Loading...
APPMIN 08 12 1996REGULAR MEETING OF THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES COMMISSION NORTH CONFERENCE ROOM August 12, 1996 3:00 P.M. This regular meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission was called to order by Chairman Walling at 3:07 p.m., who asked Commissioner Shamis to lead the flag salute. Chairman Walling asked for the roll call: ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Judi Cothrun, Johnna Davis, Sharon Kennedy, Michelle Klein, Rosita Shamis, and Chairman Walling. Absent: Commissioner Elaine Reynolds. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Shamis/Kennedv to excuse Commissioner Reynolds. Unanimously approved. Staff: Community Development Director Jerry Herman and F,xecutive Secretary Betty Sawyer. ELECTIONS: It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Shamis/Kennedy bo nominate John Walling as Chairman. There being no further nominations, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Shamis/Kennedy to close the nominations. John Walling was elected Chairman unanimously. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Kennedy/Walling to nominate Rosita Shamis for Vice Chair. There being no further nominations, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Davis/Klein to close the nominations. Rosita Shamis was elected as Vice Chair unanimously. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: Confirmed PUBLIC COMMENT: None CONSENT CALENDAR: A. Minutes -Commissioner Shamis asked that the Minutes of July 8, 1996, be amend'~ed on Page 2, Item C.2. to read: "She was concerned however, that the APP Ordinance would not allow the Commission to allocate any funds as the Ordinance stated the artwork must be unique and not mass produced." There being no further changes to the Minutes, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Kennedy/Klein to approve the minutes as corrected. Unanimously approved. B. Financial Statement -There being no further questions or changes, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Klein/Kennedy to accept the Financial Statement as submitted. Unanimously approved. Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 BUSINESS ITEMS: A. Proposed artwork for City Parks: Chairman Walling introduced Mr. Fernandez who presented his design for a piece of artwork that would hold a Pinata (as well as other objects) for the City parks. He stated there had been some concern raised about children being injured on the design. Based on this concern he had developed the tongue of the giraffe which wild hold the ring for the Pinata to have a breakaway release at 40 or 60-pounds. He stated he had talked with several companies that made Pinatas and they stated the average weight of a Pinata was 15-pounds. If the Commission felt the breakaway weight should be lighter, he could reduce it further. 2. Chairman Walling asked Mr. Fernandez how long would it take to construct the artwork. Mr. Fernandez stated it would take approximately three weeks. He had been working on a design for three weeks and it was almost complete. Chairman Walling asked if the price of $17,000 included all aspects of constructing and installing the artwork. Mr. Fernandez stated it did and went on to discuss the construction of the footings for the artwork. 4. Commissioner Klein asked if the exterior metal work would be open. Mr. Fernandez stated it would be covered with anl/8-inch steel covering forming a three dimensional object. Commissioner Shamir asked how hot the metal would get. Mr. Fernandez explained the purpose of the Pinata holder and the other purposes it could be used for. He stated it was nine feet in height with a latch to hang the Pinata. To date, he has been unable to find a coating to protect the metal against heat. 6. Commissioner Davis asked if this was the same metal that was used to construct the benches for the City of Palm Desert. Mr. Fernandez stated it was and to his knowledge, there were no problems. Commissioner Shamir stated that each piece of art would have to be different in color and design. Mr. Fernandez stated one would be a Giraffe and the second one could be a free-form. Both would have the same arch and use. 8. Commissioner Cothrun stated she thought the design was unique and asked if any other city had the same design. Mr. Fernandez stated he had contacted several cities as well as recreation/park departments to see if the design existed and he could find no one that had such a piece. To his knowledge this would be the only one in existence. APPS-12 Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 9. Chairman Walling asked what the price of both art pieces would be. Mr. Fernandez stated the Giraffe would be $12,000 and the second feature $5,000 for a total of $17,000 for both. He would like to receive a release from the City that would allow him to use a photograph of the art piece for publicity purposes. The art piece itself would not be duplicated. 10. Commissioner Kennedy asked what the design of the second art piece would be. Mr. Fernandez stated he did not have a design at present. He had considered a rainbow, and other free forms, but no decision had been made. He would work with the City to determine the form. 11. Commissioner Shamis asked if the design could be of one of the indigenous animals. Different animals were discussed. 12. Chairman Walling stated the Commission needed to determine whether or not the project fits within the parameters of public art; determine which park(:;). if any it should be placed in; and determine the price. 13. Commissioner Shamis stated she preferred the giraffe as one design and an animal that is indigenous to the desert as the second form. 14. Commissioners discussed the value of the project, functional art, and how the project would fall within the parameters of public art in that it is a unique piece of artwork, designed and constructed by a local artist. 15. Following discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Klein/Cothrun to request that Mr. Fernandez design an art piece specifically for the Fritz Burns and Adams Avenue Parks that the APP could recommend to the City Council For their approval. Mr. Fernandez would present the giraffe as one design along with two additional designs of indigenous animals. 16. Commissioners suggested that additional designs may include a snake, rabbit, quail, free form, and other indigenous animals. Commissioner Kennedy asked that the second model be of a snake as it is indigenous. One would be an animal and other a snake. Following discussion regarding the designs, Commissioners Klein/Cothrun withdrew their motion. 17. Commissioners Klein/Kennedy moved and seconded a motion that Mr. Fernandez present to the APP Commission at their next meeting, a design of a giraffe, snake or other free form figure for their, review and potential recommendation to the City Council for the Fritz Burns and Adams Avenue Parks in an amount not m exceed $17,000. Unanimously approved. APPS-12 Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 B. Proposed Artwork for the La Ouinta Car Wash Chairman Walling briefly explained the project and introduced Paul Gilbert, President of ARTEACH who would be making a presentation of an art idea for the Car Wash located at the northwest corner of Highway 111 and Adams Sltreet. a. Mr. Paul Gilbert, ARTEACH, addressed the Commission regarding local artists who were capable of doing the file work. He stated that NIr. Michael Teague was presently doing a small painting for the interior of the Car Wash and displayed slides of his file work. Regarding a design for the parapet, they were considering a desert theme. In order to have an estimate of t:he cost, he had asked a local file setter to estimate the cost of laying plain white file on the site and his cost estimate was $2,500. He then went on to describe the design they were proposing. As he was the president of ARTEEACH, his plans were to incorporate local students to watch and see how the file process evolved. b. Commissioner Kennedy suggested holding an art contest that would involve local students. Chairman Walling asked Mr. Gilbert what the price range was estimated to be. Mr. Gilbert stated it would be approximately $10,000 to cover the entire area of the parapet or 800 square feet. d. Chairman Walling thanked Mr. Gilbert for his presentation. 2. Chairman Walling .introduced Marcia Gibbons who would also make a presentation on an art idea for the Car Wash. a. Ms. Gibbons stated that four murals had been completed by her students during the last school year and this was the type of project she would love to be involved with. She went on to give her artwork background. She then asked the Commission what size they intended the artwork to be; would it cover the entire parapet? Did the Commission have a work space available for the students to do the work? As she is presently teaching in Indio she may be able to use her school and some of her students, but would this be acceptable to the Commission? She has a team of students who are accustomed to working regularly with her. If she were to use L,a Quinta students she would only want students from the 8th grade and above. In regard to the cost of the project, it would depend a lot on the size. The installation, however, would not be included in the cost. APP8-12 Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 b. Commissioner Shamis stated the Commission did want the project to remain with La Quinta students. Local art teachers could be involved by selecting the students. Ms. Gibbons would, however, have control over the students. c. Commissioner Shamis asked Ms. Gibbons if she would prefer to create her own design for the project or involve the community. Ms. Gibbons stated she has worked on all types of projects. She has designed projects that included working with the entire age span. This project would depend on what the Commission would want, as she was not restricted on what type of format would be used. d. Ms. Gibbons asked about the liability of the students involved; who would be responsible? She also stated that if the students were to be im~olved, she would like to see them receive payment for their work. She then went onto show some designs of what she was currently working on. If she was to submit a design for this project, she would need the specifics of what the Commission wanted, including the exact dimensions. How much of her involvement would be teaching, or designing? She estimated the cost to be in the range of $20,000. She would enjoy doing a design of her overt with the assistance of the students creating the tiles. e. Commissioner Kennedy asked Ms. Gibbons if she designed and fired the tiles herself. Ms. Gibbons stated she did as she has three kilns. However, she would subcontract the installation work. Commissioner Kennedy asked what her time involvement in the project would be. Ms. Gibbons stated. she would need assistance from adult artists to aid in the construction. Commissioner Kennedy asked if it was a professional design, would she be able to use school time to design it. Ms. Gibbons stated she would need to coordinate the time with the other teachers. g. Mr. Paul Gilbert asked if the students would be allowed to work at the site, rather than at the school. His project anticipated the students being able to watch, but not be physically involved in the construction. h. Ms. Gibbons stated the materials would need to be centrally located rather than spread out. A limited number of students would be involved to produce the work. I. Commissioner Cothrun asked if the students had been paid before for their work. Ms. Gibbons stated they had not been paid for a school project, but if she involved them in one of her own artworks, yes they were paid. She APP8-12 Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 believes it is important fox the students to have the experience of being paid for their work. She also understands the importance of community pride and involvement. Discussion followed regarding how students had been utilized in various projects. j. Commissioner Klein asked Ms. Gibbons approximately how many hours she thought the project would take and how many students would be needed. Ms. Gibbons stated she had no idea of the time involvement. She would need to know the design and the medium to be used first. She would prefer to submit a price with the design. This way she would be able to pay the students involved from the contract price. This would give the students thl; feeling of doing a professionaljob. k. Commissioner Davis asked Mr. Gilbert how much time would be involved with his project. Mr. Gilbert stated about two months. 3. Chairman Walling thanked Ms. Gibbons and Mr. Gilbert for their time and presentations and asked for Commission discussion. 4. Commissioner Kennedy stated there was a need to dress up the shopping center. 5. Commissioner Klein asked if funds were available for the project. She suggested the project could be structured so that the public and both artists were involved. 6. Chairman Walling stated he was in favor of the project as it would place cut in a very noticeable area of the town as well as serving to educate the public The negative side could be the use of the City's money to enhance a commercial site. The Commission needs to determine if this is a good use of APP funds. Does this project 'meet the philosophy of the art program. The Commission needs to determine if they want to use funds for the smaller projects as they come up, or let the account accumulate for a large project. The Commission needs to make this decision first. 7. Commissioner Klein asked if it was necessary to use tile? Would there be; a problem having a painted mural instead. Chairman Walling stated the the was a better medium and a mural would not be able to utilize the students. 8. Commissioner Cothrun stated she would like to pursue the project.. but the Commission needs to establish a realistic budget. 9. Commissioner Davis stated she did not want the project to commercially benefit the Car Wash. There is a need to do something to the site with a limited amount of money. She agreed that it was a good idea to pay students for their work, :is well as teach them the value of community involvement. Would it be possible to get an APP8-12 Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 educational grant to assist in the funding? Could the Commission ask VVaI-Mart or some other local company, for a grant? This would enable the City to put money back into the community. 10. Staff would check into what grants are available, even for reimbursement purposes. In addition, they would check with the La Quinta teachers to see if space was available and if there was student talent to do the project. 11. Commissioner Shamis stated she was uncomfortable with spending; $20,000. Commissioner Kennedy stated Mr. Gilbert could do the whole parapet for $10,000. It was again suggested that the project be opened up to both artists to see, what they collaborate on. 12. Commissioner Klein stated her concern about the amount of public involvement. 13. Commissioner Cothrun asked how a workshop could be set up to accomplish this. 14. Chairman Walling stated the Commission needed to establish a price. Following discussion, the Commission determined that a budget of $10,000 was sufficient for the purpose of discussing the project. This figure would include installation. The Commission could re-evaluate the cost after- staff provided the additional information. 15. Following the discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners 1<aein/Davis to continue this item to the next meeting. COMMISSIONER ITEMS: None 1. Temporary Art Program -Staff informed the Commission that the City Attorney would have a report in October. 2. Student Art Wall -Commissioners directed staff to contact Mike Teague, who had displayed the artwork at the La Quinta Arts Foundation building, to see if' he could provide staff with an idea. 3. Workshop -Commissioner Shamis stated her concern that the Commission not drop the plans to hold a training workshop. She felt the Commission needed to be thinking of ways to educate the City Council, the community, as well as themselves and developers regarding public art. Commissioners discussed the need for the workshop, but stated it needed to be done with the prepazation and publicity that would allow for a well planned workshop. Commissioners should to be thinking of planning ideas to create a comprehensive workshop. The Car Wash project may be a beginning. 4. Art Library -staff displayed the books that had been purchased to date. 5. Bear Creek Channel -staff reviewed the report from the Public Works Department and Commissioners discussed the development of the path. APP8-12 Art in Public Places August 12, 1996 FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: A. Progress on the Temporary Art Program B. Discussion on the proposed Workshop C. Presentation by artist Art Fernandez on his proposed Pinata artwork design D. Discussion on books accumulated for the Art Library E. Major Event Plan review F. Car Wash artwork presentation G. Update on the Bear Creek Channel project H. Discussion regarding the Obelisks (if any correspondence has been received from the Historical Society). ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Sham.is/Klein to adjourn this meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission to a regular meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission on August 5, 1996, at 3:00 P.M. Unanimously approved. This regular meeting of the Art in Public Places Commission was adjourned at 5:00 P.M. APPB-12