SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION
VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
3 p.m.
Remote meeting via video and teleconferencing
________________________________________
Minutes

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

Commissioners Present:
JD Beltran
Suzie Ferras
Dorka Keehn, Chair
Nabiel Musleh
Abby Sadin Schnair
Janine Shiota
Debra Walker

Commissioner Keehn called the meeting to order at 3:01pm.

Commissioner Keehn called for any agenda changes. She noted the following changes:

Item 7, Rossi Pool, was tabled.

Item 11, San Francisco International Airport Boarding Area B was amended. The amended action reads as follows:
Discussion and Possible Action: to approve the purchase of one of the following artworks for installation at the San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1: Boarding Area B:
-Fong Chung Ray, 2019-7-29, 66" x 48", mixed media on canvas, 2019, $42,000
-Mike Henderson, Parallel Portions, 72" x 87", oil on canvas, 2017, $50,000

2. General Public Comment

Commissioner Keehn announced virtual meeting instructions. Program Associate Craig Corpora announced public comment instructions.

There was no public comment.

3. Consent Calendar

1. Motion to approve Las miradas, a mural design by artist Simon Malvaez. The mural will be installed on the Temporary Muni Metro accessible boarding on Church St. station area between Market St. and 15th St. The painted mural will measure approximately 5.5 ft. by 40 ft. The project is funded by the Local SFMTA transportation funding. The painted mural will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
    
2. Motion to revise the Southeast Health Center Expansion Community History Wall Artist Review Panel composition, as described in the project outline approved on June 17, 2020, to include the following members: one representative of the client agency (Department of Public Health), one Arts Commissioner, and one community member.
    
3.  Motion to approve Construction Document Phase deliverables (engineering drawings) by Mildred Howard for the Southeast Community Center at 1550 Evans—Plaza Sculpture.
    
4. Motion to approve Construction Document Phase deliverables (engineering drawings) by Walter Kitundu (Kitundu Studio, LLC) for the Alameda Creek Watershed Center.
    
5. Motion to approve West Portal Winter Mural, a mural design by artist Emily Fromm, DBA Rancho Art Productions. The murals will be installed on two Muni Metro accessible boarding ramps near West Portal Station; one on the north side and one on the south side of Ulloa St. between West Portal Ave. and Wawona St. Each mural will have two sections that will approximately measure 2 ft. 10 in. by 21 ft. by 5 ft. 5 in. and 4 ft. 5 in. by 21 ft. by 3 ft. 2 in.  The project is funded by the SFMTA, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and Paint the Void. The painted mural will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
    
6. Motion to approve Farallon Islands, a mural design by artist Mike Ritch. The mural will be installed on a bus shelter at Ocean Ave. and Junipero Serra owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The painted mural will measure approximately 600 sq. ft. The project is funded by Participatory Budget funding which is held as a grant with the San Francisco Arts Commission. The painted mural will not become part of the Civic Art Collection.
    

Motion: Motion to approve consent calendar items.
Moved: Schnair/Ferras

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

There was no public comment.

4. Artist Selection Process: Discussion of application of geographic preferences

Civic Art Collection and Public Art Program Director Susan Pontious presented the federal, state and city laws as well as the San Francisco Arts Commission (“SFAC”) guidelines that dictate the ability to limit an RFQ by geographic preferences. Ms. Pontious stated that generally, one cannot limit applicants based by geography. This is limited by both federal and city law.

Ms. Pontious noted that under the Privileges and Immunity Clause of U.S. Constitution, states cannot treat citizens of other states differently in regard to basic civil rights, and traveling to work is considered a basic civil right. Over years, Courts have developed a 2-prong test for when geographic discrimination is acceptable:

1. When discrimination is justified by a substantial reason; i.e. a strong curatorial focus, such as “substantial connection to the Bayview District” might be acceptable.
2. When discrimination is substantially related to the problems created by non-residents as a class.

She noted that projects with Federal funding must be open to contractors nationally.

Ms. Pontious shared the City Administration Code. The City Admin Code provides scoring advantage to contractors who are registered Local Business Enterprise (LBE). To be an LBE, San Francisco firms must provide 3 years tax information and other information to be certified as an LBE. Residence in San Francisco alone does not qualify for scoring advantage.

Ms. Pontious then shared the SFAC Civic Art Collection Guidelines which currently do not limit eligibility by geographic location. As per the City Attorney’s direction, there are no restrictions on geographic eligibility. Ms. Pontious explained that depending upon the specific needs of the agency or project, the Arts Commission may decide to limit or deny travel and per diem costs within the project budget. Ms. Pontious stated that in addition to legal restrictions to limiting eligibility by residency, there are programmatic reasons why this would not be desirable. These include:

1. Quality and diversity of the collection, both of which would suffer under such restrictions.  Other commissioning goals, like racial and gender diversity may be impacted.
2. Protectionist policies would hurt local artists, rather than help them. If San Francisco and other cities adopted restrictive policies, it would hurt artists, not help them.  To survive, artists need to get commissions in cities regionally and nationally.
3. Community: in order to fulfill the needs of the community, or best respond to the challenges of the architecture, the Arts Commission needs to be able to look beyond just local artists to find the best qualified artists for the project.
4. One of the major reasons cities invest in public art programs is not only to benefit their local communities aesthetically, but to boost their cultural profile to attract both business and visitors. This is particularly true of cities like San Francisco because tourism makes up a substantial part of the city’s economy. This goal is best supported by having regional culture supported by national and international talent.
5. Public Art Programs, connected to capital projects, are not the best instrument for providing broad based funding to local artists. It is better done through other programs the city already funds. Capital projects stretch out over 3-5 years; projects SFAC is beginning this year won’t even go into contract until next year.

Additionally, Ms. Pontious reported that new projects coming up in 2021 are smaller, localized projects (parks, fire stations), that tend to favor local artists. Project Managers can try to prioritize recruitment of local artists in conjunction with BIPOC artists. She also reported that the Arts Commissions statistics from the last two years show a good balance of local artists, regional and national artists with 50-53% of commissions going to San Francisco artists. Ms. Pontious noted that the rules/laws that govern contracts differ from those that govern grants.

Commissioner Keehn asked for an update at the next Visual Arts Committee Meeting regarding the differences in geographic preferences in grants versus contracts.

There was no public comment.

5. Monuments Review Process Update

Ms. Pontious, Senior Registrar Allison Cummings and Senior Racial Equity & Policy Analyst Sandra Panopio presented the recently drafted scope of work for the Monuments Review process. As per the Mayor’s directive, the Monuments Review process is in conjunction with the Human Rights Commission and the Recreation & Parks Department. The document outlined the process for the creation of an advisory committee and the committee’s scope of work, which will focus on developing and approving the criteria by which monuments and memorials in the collection will be evaluated. Ms. Cummings stated that they hope to release/publish this information by mid-February. Former Acting Directory Denise Bradley-Tyson gave some background on the development of this scope of work.

The Commissioners requested a change to the second sentence in the second paragraph under the “Advisory Committee Members” section. The sentence should now read: “Selection will be administered by Arts Commission staff, approved by the Arts Commission and accepted by the Co-Chairs.”

There was no public comment.

6. Chinese New Year Temporary Sculpture Installation

Director of the Public Art Trust and Special Initiatives Jill Manton introduced Tony Lau from the Chinese Chamber of Congress. They spoke on the plan to install three temporary painted Ox sculptures in three different locations in the City in honor of Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox. These temporary sculptures are in place of the annual Chinese New Year Parade which has been cancelled this year due to the pandemic.

There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve the temporary installation from February 1, 2021 to March 15, 2021 of three ox sculptures sponsored by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber in honor of the Year of the Ox at Portsmouth Square, Union Square and Civic Center Plaza, the forms of which were designed by Lacey Bryant and the surfaces designed and painted by Brian Travis, Deyi Zhao, Monique Zhang all of whom are artists working with Parade Guys.
Moved: Beltran/Ferras

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

THE FOLLOWING ITEM WAS TABLED.
7. Rossi Pool
Craig Corpora

Discussion and Possible Action: to approve the Design Development Phase deliverables (final design) by Owen Smith for the Rossi Pool public art project.

8. Golden Gate Tennis Center

Project Manager Aleta Lee presented the completed artwork Spin by artist Sanaz Mazinani, installed in late December 2020. The artwork is located on the south exterior façade of the clubhouse/community building at Golden Gate Park Tennis Center and measures approximately 10ft. high by 22 ft. wide overall. Spin is inspired by the geometric precision and rhythmic variations of tennis It is composed of 12 in. by 12 in. ceramic tiles imprinted with images of four  historic tennis players repeated to create a kaleidoscope design.. The four players in the mural are Alice Marble, Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King and Roger Federer. These players were selected for their significant achievements within the sport along with their commitment to social and educational causes beyond tennis.

There was no public comment.

Motion: Motion to approve as installed a tile artwork titled Spin, 2020 by Sanaz Mazinani, at Golden Gate Park Tennis Center. The artwork is installed on the exterior south facade of the community building and consists of 12" x 12" ceramic tiles.
Moved: Beltran/Schnair

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

9. Mayor Ed Lee Plaque Project

Project Manager Aleta Lee gave a brief background of the artwork to be installed at San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal Departure Hall. Ms. Lee introduced artist Antonio Mendez who talked about the changes he made to his artwork as per the requests of the Commissioners at the last Visual Arts Committee meeting. Mr. Mendez adjusted the Mayor’s septum, mustache and mouth so the mouth was more centered under the nose. Mr. Mendez has been working closely with Mayor Ed Lee’s family who approved the changes and felt that it was a great likeness of the Mayor.

The Commissioners were happy with the changes made to the plaque.

There was no public comment.

Motion: to approve artist Antonio Mendez's Construction Document phase deliverables, including final imagery, material and fabrication mockup for the plaque at SFO International Airport.
Moved: Beltran/Musleh

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

10. San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Atrium

Project Manager Zoë Taleporos presented the selected artist Craig Calderwood and her proposal for the San Francisco International Airport Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Atrium. The painted mural will snake around the walls around the escalators covering three floors from the AirTrain level down to baggage claim level. The artist’s proposed artwork contains the repeated themes/motifs of fruits, flowers, stripes, rectilinear architectural shapes, potted plants and a dog park. These themes/motifs were chosen for their relationship to LGBTQ+ history and culture and to Harvey Milk himself.

There was no public comment.

Motion: to approve Craig Calderwood’s conceptual design for the San Francisco International Airport Harvey Milk Terminal 1Atrium Project. 
Motion: to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into contract with artist Craig Calderwood for an amount not to exceed $200,000 for the design, fabrication, transportation and installation of an artwork at the San Francisco International Airport Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Atrium.  
Moved: Shiota/Beltran

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

11. San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Boarding Area B

Project Manager Zoë Taleporos presented two possible artworks for purchase to accompany the previously approved Fong Chung-Ray painting, Painting #2018-8-6,  at the San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1 Boarding Area B. The wall that the previously purchased piece is to be installed on was built larger than expected. The 8 ft. high by 24 ft. wide wall allows enough space for a companion piece. The two options presented were 2019-7-29, by Fong Chung-Ray and Parallel Portions, by Mike Henderson.

Civic Art Collection and Public Art Program Director Susan Pontious pointed out that the airport is remodeled frequently so there is no guarantee that the two pieces hung on this wall will stay in that location long term and may someday be displayed separately.

The Commissioners liked both options and after discussion agreed that the Henderson painting would be the best addition to the Airport Collection.

There was no public comment.

Amended Motion: to approve the purchase of Mike Henderson’s, Parallel Portions, 72" x 87", oil on canvas, 2017, $50,000 for installation at the San Francisco International Airport: Harvey Milk Terminal 1: Boarding Area B.
Moved: Musleh/Beltran

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

12. New Business and Announcements

Commissioner Keehn announced there was a recent article featuring the new sculptures at the airport by Gay Outlaw in the San Francisco Chronicle Datebook and congratulated staff.

13. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 4:58pm.

TP 1/28/2021 12:15pm
Approved 2/1/2021


Notices          

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost.
For assistance, please notify Tara Peterson, tara.peterson@sfgov.org, 415-252-2219.

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如需協助，Tara Peterson, tara.peterson@sfgov.org, 415-252-2219.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Tara Peterson, tara.peterson@sfgov.org, 415-252-2219.