Public Art Commission

Blue Springs Public Art Commission Minutes of the Meeting Thursday, February 11, 2016 Fieldhouse Conference Room 3:30 to 5:00 PM Attending: Ramon Magee, Lawrence Randall, Kathe White, Greta Hoener, Eleanor Frasier, Steve Willman. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Eleanor at 3:30 PM. Minutes. The minutes were approved as mailed. Projects/Information/Updates. 1.“Firefighter Spirit”. a. Steve reported that all contracts have been signed by artists and that we just need City Administrator Eric Johnson to sign. Checks will then be cut for one-half of the loan fee and sent to artists. b. Eleanor asked Ramon and Larry to contact Chief Westermann to determine the actual sites for placement of the four sculptures and to decide whether we need bases or pedestals for an artworks. Steve felt this needed to be done soon as Parks has to design and create the base/pedestal. c. Installations are generally the last week of March. Parks staff, probably Randy, will check with each artist as to the size of the bases needed for their artwork. c. Eleanor provided latest photos from Crandall; all other sculptures are as presented previously d. We discussed possible dedication date of mid-June and possible place of CJCFPD training facility on Highway 40 but these decisions will depend on artist availability and Chief Westermann’s choice of site. 2. “Remnants Restored”. a. “Dandeblome” (correct spelling) is now complete except for some touchup on the stems. There was some aluminum left and Jake will return to America’s Community Bank. He should receive his remaining stipend for his work. All agreed it was an outstanding iconic sculpture. b. Blue Springs Art League voted to provide $1000 toward “Remnants Restored” and will be noted as a presenting donor. At the Picadilly Gala, BSAL will be highlighted for the donation and will have prime seating. BSAL and PAC women will have two tables at the Gala. c. Flyers regarding the artworks and donation request will be available at the Gala. This will be a temporary flyer and not the brochure which we want Kim to design d. We would like to have the brochures and DVD by mid-May to distribute to art teachers and organizations. We cannot create until installation in last of March, plus we need artist statements and artist photos. e. Dedication date is preliminary due to artist availability but currently set as Thursday, September 29. It is likely to be a progressive event, starting at “Dandeblome” and then to “Life Force” and then to Depot for reception. Time is not determined. 1 3. “Breath”. Steve has not heard back from Steve Potter at Mid-Continent Library. We discussed that we would not want to site the art until we know if the nearby tree will be alive. 4. “BlueSprings.Net”. Steve stated that we will need three bids for any repairs of this sculpture and since it is likely to be over $10,000, we will need to have City Council approval. We had previously decided to have Meg Zahner (and husband Bill) present to a PAC meeting in May as to their proposal for needed repairs and cost. 5. “OH!” We expressed appreciation to Ron and Carolyn Gordanier for their offer to pay for re- painting the artwork. Steve said we would first need to have all the old paint ground off and then painted. Carolyn preferred epoxy paint in her offer. We discussed the pros and cons of powder coating and epoxy painting but deferred any decision as we wanted Carolyn to be part of the discussion. We will continue to discuss at the next meeting. 6. “Mother and Child” Restoration. Eluisa Altman has asked that we provide photos of the sculpture to see if there are any recommendations to improve the appearance of the artwork. Eleanor and Steve will work on this request 7. “The Visit”. Eleanor and Kim are working on an informational item (flyer, rackcard) to place at St. Mary’s Manor which describes the purpose and meaning of the artwork. It will be awhile before this is available. 8. Plaques Update. We now have signatures from Diane Mattern, Eluisa Altman, Janet Kummerlein and Victoria Reid-Niemann so we can continue to re-design and create plaques for their artworks. We discussed the proposed changes that we want in the plaques and Eleanor will provide this information to Kim for those changes and then we will have final reviews and approvals before we purchase new plaques. What is Ahead 1. 15 Years of Public Art Publication. Kim is really busy with City responsibilities and this is being placed on hold for now. 2. Dedications. We will need to help with plans for “Firefighter Spirit” and “Remnants Restored” dedications but it is too soon to begin plans. 3. Public Art Programming with BSSD Students. Eleanor reported that Stefan will continue to come to meetings to present information on how he is incorporating public art with student life. 4. Move Bulletin Board. Steve reported that Dennis has approved placing the bulletin board at the Fieldhouse but there are limited spaces to place it. Eleanor and Steve will discuss. 5. Next Year’s Project (2017). We had a lively discussion of various possibilities of future projects a. Drain at Lake Remembrance. Steve said that Public Works has stated that we cannot place anything on the drain. b. Retaining Wall at Adams Dairy Landing. Steve said there was very little space of land available to place any artwork. We discussed possibility of “shadowing art” so that a sculpture could be reflected, or the use of neon lighting within a sculpture (remember John Bannon’s works). We cannot place anything ON the wall, just in front of it. c. Labyrinth. Eleanor provided an example of mazes/labyrinths that were public art. See http://mazemaker.co.uk/index.php/art We felt this was a project that would/should garner lots of public support if we designed it to support cancer victims but that we would need time to determine possible partners (individuals, businesses, and organizations). Eleanor asked where would it be placed and this is a big question as it would take quite a bit of space. It was felt that we needed it to be in public space so the City could maintain 2  control. There was a question of cost as we would need to have a concrete base. We thought it would be especially attractive if it was created in mosaic but expensive. Eleanor said she would contact Christine Schilling to see if she could give an idea of cost. All in all, we decided this was a future project and not to be considered for next year. d. We then discussed having a temporary public art project. --Eleanor said that the newest projects in public art relate to a sculpture park. Generally, there are large pads or bases created and temporary art is brought in each year and placed on these bases (and removed at the end of the exhibit period). In many cases, there is a vote and the winning artist is given an additional fee. We don’t have a downtown that allows for this concept. --We then discussed that we could create a sculpture-like park setting by placing artworks along Adams Dairy Parkway. There is a walking path so the art would be accessible to the public as well as seen by drivers. -- Eleanor asked that everyone look to see where we would want to place any sculptures and we will continue to discuss this at the next meeting. Do we want it near the new St. Luke’s Clinic? Do we want it South where there is more housing? --We will continue to discuss this concept and if we agree, we need to decide theme and locations by June meeting. 6. Placement of “Providence” and “Tapped”. Steve reported that Randy has a tree in mind in Old Burris Mill Park for “Tapped”. We discussed various sites near the Howard Brown Building for “Providence” but we would need future discussion with City to decide any future placement.. 9. “Corks and Canvas” –we were reminded that the date is June 4. 10. 50th Anniversary of Vietnam War Commemorative Celebration. Eleanor reported that there are plans underway for an event to be held at Veterans Way Memorial on Thursday, March 29. This is the day that the US Department of Defense and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald established for commemorative partners to honor the Vietnam Veterans. March 30 is the date established by the State of Missouri to honor Vietnam Veterans --The national Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) is a commemorative partner and as such the Blue Springs DAR is therefore a partner. PAC and BS-DAR were responsible for the library displays and the Airshow Display which honored Vietnam Veterans in 2015. This would be a 2016 honor event. -- Eleanor said Mayor Ross wants to have this event and it is on his calendar. We expect that DAR, PAC, and other supporting partners will plan a program that will be held from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Veterans Way Memorial on Thursday, March 29 and she wants PAC to be involved. Information will be sent as soon as it is available. Next Meeting: Thursday, March 10 at Fieldhouse Conference Room, 3:30 to 5:00PM 3 4