the hospital. Commissioner Johnston encouraged the inclusion of Living Lenses, who had created more singular sculptural works and as a result, there are four finalists instead of the usual three for the sculpture opportunity. Public Art Program Director Susan Pontious stated that the works shown in Living Lenses’ application displayed the more esoteric side of their work; she explained that the artist team is currently creating a very successful sculptural work for Laguna Honda Hospital, which was shown during the panel meeting. Programs Director Jill Manton explained that the panel also takes into consideration artists who have not already completed art projects for the Arts Commission, for example Anna Murch.
Motion: Motion to approve the following artists selected by the panel as finalists for the Main Entry Drive Sculpture Project for General Hospital Acute Care Unit: Cliff Garten, Anna Murch, Lorna Jordan, and Living Lenses (Artist team of Wang Po Shu and Louise Bertelsen).
Moved: Beltran/Chew
Motion: Motion to approve the panel’s selection of Anna Murch as the project artist for the General Hospital Acute Care Unit Plaza Artwork.
Moved: Beltran/Johnston
- Art on Market Street 2009/2010 Program
Senior Project Manager Judy Moran presented Sailing Away, a performance proposal by Zaccho Dance Company, for the Art on Market Street Program. Zaccho Dance Company is directed by Johanna Haigood and the proposal consists of four days of performances over a one week period referencing the history of African Americans’ early contributions to the development of San Francisco. Eight characters representing African American individuals who lived and worked near Market Street during the mid-nineteenth century will perform on both sides of Market Street between Powell and First Streets, interacting with each other as well as with certain monuments, including Hallidie Plaza and Mechanics Monument. The performers will distribute a newsletter with historical information and maps. The performance will be formatted in a continuous loop with 30 minute cycles over four days in one week in September 2010. At the top of each half hour, all the characters will appear at the corner of Market and Battery Streets near the brass plaque that marks the early San Francisco shoreline. Ms. Moran explained that she plans to approach the African American Historical and Cultural Society to produce a related event.
Ms. Manton clarified for Commissioners that press and marketing for the project is completed by the Arts Commission, and does not come out of the artist’s contract. She also expressed her enthusiasm over the performance that Zaccho created for the Art on Market Street Program on the façade of the Ferry Building clock tower several years ago that was very successful and engaging.
Motion: Motion to approve Sailing Away, a performance proposal by Zaccho Dance Company, for the Art on Market Street Program, to be performed near monuments on Market Street, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with Zaccho Dance Company for an amount not to exceed $30,000 for implementation of the performance.
Moved: Beltran/Johnston
- Sunnyside Conservatory
Ms. Moran presented photographs of Sunnyside Menagerie, a recently completed installation of bronze fantasy creatures by the artist team Wowhaus, in the Sunnyside Conservatory Gardens. The work consists of twenty-three, not twenty-two as stated in the motions, of small bronze creatures located throughout the gardens. She stated that many years ago, the Conservatory was slated for demolition but the neighbors engaged in a campaign to save the gardens; the Conservatory was purchased by the Recreation and Park Department and renovated. The Friends of the Conservatory were interested in an artwork that was relatively hidden in the gardens, and Wowhaus created creatures compatible with the Victorian sensibility of the Conservatory. The characters include penguin-type creatures, glyphies, trilogators, a possumbat, and three lizards that can be played with a wooden stick. Ms. Moran reported that the community loves the work and Commissioners applauded the success of the project.
Motion: Motion to approve the permanent installation of twenty-two small bronze fantasy creatures by the Artist Team Wowhaus in the outdoor Sunnyside Conservatory Gardens, including three lizard creatures, two penguin creatures, four trilogators, and fourteen glyphies; and one bronze possumbat creature installed on the exterior wall above the north entrance of the Conservatory building, located at 236 Monterey Boulevard in the Sunnyside District of San Francisco.
Moved: Beltran/Johnston
Motion: Motion to accept into the Civic Art Collection twenty-two small bronze fantasy creatures by the Artist Team Wowhaus in the outdoor gardens, including three lizard creatures, two penguin creatures, three trilogators, and fourteen glyphies; and one bronze possumbat creature installed on the exterior wall above the north entrance of the Conservatory building, permanently installed at the Sunnyside Conservatory and Gardens located at 236 Monterey Boulevard in the Sunnyside District of San Francisco.
Moved: Beltran/Johnston
- Harvey Milk Bust in City Hall
Ms. Pontious presented the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Jonah Hendrickson for the sale of copies of the Harvey Milk bust maquette. She reported that the bust was a gift to the City, with funding for the project privately raised. She stated that after installation, the three artists that made up the group who designed the bust separated and Mr. Hendrickson was given the copyright for the bust. There has been a great deal of interest from various people in having a replica of the maquette of the bust. Mr. Hendrickson has asked for license back from the Arts Commission to sell replicas of the maquette and 25 percent of proceeds from sales will be given to maintenance of the Collection. She stated that just the head of the bust will be reproduced, not the entire artwork including the pedestal and the pictorial plaques. The replicas will be limited edition, smaller in scale than the original, and will state that it was originally commissioned for the Arts Commission. She stated that the Visual Arts Committee had previously expressed their support for this arrangement. Ms. Manton stated that while Arts Commission policy generally supports unique works of art, there is a provision in the contract that if the Commission wanted to make reproductions, the Commission would have the right to do so with a portion of the funds going towards maintenance of the Collection.
Commissioner Johnston stated that while he believes the Commission should continue to be conservative on issues of reproduction as a general rule, in the case of the Harvey Milk bust, it is a win-win situation. He commented that the Harvey Milk bust is the most beautiful bust in City Hall.
Ms. Manton announced that the Arts Commission recently produced a podcast to accompany the bust and asked Project Manager Kate Patterson to provide an update. Ms. Patterson stated that Community Arts and Education Program Associate Robynn Takayama, who has experience as a radio journalist, conducted interviews with a host of voices to create the Harvey Milk podcast. Ms. Pontious stated that the Public Art and Collections Program has been interested in audio recordings since the program began developing its accessibility guidelines. The goal of the program is to transfer as much information about the Collection onto the website, and to produce audio recordings to increase the accessibility of the Collection. Ms. Manton stated that she forwarded the podcast to the Mayor’s Office of Disability to request funding to develop additional audio content, but received a response that there was no available money at this time.
Motion: Motion to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with Jonah Hendrickson for the sale of copies of the Harvey Milk bust maquette.
Moved: Beltran/Chew
- San Francisco International Airport – Terminal 2
Ms. Pontious presented an overview of the art projects at Terminal 2 of the San Francisco International Airport, a remodel of the old international terminal by Gensler. She stated that there are three major art projects, two smaller projects, and a reinstallation of many works in the Collection that are currently in storage. The first major work by Norie Sato consists of a glass façade on the exterior of the terminal that reflects the weather, the sky and microclimates in San Francisco. The work is called Over/Under and is a pixilated image that transitions in color and incorporates birds’ wings on the north and an airplane wing on the south. The work, which will be fabricated by Franz Meyer in Germany, comes into focus about 150 feet away, and the two sides of the façade are approximately 150 feet wide by 16 feet high. The second major work by Kendall Buster in the ticketing lobby are two suspended sculptural forms on either side of the pedestrian mezzanine, that take as its inspiration, the clouds and topography of the region. It is composed of white shade-cloth material.
The third major work will take place in the high-ceiling area of the Recomposure Area, with a large, but de-materialized suspended sculpture by Janet Echelman. Ms. Echelman’s work reflects the air and the sea and originally included boat-shaped forms extending throughout the entire site, with shadows of the forms reflected in terrazzo on the floor as well as additional elements of lighting, sound and air currents to activate the sculptural forms. Ms. Pontious stated that at the last Visual Arts Committee meeting, Commissioners recommended modifying the boat-like forms to be more organic, like sea creatures in the water. She stated that the artist worked on the shapes, but is now having a difficult time working with Gensler as the architects view the artwork as a distraction from the architecture. The architects do not like the terrazzo element - they only wanted an outline of the form on the floor - and they differ in opinion about a checkerboard design that would be a backdrop of the artwork as well as the design of the lighting for the space. These issues were taken to Airport Director John Martin with neither Ms. Pontious nor the artist present. Mr. Martin expressed the same concerns as the as the architects. Mr. Cancel then asked for a meeting with Mr. Martin but the issue was passed to Director of San Francisco Airport Museums Blake Summers. Ms. Pontious explained that the Arts Commission is now in a more negotiable situation. She said that some suggestions to the artist are to clarify the shapes of her large suspended sculptural elements, and to explore a more neutral palette for her forms.
Commissioner Johnston stated that he does not like the sculptural shape and the artist’s vision seems very different from what was originally proposed. Ms. Pontious responded that the theme of Ms. Echelman’s work is still the same but the boat shapes were not as interesting as the more organic forms of her previous works. Commissioner Johnston discouraged the sound element as the airport is a place where people listen for announcements and competition for sound does not seem like a good idea. Ms. Pontious responded that the Arts Commission revisited the issue of sound as it was a particular interest to Mr. Martin. Commissioner Garcia-Nakata supported the recommendation to clarify the sculptural shapes and simplify the components of the artwork as there are many elements involved. Commissioners Beltran and Chew both advocated for a more subtle color palette as the forms are already so engaging that such vibrant color is not necessary; Commissioner Johnston stated that the artist has demonstrated a good handle on color in her past work. Ms. Pontious thanked Commissioners for their comments and stated that their recommendations were in line with those made by Mr. Summers.
- Public Art Program Policy
Ms. Pontious presented on a recommended policy regarding Public Art project finalist proposals that require funding or donated goods and services beyond Art Enrichment funding. Spurred by the Valencia Streetscape proposal process, Ms. Pontious stated that the policy makes clear that part of the criteria for selecting proposals will be if the artist’s proposal adheres to the project budget. However, Ms. Pontious stated that the program does not want to close the door to bringing more resources to the project so there will be a provision that whatever additional money is donated to the project, a portion of the money needs to be dedicated to administrative costs.
Commissioner Johnston stated that while he supports the recommendation, he questions if this is not already part of the policy; he stated that he does not like to adopt policy because of the actions of one person and does not want to stop artists from asking questions. Commissioner Garcia-Nakata stated that the selection criteria should be more clearly articulated before artists submit their proposals. She stated that it may not be so much a change in policy as firming up the language in the guidelines. She encouraged Arts Commission staff to word the language in a way that encourages the artists to stay in budget. Ms. Pontious responded that the language will be incorporated in the MOU with the artist for the development of the proposal, as well as in the RFQ. Commissioner Garcia-Nakata stated that the policy issue comes into place when additional funds are raised and a percentage of the funds are directed towards administrative costs. Commissioner Johnston suggested creating contractually binding language to address the percentage fee to administrative costs.
Commissioner Garcia-Nakata postponed the motion as the language is not policy but rather an articulation of the guidelines.
THIS MOTION WAS POSTPONED.
Motion: Motion to approve the proposed policy regarding artists’ proposals for public art projects that exceed the Art Enrichment budget, whereby increased resources may not be considered during the selection phase, but may be considered once selected assuming an appropriate increase in Arts Commission administrative funds is included in the proposed supplemental funding.
- New Business
As requested by Commissioner Beltran at the previous Visual Arts Committee meeting, Ms. Manton reported on the history of Arts Commission public art projects that have incorporated media. She stated that the Arts Commission has completed four such projects and there have been problems with each of them. The first project, completed in the mid-1990s at the MUNI platform at 19th Avenue and Holloway, included a video component that manipulated images of people in motion and while still. Ms. Manton stated that the daylight made the work difficult to view, the screens were vandalized, and the video component of the project was eventually abandoned as the Arts Commission could no longer maintain it. The second project is the Diller Scofidio video screen at Moscone West, which commenced design in 1997 and was installed in July 2003. In this project, a large LED screen with a camera mounted on the rear projects images of activities in the building on the outside and brings news from the outside world inside. Ms. Manton stated that there was an accident by Sheedy with a crane in which the system fell and the LED modules had to be replaced, having suffered from whiplash, which caused the colors to become distorted. The system began operating in 2005, but after two weeks, the system began to make a large squeaking sound which made the work unable to operate. The problem could not be conclusively and directly linked to the accident in spite of hiring forensic engineers to analyze and inspect the system and generate an accident report. Ms. Manton reported that next month, the entire motion system will be retrofitted with different sized wheels and bogies, which should hopefully solve the noise problem. The Arts Commission also recently found out that the screen does not turn on so there will need to be some investigation into the cause; it may be a minor problem, but needs further investigation. She stated that the artists have forfeited their final fee and that staff have not been successful in securing additional funds to repair the work from the Moscone Convention Center. The third major project is Maya Lin’s recent installation at the Academy of Sciences with a video component. The ventilation system had to be replaced as it was not working properly and staff is trying to address the problem of people climbing into the cone and damaging the redwood interior. She stated that Director of Cultural Affairs Luis Cancel proposed an elegant solution of installing a piece of redwood as a barrier that states “Please Do Not Enter Sculpture,” which needs to be evaluated by the artist. Collections Manager Allison Cummings stated that regarding the Maya Lin project, issues with the system would have been discovered if the debugging period had occurred as scheduled. Ms. Manton stated that the fourth media project is an interactive mechanical work by Werner Klotz at the Airport, which is motion activated and opens and spins as people approach it. This project was tested in a gallery situation but the commercial motors used in the piece could not stand up to 24 hours of people approaching the work. It took awhile to figure out the problem and the work was recently retrofitted with industrial grade motors. Ms. Cummings also mentioned a fifth piece, Brian Goggin’s Language of the Birds of 2008, which is still working without problem. Ms. Cummings explained that the Collections staff collects very detailed information about custom built electronics and information if certain components of the work have to change throughout time.
Ms. Beltran thanked staff for the report and stated that it sounds like a common denominator among the artists who are creating works with new media that do not function properly is that they are not experienced with the particular media. When considering such projects, she stated that outside engineering and consultation as well as a budget for stress-testing should be required. Commissioner Garcia-Nakata stated that even if the work passed certain testing, technology changes so rapidly and these permanent works are supposed to function over a span of 25 years. She stated that it is important for staff when considering media pieces to diligently consider the background of the artist. As an example, Commissioner Johnston mentioned Paul Kos who is creating a media work for General Hospital, and has tested the durability of the work and is particularly adept with the type of technology in his artwork.
In the interest of time, Commissioner Garcia-Nakata requested that staff reports only on time-sensitive new business items. Ms. Manton presented the proposal to install Zhang Huan’s sculpture Three-Legged Buddha on Civic Center Plaza for the Shanghai Sister City program in 2010. She stated that the Arts Commission currently has about $150,000 in PUC funding, part of which could be used for the project, which is estimated to cost approximately $180,000. She explained that she is working with Commissioner Chew on this project and that the Arts Commission has not yet shown the work to the Mayor as the work may be sold to a private collector and therefore unavailable. She reported that the Arts Commission has invited the artist to conduct a site visit in December, but is waiting further information from the artist’s gallery. Development Director Rachelle Axel stated that the Arts Commission has applied for a NEA grant for the installation of the sculpture, and as part of the grant, has received letters of support from Director of the Asian Art Museum Jay Xu, among others. Commissioner Johnston expressed his support for the project and encouraged staff to collaborate with the Shanghai Sister Committee. He also stated that the Arts Commission should not exhaust PUC money for the project, as this would be a good project for fundraising.
Commissioner Chew requested a report regarding the status of artist Chor Boogie, who was stabbed while he was working on a mural for the StreetSmarts Program on Market Street. Ms. Manton reported that the artist was recovering and the Arts Commission is planning to help him cover his hospital expenses. Commissioner Chew expressed interest in raising money to replenish the materials of the artist that were stolen during the attack.
- Old Business
There was no old business to report.
- Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 pm.
MC 11/1/09
