Public Art Committee

Durham Cultural Advisory Board PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE Meeting, September 24, 2013, 8:00 a.m. Rand Board Room, Durham Arts Council MINUTES Members Present: _X_ Joanne Andrews _X_ Kathy Bartlett ___ Sherry DeVries _X_ Steven Gatlin _X_ Heather Gordon ___ Lucy Grant _X_ Mark Hough _X_ Noel James _X_ Jessica Moore _X_ Chris Ogden _X_ Kenneth Rodgers ___ Karen Slotta OEWD Staff Present: _X_ Peter Coyle Also Present: Lisa Miller, Gillian Suss The meeting was called to order by Chair Mark Hough at 8:06 a.m. Kathy Bartlett made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 27 meeting. Chris Ogden seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Hough introduced Gillian Suss, Registrar of the Raleigh Public Art program and of the Duke University musical instrument collection. Suss reported that Raleigh has approximately 25 pieces in its collection, with 3 or 4 additional projects in process or development. She noted that a national project called “Save Outdoor Sculpture” invited community members to volunteer to identify public art for a national database. The Raleigh parks department is mapping the parks and recreation centers in a cooperative project to identify public art and to identify potential locations for new public art. Ogden noted that “Save Outdoor Sculpture “ is a Wikipedia-style approach to information gathering. Suss noted that it is important to document public art in a consistent way – “more like a librarian than an art historian.” She reported that the “Save Outdoor Sculpture” web site has that are available for use for documentation. The committee discussed ways to implement a citizen driven research project. Ogden, a professional photographer, offered to donate his services to photograph existing public art in Durham, and noted that, as his camea has a GPS feature, he could also document their GPS coordinates. Suss reported that there are both purchasable/leasable and open source products that can be used for the documentation process Noel James commented that the committee needs to set its priorities and research the process it should use. Heather Gordon agreed to look into available archival products. Hough will speak with Dan Ellison to see if his Duke students could be recruited to participate in the process. Steven Gatlin offered his students help in research, as well. While it is expected to take more than a year to complete the process, Bartlett offered to use the material collected to create a list to be available, as complete as possible, in time for the Bull City Sculpture Show in May, 2014. Hough asked Lisa Miller, from the City/County Planning Department, to report on discussions with the Historic preservation Commission. Miller reported that CAB Chair Renee Leverty met with the Commission. The Commission members agreed to look into ways to streamli9ne the approval process for public art mural projects. Hough reported that leverty will convene a small group from the HPC and CAB to develop proposals. Peter Coyle presented the Downtown Durham Incorporated proposal for a sculpture by Al Frega to be donated by DDI, in honor of Bill Kalkhoff for placement on a pedestal at the southwest corner of CCB Plaza. Copies of the proposal and images of how the piece would be placed in the plaza were distributed. After extensive debate, Kathy Bartlett made a motion that the Committee recommend to the Cultural Advisory Board that the CAB recommend to approve the City’s acceptance of the piece, for that location, assuming no technical or other matters are identified by relevant City departments in their reviews of the proposal would prevent its installation. Noel James seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. James made an advisory motion, advising the City and DDI to look at the pedestal at the east end of Five Points as a possible alternate location and that the committee approve that location in addition to the CCB Plaza location. Chris Ogden seconded the motion. It passed by a vote of 8 to 1. Ogden made an advisory motion that the City consider a redesign of the base, in consultation with the artist. James seconded the motion, which passed 8 to 1. Coyle will forward the application and the committee’s recommendations to City departments and Downtown Durham Incorporated for their review. The meeting adjourned at 9:55am.