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<,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, [email protected]
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.
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Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX
April 9, 2024
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.
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Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX
April 9, 2024
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
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.
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Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park — Phase IX
April 9, 2024
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
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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)
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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
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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 � •:.
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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
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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
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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
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