Visual Arts Committee - January 19, 2022 - Minutes

Meeting Date: 
January 19, 2022 - 3:00pm
Location: 

SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION
VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
3 p.m.
Remote meeting via video and teleconferencing
________________________________________
Draft Minutes

1. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Agenda Changes

Commissioners Present:
Suzie Ferras, Chair    

JD Beltran
Abby Sadin Schnair
Janine Shiota
Debra Walker

Commissioners Absent:

Yiying Lu
Nabiel Musleh

Commissioner Ferras called the meeting to order at 3:00pm.

2. General Public Comment
(10:14)

There was no general public comment.

3. Consent Calendar
(12:14)

  1. Motion to approve El son de la Mision, a mural design by artist Carlos Gonzalez. The mural will be installed on 681 Florida St. at Bryant St., in District 9. The mural is a triptych, measuring: 16.9 ft. by 14.3 ft.; 16.9 ft. by 15 ft.; 16.9 ft. by 14.3 ft. The project is funded by the Mission Economic Development Agency. The artwork will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
  2. Motion to approve Peace in the Heart of the Community, a mural design by artist Ross Holzman. The mural will be installed at Guadalupe Elementary School on 859 Prague St. at Cordova St. The street level wall measures 5 ft. by 42 ft. and doorway wall measures 12 ft. by 18 ft. The project is funded by a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission and private donations. The artwork will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
  3. Motion to approve Psychedelic Golden Gate Skate, a mural design by artist Aimee Bruckner. The mural will be installed at the 6th Avenue Skate Area in Golden Gate Park. The mural measures 93 ft. by 28 ft. The project is funded by an in-kind grant from Church of 8 Wheels. The artwork will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
  4. Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to increase the contract with Lite Brite Neon Studio LLC from $72,854 to $80,454 (an increase of $7,600) for additional design services for an artwork by Andrea Bowers (DBA Radical Patience Inc.) for the San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Underpass Lighting Project. Additional design services are to resolve a conflict between the artwork and the Airport’s signage program.
  5. Motion to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to increase the contract with Andrea Bowers (DBA Radical Patience Inc.) from $151,000 to $160,500 (an increase of $9,500) for additional design services for the San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Underpass Lighting Project. Additional design services are to resolve a conflict between the artwork and the Airport’s signage program.

There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve consent calendar.
Moved: Beltran/Schnair

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker


4. Treasure Island Documentary Photography Project
(14:44)

Deputy Director Joanne Lee presented the five finalists for the Treasure Island Documentary Photography Project. The project’s goal is to document Treasure Island as it evolves over the next year. There were 24 highly qualified candidates who applied to the opportunity. The review panel chose five artists whose work represent different approaches.

The five artists are: Janet Delaney, who will document changes to the island as well as the Treasure Island community of residents and merchants; Cody Andresen, who will document the Island through the eyes of an urban planner with special attention to the quality of light during the day and at night; David Alan Boyd, who in addition to documenting the environment of Treasure Island, will utilize drones to document the island from an aerial perspective; John Chiara, who has been documenting Treasure Island since 2007 and will work with a variety of cameras ranging from a large Camera Obscura to a pin hole camera; and Mido Lee, whose first residence in the US was on Treasure Island. She will bring her own poetic approach to her photos.

The artists are encouraged to document the island at different times of day and night. Director of the Public Art Trust Jill Manton will try to arrange access to the construction sites and will meet with each photographer once a month over the course of the year. At each visit, the photographers will present a minimum of 10 photos. At the end of the year, there may be an exhibition, acquisitions, or the possibility of a book. Images will be posted on the Treasure Island Development Authority and the SFAC websites, as work is produced and selected to be posted.

Public comment:

Rodrigo Duran, whose mother worked on Treasure Island, suggested that in pursuing this documentary photography project, that the artists take into account the families and people who had come before and built the communities at Treasure Island.

Motion: to approve the selection of five local artists: Cody Andresen, David Alan Boyd, John Chiara, Janet Delaney, and Mido Lee to document Treasure Island for a period of one year, as recommended by the review panel.

Motion: to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a contract with Cody Andresen, David Alan Boyd, John Chiara, Janet Delaney, and Mido Lee for an amount not to exceed $15,000 each for photographically documenting the ongoing development of Treasure Island for a period of one year.
Moved: Schnair/Shiota

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker


5. Mission Creek Park Extension
(27:20)

Project Manager Jackie von Treskow presented the recommended finalist for the Mission Creek Park Extension public art project. Titled “Unflagging Presence - The California Grizzlies of Mission Creek,” Rigo’s proposal is a sculptural tribute to the original wildlife present within the area known today as Mission Creek Park. With these larger-than-life grizzlies, Rigo aims to call upon the kind of proximity the animal world shared with the human world before there was a California. Rigo also wants to remind our contemporaries that the survival of even such a majestic and powerful animal such as the Grizzly, is dependent foremost on the actions of humans. The tender love and fierce protection of the mother bear alone is not sufficient to guarantee the survival of her cubs.

The sculptures will be built around a welded steel tube core that connects to a concrete slab foundation sunken below ground level. Onto this structural skeleton, CNC shaped high-density foam is attached. The foam is covered with a double layer of wire mesh, onto which a 2” layer of concrete is applied. A CNC shaped mold contains the concrete giving it its final shape. The sculpture’s final layer - its skin – would be composed of original, custom-made 3D terracotta tiles complemented with bronze and ceramic elements. The tiles would be glazed and bronze patinated to approximate the natural colors of the Grizzly Bear’s fur.

There was no public comment.

Motion: to approve the selected finalist Rigo 23 (Ricardo Gouveia) for the Mission Creek Park Expansion Public Art Project, as recommended by the artist review panel.

Motion: to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with the selected finalist Rigo 23 (Ricardo Gouveia) for an amount not to exceed $535,000 for the design, fabrication, transportation, and consultation during installation of an artwork for the Mission Creek Park Expansion Public Art Project.
Moved: Beltran/Shiota

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker

6. 
Alameda Creek Watershed
(44:10)

Ms. von Treskow presented the 2D artwork that was selected for purchase and display in the Alameda Creek Watershed Center’s community meeting room. This purchase was one of the opportunities include in the public art project plan approved by this committee in June 2019.

On November 15, the Arts Commission issued a Request for Available Artworks, inviting artists to submit available 2-dimensional, wall-mounted artworks for consideration for purchase for the Alameda Creek Watershed Center (ACWC). The goal was to select one artwork which highlights the Watershed’s distinct natural landscape and provides local benefit through the direct purchase of an artwork by an artist who currently resides in, and/or has a meaningful connection to, the Alameda Creek Watershed and surrounding region.


Artwork receiving the highest score during the panel was Traveler by Oakland-based visual artist, Adrian Arias, who is also a poet, performer, curator, activist, and cultural promoter and one of the founders and creators of MAPP (Mission Arts Performance Project) and other arts festivals in SF bay area.

The selected work shows a California golden trout, which is crossing a water with the design inspired by the Ohlone iconography of one of its woven baskets. The meaning is related to the need to make visible the waters and the fauna that live in it and the original land of our ancestors.

There was no public comment.

Motion: to approve Traveler, 2022 (51” x 71”, mixed media on paper, $4,000) by Adrian Arias, a two-dimensional artwork for purchase and display at the Alameda Creek Watershed Center, as recommended by the artist review panel.

Moved: Schnair/Beltran

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker


7. Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans – 2D Artwork Program
(51:37)

Ms. von Treskow presented additions to the Southeast Community Center’s 2D artwork program. As part of Mildred Howard’s project for SECC, she was charged with developing an accompanying community engagement program. She partnered with First Exposures (FX), a nationally recognized youth photography and mentoring program based in San Francisco that provides youth aged 11-21 the opportunity to engage with photography in a classroom with guidance from a photographer who serves as both a mentor and a positive adult role model.

Ms. Howard worked with FX to develop a 6-week photography residency program that was offered to young aspiring photographers from the Bayview, Mission, SOMA, Tenderloin, and other SF neighborhoods. Working with Ms. Howard as their primary mentor, FX teaching artist Sophia Schultz Rocha other visiting professional artists, the eight residents learned firsthand the realities of having a career in the arts while also strengthening their artistic voice and vision.

Their photographic focus was documenting or expressing life in their neighborhood using their own or FX-borrowed cameras. Each resident received a $1000 honorarium for completing the program. Ms. von Treskow was also able to identify additional funds to license the residents’ photos for display in the Center’s 2D artwork program. Each resident presented two photos to Ms. Howard and SECC directors, who selected one from each artist for licensing.

The photos will also be featured in posters that will be on display in the JC Decaux kiosks downtown that will announce the opening of the Center this spring, and the world-class collection of artwork by over 30 local artists.

There was no public comment.

Motion: to approve list of additional two-dimensional artworks for licensing, reproduction, and display at the Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans, as recommended by the artist review panel:

David Pushia, Jr., Tai’s Grandchildren, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Emilio Perez Duarte, Thrash, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Frida Calvo, Radiant Joy, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Juliana Martinez, Reading, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Kunta Gary, Navigator, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Michelle Zhao, Night Market, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Miracle Hampton, Route 66, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Sabrina Denman, By the Beach, 2021, digital reproduction on aluminum, $500
Moved: Schnair/Walker

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker


8. SFPUC’s City Distribution Division at 2000 Marin
(1:05:02)

Project Manager Zoe Taleporos presented the project plan for SFPUC’s City Distribution Division (CDD) at 2000 Marin. The CDD manages the City’s water distribution to all residents and businesses. The project will replace CDD’s existing location at 1990 Newcomb Avenue.

In consultation with the SFPUC, the Arts Commission has identified the North and West façades of the parking garage as the optimal public art location. This is an opportunity for an artist to architecturally integrate an artwork into the two façades. The approximate areas for an artwork: North façade at 43 feet high by 134 feet wide, and West façade at 43 feet high by 300 feet wide. The artwork will be highly visible along Cesar Chavez and Evans Avenue, and will constitute a monumental artwork for the surrounding Potrero Hill, Dogpatch and Islais Creek neighborhoods.

The goal of the project is to create a site-specific, landmark artwork that is inspired by water and reflects the activities of the SFPUC’s City Distribution Division including connecting all residences and business within the City and County with high quality, efficient and reliable water. The artwork shall also reflect the SFPUC’s mission to provide their customers with high quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that is inclusive of environmental and community interests, and that sustains the resources entrusted to their care.

SFPUC Art and Education Director Blair Randall stressed the importance of this new facility in the functioning of the city and the opportunity to celebrate and highlight connectivity and the importance of clean and fresh water through the art. Mr. Randall also thanked the Arts Commission for the strong partnership with SFPUC in creating incredible public artworks.

There was no public comment.


Motion: to approve the Project Plan for an artwork at SFPUC’s City Distribution Division at 2000 Marin.
Moved: Schnair/Walker

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker


9. San Francisco International Airport: Kadish Gallery and Harlem of the West Exhibits
(1:22:00)

Ms. Taleporos presented the first in a series of exhibitions installed at the newly opened Kadish Gallery, which is a gallery devoted to photography located between Terminals 2 and 3. The first exhibition presented is titled “Community Documentary” and features the work of Anthony Hernandez, a selection of images from “Harlem of the West,” a suite of images by Janet Delaney, images by Garry Winogrand, and photographs by Michael Jang. These works are shown together with work curated by SFO Museums that include more contemporary photographers dealing with similar subject matter.

Additionally, another suite of images from “Harlem of the West” is located in the C3 Connector area.

There was no public comment.

Motion: to approve, as installed, the San Francisco International Airport’s Kadish Gallery’s Community/Documentary exhibition, and Terminal 3 Courtyard 3 Connector Project’s Harlem of the West exhibition.
Moved: Beltran/Walker

The motion was unanimously approved
Ayes:
Ferras, Beltran, Schnair, Shiota, Walker


10. StreetSmARTS Mural Program
(1:29:50)

Program Associate Craig Corpora presented a brief overview of the StreetSmARTS Mural Program. StreetSmARTS is a Department of Public Works (PW) graffiti abatement program, which is managed through the Arts Commission. Through the program, the Arts Commission connects artists and muralists with private property owners to create murals on frequently tagged walls to prevent further vandalism. The program is available to private property owners who have received Notices of Violation for graffiti removal from PW.

The standard size mural is 10 ft. by 20 ft, with the possibility of a larger size at the discretion of the Arts Commission. The maximum height is 10 feet, as this is the highest one can get to with a ladder, and the insurance for the program doesn’t cover working with scaffolding or scissor lifts.

Artists are paid $40 per square foot (psf), inclusive of design, labor and materials. At $40 psf, the standard mural is $8000 and the property owner pays $1500 of this amount.

The murals are not part of the Civic Art Collection and are maintained by the property owner. The anticipated life span of the murals is five years and the property owners are required to make a good faith effort to maintain the work for no less than two years.

There was no public comment.

11. 
Staff Report

(54:22)

Deputy Director Joanne Lee reported on current and future open calls. 

The San Francisco Arts Commission invites artists and artist teams residing in the US to submit qualifications for the Transbay Block 3 Park & Alley Public Art Project. The future park will be a one-acre open space, framed by two mixed use developments and new alleyways. The Arts Commission is looking to commission a sculpture or series of sculptures located in or along the habitat meadow. An additional alternative for consideration may be art elements attached to the Stewardship building façade. The deadline to apply is Monday, January 31, 2022.

Upcoming RFQs include the 49 South Van Ness Two-Dimensional Art Program and Ocean Beach Climate Change Adaptation Project. Both will be released in late-January and will be open for about four weeks.

Additionally, an RFQ will be issued for the 49 South Van Ness Video Wall project in the beginning of February and open for about six weeks.

There was no public comment.

12. 
New Business and Announcements
(1:39:10)

Commissioner Beltran and Commissioner Walker announced that Paint the Void is showing a retrospective of artworks that were created to board up businesses in San Francisco during lockdown. The show is located at Pier 70 and will be open from Saturday, January 22nd through Sunday, January 30th.   

Commissioner Beltran mentioned a show at the Chinese Cultural Center, “Interior Garden” by Cathy Lu, which opens Thursday, January 20th. The Chinese Cultural Center is located at 750 Kearny St. 3rd Floor. 

Commissioner Shiota announced the show “Love, a state of grace,” which will be a performance installation by Zaccho Dance and choreographed and directed by Joanna Haigood and sound score composed by Walter Kitundu. There will be four day performance installations between February 11th and February 22nd, 2022.

Commission Schnair announced the Fog Art + Design will be at Fort Mason Center from Thursday, January 20th and running through Sunday, January 23rd.

Commissioner Ferras relayed information about a show called “Skate” being held at Mirus Gallery, located at 540 Howard St. 3rd floor. The show features over 140 artist who used skate decks as their canvas in both painting and sculpture. The show opened Friday, January 14th and closes Sunday, March 6th.

There was no public comment.

13. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 4:51pm
 

CC 1/26/2022 11:00am
edited by CC 2/7/2022

Notices          

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost.
For assistance, please notify Craig Corpora, craig.corpora@sfgov.org, 415-252-2249.


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如需協助 Craig Corpora, craig.corpora@sfgov.org, 415-252-2249.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Craig Corpora, craig.corpora@sfgov.org, 415-252-2249.