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Home My WebLink About12-04-2008 Public Art Advisory CommitteePublic Art Advisory Committee Thursday, December 4, 2008 3: OOPM Lobby Conference Room City Hall 410 E. Washington A. Call to order B. Public discussion of any item not on the agenda C. Consideration of the minutes of the November 6, 2008 meeting D. Dale Merrill — Liberty Iron Works, Mt. Vernon, Iowa — continued discussion of art at the Water Works Prairie Park E. Michael Lombardo — City Manager — Public Art thoughts F. John Bacon — Principal — Lemme Elementary — Community Initiated Public Art proposal G. Committee time/updates H. Adjournment MINUTES PRELIMINARY PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM — CITY HALL Members Present: Patrick Carney, Jan Finlayson, Rick Fosse, Ann Kahn, Mark Seabold, Terry Trueblood, DaLayne Williamson Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Nate Kabat, Jeff Davidson Public Present: Melissa Mitchell, interested party; Dale Merrill, Liberty Iron Works of Mt. Vernon, IA CALL TO ORDER Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:03 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 MEETING MOTION: Fosse moved to approve the minutes; Carney seconded. The motion passed 6:0. DALE MERRILL — LIBERTY IRON WORKS MT. VERNON IOWA — DISCUSSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ART AT THE WATER WORKS PRAIRIE PARK Dale Merrill, Artist and Owner of Liberty Iron Works in Mt. Vernon, IA, presented a picture slide show, printed pictures, and short videos to the committee showing past works he has completed. He explained his artistic focus for the past 10 years has been on wildlife and kinetic sculptures. He has a particular interest in harnessing wind energy to move his sculptures. He recently completed a project in the new Coralville Library and is finishing a project in West Des Moines that incorporates a water feature. Merrill believes a sculpture of monumental size that takes advantage of the vantage points provided by 1-80 and Dubuque St. would be best for the Water Works Prairie Park site. He would like to create a sculpture that is natural, organic, playful, stylized and has kinetic elements. Merrill envisions a sculpture between 30 and 40 feet tall to take advantage of the space. He works mostly with aluminum, steel stainless steel, and copper. Merrill presented four concepts to the committee: Concept #1: Involves 3, 30-40 foot tall, 15 foot wide metal tree sculptures. The base, or trunk, would be made of darker, naturally colored steel. The top foliage would be made from aluminum or stainless steel. The foliage would revolve around the steel trunk structure, propelled by the wind. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes November 4, 2008 Page 2 Concept #2: Also involves tree -like sculptures with a more humanistic shape to them. The base would be an organic styled metal with the humanistic top created of pendulum style moving parts. Concept #3: Based on prairie plants. The drawing consisted of 3-4, 30-40 foot daisy -like metal sculptures. The petals would be perforated metal designed to sway in the wind. Concept #4: Would incorporate three to four large pendulum structures emulating large weathervanes. Each pendulum would represent an element of nature like leaves, fish, bird wings and insects. The counter weight of the pendulum would be large boulders encased by a metal frame. Bollinger asked if the sculptures might be placed on the island of the park's lake. Merrill explained he is concerned about the fluctuating water levels in that area. The water could harm the foundation of the sculpture and/or leave water rims along the base, which would detract from the art. Merrill is not completely against the location, but encouraged the committee to consider these negative factors. He thinks placing sculptures along the park's trails would provide a better sight line from 1-80 and Dubuque St. as well as within the park. Fosse asked where the sightline from 1-80 and Dubuque St. is maximized. Merrill explained the crossroads of the trail near the park's northern pump house close to the parking lot provides a line of sight from 1-80, has lots of space and the capacity to support a large structure. Fosse, Finlayson, and Seabold expressed interest in concept #1. Seabold thought #1 would catch the observer's eye from a distance. Carney said he also likes concept #4 since it incorporates different life forms. Carney asked what color concept #1 would be. Merrill said he is thinking of using natural steel on the stem and stainless or aluminum on the foliage to create a contrast. Trueblood asked if the new fishing pier in the pond would affect placement of the sculpture. Merrill didn't believe that it would. Seabold said he likes the proposed site because it encourages people to use the trail in order to get close to the sculpture. Fosse pointed out to the committee that the proposed location has utility lines running through that area, so that would need to be considered. Bollinger asked how much the proposal is estimated to cost and when Merrill would be able to begin. She reminded the committee the remaining funding for FY 09 as well as future FY 10 funds could be committed to the project. Merrill said he based his proposals on an $80,000 budget, but the project could be scaled to fit a larger or smaller amount. He said he would be able to begin working on the sculptures in the spring of 2009. Seabold asked how much the committee has to commit to this project. Bollinger said $80,000 would consumer the remaining FY 09 budget and all of the FY 10 allocations. Seabold asked if there are any other projects that need to be considered for the money. Bollinger said all current outlays have been included in the figures. Fosse said the committee should commit the next year's budget until they have the money in hand because the next year's budget will likely be tight. Carney suggested the committee commence some fundraising to help support the project. The group agreed with Carney and Bollinger encouraged the idea. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes November 4, 2008 Page 3 Fosse asked what the next step would be. Merrill said the next steps would be to pin down a site location, create scale drawings, decide on materials and create a clear budget. Merrill encouraged the committee to try to maximize visibility from key vantage points like 1-80 when deciding on a final location. Bollinger encouraged the group to visit the park before the next meeting to help brainstorm the best locations for the artwork. Finlayson encouraged the group to brainstorm fundraising options for the next meeting. The committee agreed Merrill would be a great artist to work with on this project and asked him to prepare a more detailed proposal based on option #1 for next month's meeting. PENINSULA PARK SHOWCASE PAD Bollinger informed the committee that "Blade", the sculpture by Mark NeuCollins is now gone from the display pad in Peninsula Park. The artist decided to donate the piece to the City of Solon in memoriam of a friend who passed away. Bollinger explained the committee now needs to figure out what they would like to do with the display pad. She said she has received many comments about how nice it is to have artwork in that location. Due to the tall grasses in that location, a replacement piece would need to be large enough that it would stand out from its surroundings. The committee should consider whether it would like to continue to have rotating displays at that location or would like to pursue a permanent piece. Bollinger said she is willing to pursue either option, but a permanent piece would cost more money. The committee agreed it would be good to continue the revolving displays and it would be nice to focus on displaying student art in that location. Seabold asked if UI students will be able to produce art at the temporary Menards location. Finlayson asked why it has been so difficult to connect with students in the past. Bollinger explained the UI is more about conceptual art than art production. However, she is happy to try to make a connection again; she believes collaboration with the UI art program would be positive. Seabold said he liked the idea of involving students and asked how big the display pad is. Bollinger said the pad is 4'X4'. UPDATE ON WASHINGTON HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ART PROJECT WETHERBY PARK MURAL PROJECT AND REC CENTER POOL WALL PROJECT Bollinger passed pictures of the cement bench that has been placed in Washington Hills Park. The mosaic tiles have yet to be installed on the bench, the artist plans to work on that once the weather gets warmer next spring. Bollinger also updated the committee to the progress of the Wetherby Park shelter mural. The project is about 3/4 done. The artist plans to incorporate portraits of historical Iowa City people and images of wildlife into the mural. Elementary students will soon begin painting sky scenes on panels that will later be installed on the shelter ceiling. Lights have been installed on the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center art project. Committee members agreed the project looks very good and the lighting makes the piece very visible from the street at night. Bollinger informed the committee she has not received any nominations for the "Recognition of Private Art in Public Spaces". Fosse asked if the public is not interested, why do the program? Bollinger explained that people who have received recognition in Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes November 4, 2008 Page 4 the past were extremely happy and it would be nice to keep that going. Kahn suggested using neighborhood newsletters to advertise the program. Williamson suggested promoting the program at ArtsFest to take advantage of the art -minded crowds. Bollinger agreed the program should be attempted one more time. COMMITTEE TIME/UPDATES Bollinger informed the committee she had meet with the new City Manager, Michael Lombardo. She explained he is an advocate of the public art program and had some suggestions for future projects. First, he would like to see a community art mural project on the blank U.S. Bank building wall downtown. Lombardo has already approached the bank manager about the idea, and the manager is on board. Second, Lombardo suggested starting a performing arts festival in Iowa City similar to the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC or the Fringe Festival in the Twin Cities, MN. Lombardo plans to come to the December meeting to meet the committee and discuss his ideas. Seabold said he would like to give Lombardo a tour of Iowa City art. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Williamson moved to adjourn; Finlayson seconded. The motion passed 7:0. Meeting adjourned at 4:08 PM. Next meeting scheduled for December 4, 2008. Minutes submitted by Nate Kabat z v 0 0 oa z X x x x x i O X x x i O O x X X x X x O x x X x x M � � x X X x O N i i O X X x X X x X o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O Pro z��aAti�a,aH II II II ��coo