HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/11/1990 Agenda�;---- 990 Palm Street/Post Office Box es ooSPO1
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
Study Session to Discuss the City's Arts in Public Places Program
City/County Library Community Room
Tuesday, September 11, 1990 at 7:00 p.m.
I. Reception hosted by the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council, 6:00 -7:00
p.m.. Light refreshments will be served.
II. Special Meeting:
A. Introduction and Meeting Format: John Dunn, City Administrative Officer
B. Speaker, "Art in Public Places -- Peer Review": Gail Goldman,
Coordinator, Arts in Public Places, San Diego Commission for Arts and
Culture.
C. Review City's New Public Art Program: Staff.
D. Discussion:
E.
Adjourn
1. Role of the City Council, advisory bodies and the SLO Arts Council
in reviewing public art.
2. Possible strategies to encourage public art to enhance the
community.
Summary: Where to from here? Staff, Mayor and Council members, Arts
Council Members, City Advisory Body Members.
<.I
Pt
AL
The Good, Tho bad 0 Th c Ugly
An open workshop jointly sponsored by
the Arts Council. and City Council of San his Obispo
Tuesday, September 1i, 7 P.M.
City -County Library Community Room
Plan to attend as two experts in the public cart field
join members of the Arts L-ouncil, City rctuncil,
Architectural Review Commission, local a�rtis� �, art
Iovers and concerned citizens ±I: lively, )roeu tive
exchange of ideas,
This ad is donated by a friend of the Arts Council
TELEGRAM -TRIBUNE
Wednesday, September 12, 1990
_ County �F region
Expert gives SLO public art program a boost.
By David Eddy
'I 5-,-am-Tribune
f
,is Obispo's public art pro-
oil,O rn _ _ay be in its infancy, but it
already looks promising, a national
expert said Tuesday.
Gail Goldman, director of the San
Diego Commission for Arts and Cul-
ture, told a, City Council workshop
that the city has made an "impressive
commitment" to public art.
The workshop, hosted by the San
Luis Obispo County.Arts Council, was
attended by about 50 artists and other
cirizans interested in hearing about
other public art programs around the
country, as well as an update on the
city's program.
Public art is just that — art that is
accessible to the public. It is paid for
either wholly or in part with city
money. i.
Th'� s of public art can be wide-
rangin& aid Goldman, who narrated
a slide show of examples from
throughout the nation.
From the Vietnam Veterans Memo-
rial in Washington, D.C., to dance
steps inlaid in a Portland, Ore.,
sidewalk to painted salmon jumping
over a drinking fountain at a Seattle
police station — all are forms of public
art.
Though the idea dates back centu-
City government gearing up for future projects
San Luis Obispo's public art pro-
gram was adopted by the City Council
in May after five years of discussion.
The program is aimed at including
art in both public and private develop-
ment.
For public works projects,1 percent
of the construction cost is set aside
for art. Some projects, such as sewer
pipelines or other underground
projects, are exempt.
City officials are reviewing 18 pro-
ries in Europe, it is only in the past 30
years that public art has gained
widespread popularity in the United
States.
In California, public art programs
are becoming commonplace, Gold-
man said. In 1985, 25 cities had
adopted programs; now there are 64.
Besides making new developments
more interesting, Goldman said, pub-
lic art can be designed to take
advantage of vacant.areas.
She showed slides of a median strip
in Virginia that had been transformed
from a trash -strewn parcel to a small
posed projects that may include
public art, said Associate City Planner
Jeff Hook. In the 1990-91 budget,
$60,000 is earmarked for art.
For Private development, the city
has a grant program that will match
whatever a developer contributes for
the art. There is $50,000 in the
matching grant fund.
The applications for creating public
art will be treated much like those far
new development, said Hook. But
park featuring concrete spheres.
"Eyesores can be turned into fun
things," she said, citing San Luis
Obispo's downtown bubblegum alley
as a good example.
Though public art is generally
thought to involve large, expensive
projects, they can be as small as the
bas-relief manhole covers in Seattle
or the ceramic tiles that look like $10
besides going to the Architectural
Review Commission, they will also be
screened for technical merit by a jury
of art professionals appointed by the
San Luis Obispo County Arts Council.
No projects have been approved
under the program. Several of those
involved believe the first projects
must be of exceptional quality, and
the screening process will be espe-
cially difficult to pass in the beginning.
--David Eddy
bills embedded in a Sacramento
sidewalk.
"Little surprises can Icontribute
enormously," Goldman said.
But she noted that there is one big
potential problem with public art — it
can be hotly controversial.
She said works that are widely
accepted today — such as the famed
Gateway Arch in St. Louis — were
once very controversial. In fact, bricks
were thrown through the windows of
the room where the arch's design was
being reviewed, she said.
The only way to minimize contro-
versy is to get the community in-
volved early on, said Goldman.
"The goal is not to get everybody to
like everything — that's impossible."
The art should be put through
intensive review, she said. Goldman
suggested appointing an arts commit-
teesimilar to the city's Architectural
Review Commission to scrutinize
potential projects.
Several people in the audience
were concerned about who would
have the final say on what art would
go where.
Linnaea Phillips noted that the
palm tree mural planned for the Palm
Street parking garage was recently
killed by the City Council after being
approved by other committees.
City Attorney Jeff Jorgensen rioted,
however, that if the art is paid for with
public money, it will require the City
Council's approval.