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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 - Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IXQ �EwPoRT CITY OF O z NEWPORT BEACH <,FORN'P City Council Staff Report April 9, 2024 Agenda Item No. 13 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director - 949-717-3801, mhartson@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director TITLE: Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX ABSTRACT: At its March 14, 2024 regular meeting, the City Arts Commission approved 10 sculptures and four alternates for the exhibition within Civic Center Park, as selected through a survey of Newport Beach residents. The City Arts Commission requests the City Council's consideration and approval of the selections and alternates. If approved, the 10 Phase IX sculptures will be on display for a two-year period, with installation commencing in June 2024. RECOMMENDATIONS: a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Approve 10 sculptures and their placement and two alternate sculptures within Civic Center Park as selected by the public and recommended by the City Arts Commission for the temporary sculpture exhibit. DISCUSSION: The Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park is an integral feature of the Newport Beach Civic Center. Civic Center Park, which turned nearly half a million square feet of undeveloped land into a new public park, was designed by renowned landscape architectural firm Peter Walker and Partners (PWP). PWP developed a master plan for art in the park, and identified various spots in the park where art, particularly sculpture, may be exhibited. The City Arts Commission determined that a rotating exhibition was an optimal approach to bring sculpture to Newport Beach in a cost-efficient manner. In August 2013, the Newport Beach City Council authorized the City Arts Commission to implement an inaugural rotational sculpture exhibit in Civic Center Park. The acquisition program that the City Arts Commission developed for the exhibition created a model in which pieces are loaned for a two-year period (or phase). Sculptors of works chosen for the exhibition are provided with a small honorarium to loan their work to the City of Newport Beach. 13-1 Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX April 9, 2024 Page 2 The City is responsible for installing the art, while sculptors are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their work. Admission is free and the exhibition continues to be enjoyed by residents and guests of all ages and sensibilities. In essence, the exhibition has become a "museum without walls" that offers the temporary display of public art in a unique, natural setting. Moreover, the City is able to exhibit a well-balanced representation of public art, with artistic merit, durability, practicality and site responsiveness as criteria in the selection process. The rotational nature of the exhibit ensures that residents and guests are exposed to a variety of work. Borrowing the pieces remains a cost-effective alternative to owning and maintaining permanent public art. Since 2014, the City Arts Commission has presented eight phases of the Sculpture Exhibition, with the installation of Phase VII I occurring in June 2023. On October 24, 2023, the City Council authorized staff to reallocate funding within the total Cultural Arts Division budget to fully fund Phase IX of the Sculpture Exhibition project and its installation of 10 sculptures. The City then entered into a professional services agreement with Arts Orange County for $119,000 for Phase IX of the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park. This amount includes project coordination and management fees, in addition to sculpture installation and de -installation fees. Arts Orange County (Arts OC) was established in 1995 as the nonprofit, countywide arts council of Orange County, California. Arts OC has been recognized by the California Arts Council as a model agency based on the quality of its work and has served as the officially designated arts agency and state -local partner of the County of Orange since its inception. The Arts OC project team successfully managed all previous phases of the exhibition and has strong working relationships with the City Arts Commission and City staff. Private Funding As in previous phases, private funds will be used to augment the total cost of Phase IX. The Newport Beach Arts Foundation, the City -designated support group for the City Arts Commission, donated $10,000 toward the project. These donated funds will be used to pay a portion of the artist honorariums. Community Input Since the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park's inception, the City Arts Commission has increased public engagement by offering residents opportunities to become part of the selection process. For Phase IX, the City Arts Commission included the following elements in the process: a) As in previous phases, the City Arts Commission did not utilize an ad hoc subcommittee for Phase IX. The entire City Arts Commission reviewed the submitted pieces for inclusion in the Phase IX Sculpture Exhibition online survey, during City Arts Commission regular meetings. b) For Phase IX, the City Arts Commission turned the selection process over to the public. Through an online survey, Newport Beach residents voted for their favorite sculptures for inclusion in Phase IX. There were 10 sculptures and four alternates selected by the public. 13-2 Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX April 9, 2024 Page 3 Prior to launching the public survey, the City Arts Commission, along with a curatorial panel, consisting of arts professionals Ms. Tram Le and Mr. Alejandro "Man One" Poli, Jr., evaluated all submissions for Phase IX at the February 8, 2024, regular City Arts Commission meeting. Pieces that met the following criteria were included in the public survey: 1. Artistic Merit — the artist has strong professional qualifications, and the artwork is of high quality and demonstrates originality and artistic excellence. 2. Durability — the artwork is made of high -quality materials, requires minimal maintenance and can withstand the outdoor elements of coastal Orange County. 3. Practicality — the artwork is appropriate for audiences of all ages and does not exhibit unsafe conditions that may bear on public liability. 4. Site Appropriateness —the scale of the artwork is suitable for the environment and the artwork is suitable for viewing from all angles. Using these criteria, the City Arts Commission approved 28 submitted pieces for the public survey. The online public survey opened on February 12, 2024, and closed on March 11, 2024. The survey was publicized through Stu News on multiple occasions, included in the City Manager's Week in Review, and posted to social media and on Arts OC's website, SparkOC.com. In addition, the poll was disseminated to the 30,000+ subscribers to the Library and Cultural Arts email distribution list and the City's email subscribers for current news and topics of interest. Survey flyers and Library website banner advertisements rounded out the survey marketing. Survey participants were required to provide a valid email address, report the ZIP code of their residence, and complete a CAPTCHA security step to affirm that they were not a bot. Arts OC deleted any entries that did not provide a Newport Beach ZIP code. The poll also captured the IP address, time of voting, and type of device used to vote. Arts OC used these tools to identify potential cases of double -votes. For example, if two votes from the same IP address happened within minutes, voted for the same works, and had similar enough email addresses, Arts OC deleted one of them. If the email addresses were different enough, Arts OC deferred on the side of permitting them, since it could have been the product of multiple people voting on the same computer from the same household. After these steps were completed, the City Arts Commission had a validated total of 239 voters, casting 1,873 votes. The results are ranked in the following table. 13-3 Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX April 9, 2024 Page 4 Artist Ten Final Selections: Work Votes Public Ranking CAC Ranking Snider, Doug Gecko 120 1 14t Ambrosio, Peter Interplay 111 2 14t DeBru ne, Hilde Growing Wins 96 3 14t Blazejovsk , Vojtech Heavy Landing 88 7 1 8t Moushey Dale, Michele Natural Wonders 86 8 4 Debold, Cindy Glee 71 9 6t Cartwright, Matt Trillium Bus Stop Bench 70 10t 5 Palumbo, Giuseppe Duality 70 10t 14t Whitacre, Ron ReachingMan 70 10t 22t Daley, Catherine Millefolium 69 13t 2t Two Alternate Selections: Hassen, Peter Cycles 3: Frogs, Bees, Birds 69 13t 14t Wright, D. Yoshikawa Time and Awareness 69 13t 22t Worsham, Catherine Catalyst Compass 93 4 26t Dallal, Joyce Shout it to the Wind 91 5t 8t uckiood - Douglas, Missy & Rask, Kim BIG PUFFA (The Generator 91 5t 2t Burmood, Jacob Depth of Form 43 23 1 Saviskas, Paul Natures Theater 69 13t 26t Rench, Chris Caught U 11 68 17 12t Ghosh, Shohini Days Catch 61 18 14t Sackett, Joe Forrest Hypersonic 59 19 12t Alderman, J. Aaron Mind the Gap 56 20 14t Carollo, Reno Expression 3 54 21 26t Satow, Heath Li eia 53 22 22t Lai, Mary Dream Portal 41 24 14t Susnea Litman, Adrian Frutti di Mare 38 25 8t Schader, Brian Convergence 111 30 26 6t Kizziar, David Cubescape 23 27 8t Gornushkin, Sergey I RybaFish 14 28 22t At its March 14, 2024, regular meeting, the City Arts Commission received the public survey results. Catherine Worsham's Catalyst Compass and Joyce Dallal's Shout it to the Wind ranked fourth and tied for fifth respectively in the public survey. However, with guidance from Arts OC, the City Arts Commission agreed to exclude these two pieces from the Phase IX selections due to durability concerns of the pieces withstanding the two-year exhibition timeline. 13-4 Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX April 9, 2024 Page 5 The City Arts Commission also approved including Jacob Burmood's Depth of Form as the first alternate selection because of its first -place ranking among the City Arts Commission and Guest Juror scores. After the City Arts Commission approved the slate of 10 sculptures and four alternates, BIG PUFFA (The Generator) by artists uckiood, was withdrawn from the exhibition because the artists could not meet the scheduling, prep time, financial and delivery timeline requirements for Phase IX of the Sculpture Exhibition. Following that change, Arts OC learned and informed City staff that Jacob Burmood's Depth of Form had been committed to a different show and was no longer available for the Sculpture Exhibition. The withdrawal of these two pieces moves Millefolium, by artist Catherine Daley, into the exhibition. Pending City Council approval, installation at the proposed sites will commence on June 10, 2024, and will continue through June 27, 2024. FISCAL IMPACT: The adopted budget includes sufficient funding for Phase IX installation. It will be expensed to the Sculpture Garden Phase IX Project Account No. 01060603-811059- L2401 in the budget for the Cultural Arts Division of the Library Services Department. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. NOTICING - The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Selected Works 13-5 Attachment A - Selected Workd PHASE VII yr �"��• PHASE Vlll dr• « •• ©o o o M to ©© to a o 0 n o In 1141 Phase VII RED site numbers for incoming Phase IX artworks (except "Natural Wonders" will be sited at Phase IV location for "Spy Boy"- Lower Map 1. "Interplay" 2. "Reaching Man" 3. Site will not be used for Phase /X 4. "Duality" 5. "Growing Wings" 6. "Heavy Landing" 7. "Millefolium" 8. "Gecko" 9. "Trillium Bus Stop Bench" 10. "Natural Wonders" Placement "Spyboy" (Phase IV) in upper park (site not currently in use) 13-6 Snider, Doug (San Diego, CA) Gecko Size: 5'H x 17'W x 6'D Weight: 2,500 lbs. Medium: Concrete, Polystyrene Foam, Steel Ambrosio, Pamela (Tucson, AZ) Interplay Size: 8'x3'x2' Weight: 150 lbs. Medium: 1/4" Fabricated Steel, Alcohol Inks, Resin Coating 13-7 DeBruyne, Hilde (Cumming, IA) Growing Wings Size: 8'H x 4'W x 4'D Weight: 600 lbs. Medium: Metal, painted with Industrial Automotive Paint Blazejovsky, Vojtech (Los Altos Hills, CA) Heavy Landing Size: 451-1 x 25W x 25W Weight: 60 lbs. Medium: Metal sculpture. Made predominantly of stainless steel, with some elements of copper and brass. Finished in slate patina and pigment coloured waxes 9 h i 13-8 Moushey Dale, Michele (Edgerton, WI) Natural Wonders Size: 48" x 36" x 25" Weight: 300 lbs. Medium: Bronze Debold, Cindy (Lago Vista, TX) Glee Size: 86"H x 28"W x 12"D Weight: 50 lbs. Medium: Stainless Steel .. max. -, c,_.._ f � •:. 13-9 Cartwright, Matt (Portland, OR) Trillium Bus Stop Bench Size: 13' tall, 7' diameter footprint Weight: 450 lbs. Medium: leaves/seats and stem are cold formed mild steel pipe and flat bar, powder coated primer and finish The flower is made of aluminum tubing and flat bar, white powder coat. The flower details are stainless steel and clear amber acrylic. Palumbo, Giuseppe (Eldorado Springs, CO) Duality Size: 8'6"H x 72"L x 28"D Weight: n/a Medium: Steel/Bronze 13-10 Whitacre, Ron (Laguna Beach, CA) Reaching Man Size: 10'3" X 2' X 2' Weight: 75 lbs. (sculpture,) 35 lbs. (base) Medium: Welded Steel coated in automotive paint Daley, Catherine (Windsor, CA) Millefolium Size: 120"H x 40"W x 30"D Weight: 145 lbs. Medium: Stainless Steel, Loctite, clear caulking, barrier pad, shims, stainless concrete screws This was Alternate #2 that replaces the selection "BIG PUFFA (The Generator" and Alternate #1 "Depth of Form" which are no longer available from the artists. 0 13-11 Alternates (2) These two works will be considered to replace Recommended Selections which have withdrawn for any reason. Any Sites are TBD based upon which sites are vacated by top selections. Hassen, Peter (Sonoma, CA) Cycles 3: Frogs, Bees, Birds Size: 96"H x 96"W x 96"D Weight: 1,600 lbs. Medium: Corten steel with rust patina Public Votes: 69 Public Ranking: 13t J u ry Avg.: 4.88 Jury Ranking: 14t 13-12 Wright, D. Yoshikawa (Los Angeles, CA) Time and Awareness Size: 6'H x 6'W x 3'D Weight: 6,500 lbs. Medium: Italian marble / California black granite Public Votes: 69 Public Ranking: 13t J u ry Avg.: 4.75 Jury Ranking: 22t 13-13