DATE:
October 18, 2022
TO:
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
FROM:
Charles S. Bryant, Community Development Director
SUBJECT:
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Approving The Purchase Of Artwork For The City’s Annual Purchase Award Program Entitled “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle” By Emeryville Artist Ken Kalman With Funding Of Up To $26,100 From The Public Art Fund (Fund 243) For The Purchase And Installation Of The Artwork, And Acknowledging Cesar Cuerva And Tali Grinshpan As The First And Second Honorable Mentions Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution to purchase artwork for the City’s Annual Purchase Award Program. The artwork is entitled “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle” by Emeryville artist Ken Kalman. The estimated cost to purchase and install the artwork is $26,100, including a purchase price of $14,200 and an estimate of $3,000 for installation by the artist as well as $8,900 in other administrative costs, which is available in the budget of the Public Art Fund (Fund 243) for Fiscal Year 2022-2023, previously approved by the City Council.
Background
The 36th Annual Emeryville Celebration of the Arts Exhibition (Exhibition) opened on October 7, 2022 and will run through October 30, 2022. For the past sixteen years, the City’s Purchase Award Program has supported the Exhibition through the purchase of artwork for display in City facilities. The intent of the City’s Purchase Award Program is to build the City’s permanent art collection through acquisition of artworks on an annual basis from the Emeryville Celebration of the Arts Exhibition. The program is also intended to highlight the City’s commitment to the arts and its local artistic community and improve visitors’ experiences in public facilities. Potential sites for this year’s Purchase Award artwork include City Hall, Emeryville Center of Community Life, and the Senior Center. As participants in the Exhibition are either residents or employees working in Emeryville, the Purchase Award reflects the talents and abilities of those within Emeryville.
Selection Panel
On September 20, 2022, the City Manager appointed a five-person Selection Panel, with an alternate for each panelist, based on the September 8, 2022 recommendation of the Public Art Committee (PAC). The members of the Selection Panel are: 1) Xan Walker as the PAC member; 2) Ronald Davis as a community member; 3) Charmin Roundtree-Baaqee as outside arts professional; 4) Albert Repola as Emeryville Celebration of the Arts (ECA) Board Representative; and 5) Josie Ahrens as City staff representative. The Selection Panel alternates are: 1) Vickie Jo Sowell, PAC member; 2) Robbie Kennedy, community member; 3) Donna Napper outside arts professional; 4) Francis Gaston, ECA, and 5) Rebecca Sermeno, City staff representative. The Selection Panel convened on October 6, 2022, to review the artworks installed at the Exhibition that are available for sale and for consideration for the Purchase Award, and to make a recommendation of artwork to be purchased by the City.
Selection Process
The Selection Panel began the process with review of the existing collection in City Hall and the Senior Center and available spaces in and around the facilities. Additionally, the Selection Panel reviewed the potential sites for art at the Emeryville Center of Community Life. Potential sites at each facility included those reviewed by the PAC at its September 8, 2022 meeting.
Potential sites at each facility include:
City Hall
Interior
Wall adjacent to the stairwell from 1st to 2nd floor in City administration building under a south-facing window (below the 2020 purchase) Wall and landing in stairwell from 2nd to 3rd Floor
Wall above the staff entry on north side of staff area on the 2nd floor (requires relocation of a poster) Lobby area floor spaces, appropriate for a stand-alone sculpture or an artwork in a covered vitrine Entries from east to Old Town Hall on 1st and 2nd floor (small wall on western end of link, requires donated pieces to be relocated).
Exterior
Front landscape
Rear courtyard
Senior Center
First floor ballroom wall niche (clock cubby)
Wall area to the north of the entry lobby (a small niche) East and south walls of the second-floor multi-purpose room, including a large wall (south side) made available by operational changes in the Senior Center Emeryville Center of Community Life
Senior Lounge walls
Aquatic Center Lobby (assuming appropriate materials)
Panelists then convened at the Exhibition site to review all works available for purchase. The Selection Panel members provided a score on a sheet listing each artwork that was available for consideration. To avoid conflicts of interest, works being shown by current members of the PAC, City Council, and City staff or consultants were not considered for the 2022 Purchase Award. Other art not considered for purchase included works that were not available for sale, works created by artists whose work has been purchased through the Purchase Award Program in the last five years, and artwork whose dimensions would not fit into the potentially available locations.
In the first round of selection, the members of the Selection Panel individually viewed the eligible works among over 150 artworks by 93 artists available for purchase and selected their top five choices. This process resulted in a short list of 20 art works. In the second round, the Selection Panel reviewed and discussed the short-listed art works and looked for works endorsed by more than one panelist. Art works were further short-listed if a majority of selection panel members voted to include them in the third round of ranking. After the second round, eight art works remained under consideration. After reviewing and discussing all of the short-listed works, five semi-finalists were nominated by the Panel. These semi-finalists were then scored individually. Scoring resulted in the three top ranked finalists for the purchase recommendation, with Ken Kalman’s “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle” and Cesar Cuerva’s “Manongs: Straight Outta Delano” and “Pinay Power”, both receiving 91 points. Tali Grinshpan received 87 points for her work “Explore” and was recommended for First Honorable Mention.
The Panel recommended all of the works by both Ken Kalman and Cesar Cuerva for purchase. The Panel did not recommend a site for installation, noting that the relatively smaller pieces allowed for some versatility in locations, including an exterior location, if feasible for Mr. Kalman’s pieces. The artist will be consulted to determine preferred conditions and methods for installation among a short list of options.
Discussion
At its meeting held on October 6, 2022, the PAC discussed the Selection Panel’s recommendations and voted to endorse its recommendation to purchase Ken Kalman’s “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle”, and to recommend Cesar Cuerva for First Honorable Mention and Tali Grinshpan for Second Honorable Mention, and to forward these modified recommendations from the Selection Panel to the City Council for approval.
Artwork Description
The recommended Purchase Award is “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle” by Ken Kalman. The sculptural works, made of copper and rivets, have attachment pieces for mounting to a wall. The copper is expected to develop a patina over the life of the works, adding visual interest. Mr. Kalman’s robust body of work includes numerous installations in exterior spaces. The recommended works measure 10˝x20˝x28˝, 12˝x12˝x36˝, 12˝x20˝x30˝, and 24˝x16˝x4˝ and were completed in 2022. The purchase prices of the individual pieces range from $3,200 to 3,800, and the price for the set is $14,200.
The First Honorable Mention artworks are by artist Cesar Cuerva and are entitled ““Manongs: Straight Outta Delano” and “Pinay Power””. The works are 16”x16” and 16”x24”, respectively. The purchase prices of the artworks are $200 and $250.
The Second Honorable Mention work is by artist Tali Grinshpan and is entitled “Explore”. The works are five small vessels made of glass, and collectively measure 4˝x10˝x3˝. The purchase price of the artwork $750.
Images of the artworks and biographies of the artists are in Attachment 1.
Next Steps
Following the purchase of the works by the City and the conclusion of the Exhibition, staff will work with the artist to install the artwork. A plaque will be installed near the artwork naming the artist, artwork title, and medium, and indicating its inclusion in Emeryville’s permanent art collection. A reception is planned for early December in coordination with the artist.
Fiscal Impact
Funds from the Public Art Fund (Fund 243) have been utilized for the project’s administrative expenses and are proposed for the remainder of the purchase’s costs. The cost of purchase of the artwork is $14,200. Installation costs are estimated at $3,000 assuming some cost saving from working directly with the artist for installation. Administrative costs include $6,300 consulting services, $1,400 for the reception event and outreach, and $1,200 in plaque and stipend costs, for a total of up to $26,100.
The Public Art Fund’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23 includes sufficient funds to cover these costs.
Staff Communication with the Public
As noted above, on October 6, 2022, the PAC reviewed and approved the Selection Panel’s recommendation to purchase Ken Kalman’s artwork “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle” for installation, and modified the Panel’s recommendation to also purchase Cesar Cuerva’s “Manongs: Straight Outta Delano” and “Pinay Power” and to acknowledge Tali Grinshpan’s “Explore” as an Honorable Mention, to instead acknowledge the works by Cesar Cuerva and Tali Grinshpan as the First and Second Honorable Mentions respectively.
Conflict of Interest
City staff and PAC and City Council members and their spouses are precluded from consideration in the Purchase Award Program, as are artists whose work was purchased through the Purchase Award Program from 2017 through 2021.
ConclusioN
The Purchase Award of 2022 will continue a sixteen-year tradition of supporting local artists through purchase by the City. This program and the Sharon Wilchar Bus Shelter Temporary Art Program are the City’s only art programs specifically supporting Emeryville residents and workers. Support for local artists was confirmed as a top goal in the 2016 Public Art Master Plan. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution approving the purchase of “Ant, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Stag Beetle” by Emeryville artist Ken Kalman and acknowledging Cesar Cuerva and Tali Grinshpan as the First and Second Honorable Mentions.
PREPARED BY: Amber Evans, Community & Economic Development Coordinator II REVIEWED BY: Chadrick Smalley, Deputy Director of Community Development Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
Attachments
Artwork Images and Artists’ Biographies
Draft Resolution
2022 Purchase Award
| October 18, 2022
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM