Commission on Cultural Affairs Standing Committee on Public Art

City of Columbia, Missouri Meeting Minutes Commission on Cultural Affairs Standing Committee on Public Art Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Walton Building Sub-Committee - Percent for Art Community Room 300 3:15 PM S. Providence Rd. Columbia MO 65203 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:22 p.m. by Brewer who welcomed those attending. Present: 5- Tammy Brewer, Tootie Burns, William Williams, Levi Sherman and Erika Coffmann Excused: 1- Valerie Berta II. INTRODUCTIONS: AUDIENCE AND COMMITTEE Committee members and guests introduced themselves. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved with a motion by Burns, seconded by Williams; motion carried. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the last meeting were unanimously approved with a motion made by Burns and second by Williams; motion carried. Attachments: Meeting Minutes 9.7.17 V. COLUMBIA SPORTS FIELDHOUSE Overview of Interview Process- Staff Dresser explained that the artists would first review the images of their past works and then answer a set number of questions. She emphasized the fact that none of the artists are expected to have a specific design idea at this time and added said the final goal was for a consensus on one artist to be selected for the project. Copies of resumes and reference forms were provided in the agenda packets. Artist Interviews- Staff 3:30 p.m. Larry Young 4:15 p.m. Chris Morrey 5:00 p.m. David Spear (break) 6:00 p.m. Lizzie Bryan & Paul Salierno City of Columbia, Missouri Page 1 Printed on 5/25/2018 Commission on Cultural Affairs Meeting Minutes October 11, 2017 Standing Committee on Public Art The finalists interviewed in the following order: Larry Young, Chris Morrey, David Spear, and Lizzie Bryan & Paul Salierno. Each artist or team showed approximately 20 images and provided narration about the specifics of each work/project shown. Young described the images of his previous work. Young’s past sculptures have includes figures in movement and have been installed in cities across the country, predominantly using bronze and stainless steel. Young also shared images of works that are located in Columbia. Young explained that he would approach the project considering the location and sports played at the facility; and he would be conscientious about fabrication of artwork given the overall project budget. He explained that given his experience, he is aware of the public realm and process. Morrey described the images of his previous work, which included examples of a previous Percent for Art Commission. He stated that he is originally from Arizone and studied with Jim Calvin to learn how to cast bronze. Many of his sculptures reflect animals and nature themes. He’s also started to work in wood and aluminum sand casting. His initial ideas about the project would be to incorporate artistic elements to the interior of the building, many pieces on a smaller scale, which would cause viewers to look closely at the artwork. The themes for many of his past works is to create artwork thati s unexpected. Spear described the images of his previous work, which are predominantly oil and acrylic paintings. Many of his local commissions have dealt with the history of place and present day environment of the settings. His works also incorporate a great deal of symbolism. Having been commissioned for a previous Percent for Art project 10 years ago, Spear noted that he is very familiar with the public art process and enjoys the collaborative and community based process. Lizzie Bryan and Paul Salierno described the images of their previous work together. Lizzie has lived in Columbia for 12 years, and Paul recently moved from Kansas City. They both have full-time careers in the medical field and are collaborators on different art projects. Most of their past work has been in temporary installations, and they are working to make a jump into more permanent art pieces. Much of their works have been featured at outdoor festivals, such as Roots N Blues N BBQ and Art in the Park. They have also completed a permanent mural on The Roof of the Broadway Hotel. Many of their past works are interactive and whimsical, and many include lighted elements so the experience is different at night. After narrating their series of images, each artist was asked the following questions: 1. How do you hope people will interact with your work? What makes your work accessible to the general public? 2. What difficulties have you faced in previous projects, and how did you overcome them? 3. Describe your creative process. Will you develop several ideas and how will you narrow your focus? 4. What range of project budgets have you worked with? How do you stay within a project budget? 5. How do you involve other professionals in your work? Specifically, describe how you approach the engineering of your work, if required, and how installation is organized, in general. 6. What type of routine maintenance is required for your work? Describe the durability and longevity of the materials you typically use. 7. Describe your familiarity with approaches to public processes required by commissioning entities such as the city (examples are open meetings, a design review City of Columbia, Missouri Page 2 Printed on 5/25/2018 Commission on Cultural Affairs Meeting Minutes October 11, 2017 Standing Committee on Public Art process that includes public comment and the need for open communication throughout the project). 8. Describe how your art might fit in with a public building like the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse. 9. From a design point of view, what challenges and opportunities do you anticipate with this project, given the preliminary information available at this point? 10. What other commitments do you have in the coming months? 11. What excites you about this project? VI. PUBLIC COMMENT None VII. DETERMINATION OF PROJECT ARTISTS Brewer asked the Committee to complete a preliminary ranking of the finalists, understanding that it simply provided a starting point for discussion and was not a vote. All five Committee members present had David Spear in their top two choices (three ranked Spear as number one choice), and four Committee members had Larry Young in their top two choices. The group discussed the difference artists. Burns stated that Spear’s is a very confident artist whose work would be site-specific. Williams stated that both Young and Spear have been successful in imagery used in past projects, and he also stated that a potential three-dimensional sculpture would make an impact and be seen. Sherman stated that he liked the interior and exterior components proposed by Young. The group also discussed the artists Morrey and team Bryan and Salierno. Morrey’s work was intimate and incorporated into building design, and Coffman was uncertain that it would make the same kind of impact as the other artist's initial proposals. Burns like the energy of Bryan and Salierno, but she had concerns about the permanence or durability of what they might come up with. She liked the idea of a non-sports theme, which Sherman also said was a selling point for him. He also liked their idea of using the building’s design as a “family space.” Coffman commented that incorporating the park setting and natural elements was an interesting proposal for this team. The Committee revisited the top choices of Young and Spear. Burns liked Spear’s aesthetic being more “urban” and Williams favored the artist’s approach of researching the land, location of building, and history of sports and athletes to incorporate into his design. Burns stated that Spear would likely provide the best value for budgeted city funds for this project. Coffman said having artwork by Spear in the facility would add excitement and engagement and that his past works demonstrate activeness. She thought his work would compliment the interior of the building and that there would be greater detail with a two-dimensional painting. The Committee revisited the rankings, which had Spear as the artist that the majority of the group ranked as number one. Burns made a motion to commission David Spear for the project, seconded by Coffman. All in favor, motion passed. VIII. SCHEDULE OF COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION City of Columbia, Missouri Page 3 Printed on 5/25/2018 Commission on Cultural Affairs Meeting Minutes October 11, 2017 Standing Committee on Public Art Dresser explained that the Committee’s recommendation would move forward to the Commission on Cultural Affairs for their consideration at the November 13 meeting. She explained that the final determination would lie with City Council, per the Percent for Art ordinance. Dresser stated that she would work with Spear to negotiate the terms of the contract in the coming months, so that it could be approved by Council as soon as the artist selection was finalized. IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by at 7:13 p.m. by consensus City of Columbia, Missouri Page 4 Printed on 5/25/2018