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<,FORN'P City Council Staff Report
February 8, 2022
Agenda Item No. 9
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director - 949-717-3801, [email protected]
PREPARED BY: Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director,
[email protected]
PHONE: 949-717-3810
TITLE: Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase VII /_1 16"t I:7_T91 6
At its January 13, 2022, regular meeting, the City Arts Commission approved 10 sculptures and four alternates for exhibition within the 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 public selections and alternates. If approved, the 10 Phase VII sculptures will be on display for a two-year period, with installation commencing in June 2022.
RECOMMENDATION:
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 the 10 sculptures and their placement and four 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 the City of Newport Beach (City) 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. 9-1
Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase VII
February 8, 2022
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. 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, naturalistic 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 of work. 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 six phases of the Sculpture Exhibition, with the completion of Phase VI in June 2021. On September 28, 2021, the City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with Arts Orange County for $119,000 for Phase VII of the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park. This amount includes project coordination and management fees, in addition to installation and de -installation fees.
Arts Orange County was established in 1995 as the nonprofit, countywide arts council of Orange County, California. Arts Orange County 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 Orange County 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, the City Arts Commission utilized private funds to augment the total cost of Phase VI I. The Newport Beach Arts Foundation, the City designated support group for the City Arts Commission, has donated $20,000 toward the project. These donated funds will be used to pay 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 VII, the City Arts Commission revamped the selection process and corresponding public survey by integrating the following elements into the process:
a) As in previous phases, the City Arts Commission did not utilize an ad hoc subcommittee for Phase VII. The entire City Arts Commission reviewed the submitted pieces for the Phase VII Sculpture Exhibition online survey, in public, during City Arts Commission regular meetings.
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Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park – Phase VII
February 8, 2022
b) For Phase VII, the City Arts Commission turned the selection process over to the public. Through the online survey, Newport Beach residents voted for their favorite sculptures and selected the pieces for inclusion in Phase VII. The 10 sculptures and four alternates were selected entirely by the public.
Prior to launching the public survey, the City Arts Commission, along with a curatorial panel, consisting of arts professionals May Sun and Brian Peterson, evaluated all submissions for Phase VII at the December 9, 2021, regular City Arts Commission meeting. Only pieces that met the following criteria were included in the public survey:
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 25 submitted pieces for the survey.
The online public survey launched on December 10, 2021, and closed on January 10, 2022. The survey was publicized through advertisements in the Daily Pilot and Stu News, Sparks OC, press releases, social media postings, and on Next Door. In addition, the poll was disseminated to the 19,000+ subscribers to the Library and Cultural Arts email distribution list.
Survey participants were required to provide a valid email address, report the ZIP code of their residence, and complete a reCAPTCHA security step to affirm that they were not a bot. There were 390 successfully logged entries, registering a total of 1,084 votes. This correlates strongly with the 1,091 votes received for Phase VI.
Arts Orange County 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 Orange County 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 Orange County deleted one of them. If the email addresses were different enough, Arts Orange County 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.
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Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase VII
February 8, 2022
After these steps were completed, the City Arts Commission had a validated total of 346 voters, casting 985 votes. The results are ranked below:
Artist Work
Ten Final Selections:
Gray, Craig A Novel Idea
Votes
Public
Rank
I CAC
Rank
85 1
N/A
Landis, Stephen
Got Juice
70 2
1 Burton, Tyler
The Archaeology of the Everyday
67 3
3 (tie)
Buck, Miggy
David
63 4
3 (tie)
Sackett, Joe Forrest
Eve
56 5
17 Elliot, Marguerite
Where Have All the Birds Gone?
56 6
2 DeShong, Tim
Cross -Section
51 7
6 (tie)
Ferguson, Lisa & Robert
Prey
48 8
6 (tie)
Seese, Kirk Pluma Sculptura, aka "The Feather"
Mueller, Greg Pathway Parabola
Four Alternate Selections:
Alex To the Moon
Sterling -Randall, Jaydon Integration
'Darkeem, Dennis-Redmoon Calling the Four Winds
IBenefiel, Joan Hoodoos
Susnea Litman, Adrian Magic Birds
43 9
N/A
40 10
14 (tie)
39 11
14 (tie)
37 34
34 12
13 14
9 (tie)
20 (tie)
9 (tie)
32 15
20 (tie)
Hassen, Peter
Cycles 3: Frogs, Bees & Birds, 2020
31 16
3 (tie)
Vader, Patricia
TAKE HEART
29 17
9 (tie)
Gornushkin, Sergey
Chimpish
28 18
27 Babcock, Matt
Hart, Tonya
Calderon, Rude
Cerberus
Tidal Axis
25 23
22 19
18 (tie)
20 20 (tie)
Introspection
21 8
Rieman, Steven L.
Man & Woman of Steel
22 22
29 Beck, Nicole
Asteray
21 23
14 Panziera, Dominic &
Garofalo, Daniela
(ARTECLETTICA)
Individuality n.2
Endangered Fossils
19 24
20 (tie)
Modrak, Judith
10 25
18 (tie)
Craig Gray's A Novel Idea was initially rejected by the City Arts Commission on the basis that it is a mass-produced piece. However, at the December 9 Arts Commission meeting, Arts OC confirmed that Mr. Gray produces unique versions of the piece, both in design and content, and the Arts Commission agreed to include the piece in the public survey.
Mr. Gray will customize the sculpture for Newport Beach and has requested a list of book titles that can be integrated into the work. The piece, Pluma Sculptura, by Kirk Seese, was also initially rejected by the Arts Commission for similar reasons to A Novel Idea, but the Arts Commission ultimately decided to include it after receiving confirmation from Arts OC that Pluma Sculptura is a unique piece.
Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase VII
February 8, 2022
As in previous phases of the exhibition, the City Arts Commission approved four alternate pieces, also selected by the public. These alternates will be used if any of the 10 winning pieces are withdrawn from the exhibition.
Pending City Council approval, Public Works staff, Cultural Arts staff, Arts Orange County, and representatives from the City Arts Commission will walk Civic Center Park and review proposed sites prior to installation. Installation will commence on June 1 and will continue through June 11.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The adopted budget includes sufficient funding for the Phase VII sculpture installation. It will be funded from General Fund resources appropriated in the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park Phase VII Project Account No. 01060603-811059-1-2201. The donated funds of $20,000 are available for artist honorariums in Account No. 01060603-811059.
Both accounts are included 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
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ATTACHMENT A — Selected Works
1. Gray, Craig
(Key West, FL)
A Novelldeo
Medium: Granite
Public Ranking: 1 (85 Votes)
Jury Ranking: n/a (eligibility)
• o
2. Landis, Stephen
(Loveland, CO)
Got Juice
Medium: Fiberglass, Steel, Concrete
Public Ranking: 2 (70votes)
Jury Ranking: 1(6.22/7)
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3. Burton, Tyler
(Palm Springs, CA)
The Archeology of the Everyday
Medium: Concrete, Resin, Hydrostone, Plastics,
House Paint
Public Ranking: 3 (67 votes)
Jury Ranking: 3 (tie) (5.78/7)
I
Buck, Miggy. David. Slide 1 of 2.
Buck, Miggy. David. Slide 2 of 2.
Sackett, Joe Forrest. Eve. Slide 1 of 2.
Sackett, Joe Forrest. Eve. Slide 2 of 2.
A
Elliot, Marguerite
(Fairfax, CA)
Where Have A11 The Birds Gone?
Medium: Steel, Powder Coated Pain
Public Ranking: 5 (tie) (56 votes)
Jury Ranking: 2 (6.00/7)
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7. DeShong, Tim
(Ca ratunk, ME)
Cross -Section
Medium: White Marble
Public Ranking: 7 (51 votes)
Jury Ranking: 6 (tie) (5.33/7)
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91 Ferguson, Mr. and Mrs.
(Alameda, CA)
Prey
Medium: Steel tubing frame, steel plate
base and plinth, sheet steel wing
structure, high density foam body,
concrete skin with embedded pennies,
nickels and dimes for feathers. Brass
beak, glass eyes
Public Ranking: 8 (48 votes)
Jury Ranking: 6 (tie) (5.33/7)
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0 Seese, Kirk. Pluma Sculptura aka The Feather. Slide 1 of 2. �e
5 l4c �
Je
.� .
Seese, Kirk. Pluma Sculptura aka The Feather. Slide 2 of 2.
Mueller, Greg. Pathway Parabola. Slide 1 of 2.
ALTERNATE
G, Alex r.
(Vista, CA) ra'
To The Moon
Medium: Corten Steel, polished
Stainless Steel
Public Ranking: 11 (39 votes)
Jury Ranking: 14 (tie) (4.56/7)
OUNIIIIII
n*�
• The Moon.
or
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ALTERNATE
Sterling -Randall, Jaydon
(Vista, CA)
Integration
Medium: Corten Steel
Public Ranking: 12 (37 votes)
Jury Ranking: 9 (tie) (5.11/7)
mftdbhlh.4A
9-17
ALTERNATE
Benefiel, Joan
(Brooklyn, NY)"` >
Hoodoos
Medium: Solid Cast Resin, Corten Steele
tlb
Public Ranking: 13 (tie) (34 votes)
Jury Ranking: 9 (tie) (5.11/7)
Benefiel, Joan. Hoodoos. Slide 1 of 2.
• S
ALTERNATE
Darkeem, Dennis-Redmoon
(Bronx, NY)
Calling the Four Winds -
Medium: Wood
Public Ranking: 13 (tie) (34 votes)
Jury Ranking: 20 (tie) (4.22/7)
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