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Home My WebLink About11/07/1990, 5 - CONSIDERATION OF THE PUBLIC ART SELECTION FOR THE PALM STREET PARKING STRUCTURE LOCATED AT 842 PALM 41�► � I1111�� IIII city of San lues OBISpo i�7 DATE: OffiaMe COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT nW NUMBER: FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrato Prepared By: Deb Hossli, Administrative Analyst SUBJECT: Consideration of the public art selection for the Palm Street Parking Structure located at 842 Palm Street. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Council: +� Confirm the selection of copper palm tree sculptures created for the Palm Street Parking Structure. * Authorize the City Administrative Officer to enter into a contract with the artists for an amount not to exceed $9,000. DISCUSSION: Backaround As part of the design process for the Palm Street Parking Structure, the southwest end wall of the Parking Structure was purposely left blank so that some form of visual art could be incorporated into the project at a future time. As with the Marsh Street Parking Structure, it was the City Council's intention to sponsor a public art competition to select a design for the southwest end of the Parking Structure. $10,000 set was aside within the Parking Structure's budget to provide funding for the competition. Selection Process With the assistance of the Arts Council, a "Request for Proposal" (RFP) was prepared and made available to artists in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Counties for the Parking Structure Public Art Project. The RFP emphasized the Council's direction that elements of City's history be incorporated into the artwork (e.g. , the Spanish, Chinese, and Indian heritages) . As a result of these efforts, the City received eleven proposals from local artists. A Public Art Selection Committee was subsequently convened to review the art proposals submitted by each artist. The committee was composed of the project's architect Andrew Merriam, the former City Project Coordinator Candace Havens, and three individuals involved in the local art community Linnaea Phillips, Ruth Fash, and Mary LaPorte. At the conclusion of this review, four artists were selected to develop formal art proposals for the Committee's consideration. The Committee reconvened once the formal proposals were received and narrowed the field to two artists. The Committee held interviews with the final two artists to discuss their proposals and obtain additional information regarding installation techniques, long term maintenance and vandalism concerns. At the conclusion of the interviews, the Committee felt their concerns had s 4011101111 city of San LUIS OBISPO INNIMs COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Council Agenda Report Page Two been satisfied and unanimously selected the artwork submitted by Robin Smith and Randy Augsburger. Ms. Smith and Mr. Augsburger's designs consist of copper palm tree sculptures with painted shadows. The palm trees will be affixed to the building, protrude two to three inches and extend from three feet above the base of the Parking Structure to the top. (A graphic illustration of the artwork has been included as attachment 1.) In making their selection, the Committee was fully aware of the constraints associated with incorporating public art into the Palm Street Parking Structure. The existing grillwork and elevations of the building made it difficult to develop a design concept that worked architecturally and incorporated the elements of history associated with the site. Therefore, in the context of reviewing all of the proposals, the Committee felt that the simplicity of the palm tree proposal best complemented the building even though the proposal lacked significant historical perspective. The Committee also felt that the palm tree proposal would be easily accepted and understood by the community (e.g. , palm trees, Palm Street Parking Structure, Palm Theatre, located on Palm Street etc. ) Architectural Review Commission ADiproval The copper palm tree sculptures were presented to the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) for formal approval during their July 30, 1990 meeting. The ARC unanimously approved the sculptures and provided direction to the artists to study lighting of the artwork. City Council Consideration i The City Council was requested to approve the selection of the copper palm tree sculptures during their August 21, 1990 meeting. During the discussion of the proposal, however, members of the public expressed concern over the sculpture's historical significance and the fact that the Cultural Heritage Committee (CHC) , charged with promoting and preserving the City's historical resources, did not have an opportunity to review the proposal prior to Council consideration. As a result, the Council deferred taking action on the proposal and directed. staff to present the palm tree sculptures to the CHC. Cultural Heritage Committee Approval Pursuant to Council direction, the palm tree sculptures were presented to the CHC during their September 24, 1990 meeting. After receiving public testimony and thoroughly discussing the � �u►►�ulll( pgnl►U city of san LUis OBlspo MICus COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Council Agenda Report Page Three proposal, the CHC found that the palm tree sculptures were not incompatible with the cultural resources and values of the area. Draft minutes from the CHC's discussion of the palm tree sculptures have been included as attachment 2. FISCAL IMPACT: $10,000 is available in the Parking Fund to finance the art project. To date, approximately $1,000 has been spent on creating the models to illustrate the artwork for the Selection Committee's review. Should the Council approve the copper palm tree sculptures, staff would use the remaining monies to contract with the artists for the artwork. CONCURRENCES: The Public Works Director has reviewed and approved this report. ATTACHMENTS: * "1" - Illustration of the artwork * "2" - Draft Minutes from the September 24, 1990 CHC Meeting DH\chc-rep S . .............. d � ' UP 414) Jr f y�4T� 1 h ►� i t �� A r i MINUTES SAN LUIS OBISPO CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting of September 24, 1990 Meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. Present: Chairperson Burce Sievertson,Jerry Michael,Gloria Heinz,Priscilla Graham, Dan Krieger, Mark Hall-Patton, Leo Pinard, Wendy Waldron Absent: None Stalt. Terry Sanville, Principal Planner and Secretary to the Committee Action Items L Public Art Proposal for the Palm Street Parldng Garage Terry Sanville introduced the item. Robin Smith and Randy Augsburger(the artists) made a brief presentation of the proposed palm tree art work. Andrew Merriam, Ruth Fash and Mary LaPorte (members of the city's art selection committee) and Lesslie Sutclif from the county arts council spoke in support of the proposed art work Dan Krieger and Mark Hall-Patton were concerned about the appropriateness of the art work from an historical perspective. There was a concern that the palm tree art does not reinforce Native American or. Chinese cultural values and may overemphasize Spanish values. Also, since Palm Street was named after a single palm tree, the art work (by showing a clustering of trees) inaccurately teaches the history of the area. Leo Pinard felt that the palm tree art will not mis-educate the public. Gloria Heinz felt that the city is eclectic in nature and did not feel that art at this location need be educational. Priscilla Graham felt that the art work was very appropriate for the area and compatible. Wendy Waldron was concerned about the impact of the art on cultural values. After further discussion, on motion of Leo Pinard, seconded by Gloria Heinz, the CHC found: Because of the diverse cultural values associated with the area with no single value predominating,the proposed art addition to the parking structure is not incompatible with the cultural resources or values of the area. (Motion passed; 5 ayes, 3 noes) With further discussion, the CHC felt that it should be involved in the review of public art proposals where they are proposed in culturally-sensitive areas. The CHC was disappointed that it was asked to review the palm tree art proposal so late in the process and wished it could have reviewed it earlier. C' ATTACHMENT 2 LO��V �� +�� HOWARD Ma LOUIS AE &:L—&MM # Owner- neger SINCE 1874 ��. UNUSUAL GIFTS • ARTISTIC PICTURE FRAMING • TEAKWOOD AND RATTAN PRODUCTS Nov.1, 1990 800 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA 93401 San Luis Obispo City Council, TELEPHONE 805/543.4332 - 990 Palm St. ,- L 6X sy3-7ys9 San Luit Obispo , Ca I haveYc-eA-4, K43that the Heritage Committee has:, okayerl.:the copper mural project for the Palm Street garage wall. This decision was made after the City Council had already said. the design was not appropriate . If I were a council member I would consider that an affrontery, or else a loss of communication along the line . The choice of design irs foreign from the original design -requested which was supposed. to depict the early city history incorporating the cultures of either Indian, Spanish or Chinese who helped build up this area An affirmative vote for the copper mural would only serve to _tarnish the escutcheon of the San Luis Obispo City Council in the eyes of the Spanish, Indian and. Chinese descendents in the area in addition to numerous other city inhabitants who have revered this area. In closing may I state that my parking lot is zoned commercial and sometime in the future a two story structure might be built that would obliturate the proposed artwork. The city has already spent about a thousand. dollars and countless hours of meetings for approximately one year. I would recommend that the project be postponed until the city's economy would better stabilized in view of the immediate financial needs. Sincerely, Howard. RT. Louis / 1 � COPIES TO: ❑',DMWS Adion ❑ FYI Cowzdl ❑ CDD DIR. / D El M.DIR. R E C E I V E D u, E I J CLERK Y Q FW DUL / 1.1 rOLICEC7-L ❑ MCMT.TrINNI ❑ PEC DIX ❑ FILE ❑ �^r IFJ ..�_ ;;M Ll'1S OB •Ci 1874 CENTENNIAL 1974 CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL LANDMARK REG. NO. 802 4 CD -µa1.Cl r 'Ii��