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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Public Art Selection Committee - 06/11/2019 South Burlington Public Art Committee 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4107 www.SouthBurlingtonVT.gov facebook.com/CityCenterSouthBurlington Meeting Minutes for the Tuesday, June 11, 2019 5:30 PM meeting in the Summit Room, 575 Dorset Street In Attendance: Trice Stratmann (Chair), Jennifer Kochman, Jean-Sebastien Chaulot (Vice-Chair), Amanda Holland, Penne Tompkins, Michele Bailey (Vermont Council on the Arts) Also in Attendance: Ilona Blanchard (Staff), Michael Mittag 1. Call to order Trice Stratmann called the meeting to order at 5:37 PM. No changes were made to the agenda. 1. Public Comments No public comments were made. 2. Other Business Trice Stratmann reported on her attendance at the Creative Communities Exchange. She noted that her impression is that the South Burlington community is unaware of the arts in the community or the activities of the committee. She felt that it was important that the community understand what the committee does. She reported on several of the sessions that she attended. Michele Bailey also attended and talked about the difference between a cultural and a public art plan. Jennifer Kochman described the Consensus polling project and that the committee could put a question on Consensus. The Committee discussed conducting outreach at events, public art ascension and descension, cultural planning, and SEABA. 3. Minutes The draft minutes for January 8, March 3, April 23, May 16, and May 20 were presented and Jennifer Kochman moved that they be approved, Penne Tompkins seconded the motion and all were approved. 4. Other Business; continued Jean-Sebastian, Jennifer Kochman and Ilona Blanchard presented briefly on the recent committee leadership meeting. The City is working with committees to have better documentation and processes and has set up a google drive committee repository for resource documents. This year the Annual Report of the Committee’s activities will be due August 16. A work plan for the upcoming year is also due August 16. Each work plan item will need to be linked to a comprehensive plan goal. The Committee is also asked to save the date for September 26th for a Committee Symposium. At the Symposium, the Committee will need to present to the City Council and also create a poster. This is an opportunity for committees to learn what other committees are working on. 5. Discussion – 180 Market Street Public Art The Committee began with a discussion of the pluses and minuses that they saw for each piece. Check it Out – on the minus side, the work didn’t feel unique once all the images were viewed together, the sculptures began to feel similar. The piece, at four feet, did not seem very big. On the plus side, the permanence of stone is great, and that it is part of and relates to the whole building space, not just the Library. The public responded positively to the piece, although not to the face. It is a nice contrast to the building. A bench would be nice, but not sure if this is the one. It is great from one member’s perspective who has a toddler. Michelle asked if they thought the artist would work with the committee to revise the design to make it more “South Burlington”. It seemed like she would. A negative was that she showed so many benches, and it seemed that this was not at all a unique piece. The committee understood that the stone needed to be from Colorado, but thought it would relate more to the community if it were local stone. A Momentous Clock – on the minus side, not crazy about the location – that it is in the library, that it is so close to the ceiling, that it is inside. It is also very busy, although the artist said he was amenable to simplifying the design. On the plus side, a clock is a great feature for a public building. Could it be outside? Could it be reimagined for the exterior? Bloom – On the plus side, it would be great in a smaller place. Its very cool. It doesn’t seem to match the space as well, it might look nicer as a chandelier or a mobile, or in the other stair. While liked very much, did not seem to be as good a fit for the space. Light – On the plus side, interesting technology, modern, has text, fits with the building, great public outreach process, good taste, will change with light. On the negative, layers are distracting, aesthetically not a favorite of one member (maybe the colors?), design looks so good with the building, will it disappear over time? Can be multilingual. Could it be wider? It will be very narrow at the bottom, and the widest part in the light well. The Committee then reviewed the goals of the project and took a straw poll. Penne Tompkins motioned to recommend the City “contract for design with Phillip Godenschwager as the artist for the project”. Amanda Holland seconded. The Committee discussed the recommendation. Ilona pointed out that the Committee could not select the artist, but could recommend to the City Council that the artist be selected. The Committee discussed that it would prefer to consult with the artist to see them work on their design prior to recommending to the City Council. The motion passed with all in favor, with Michele Bailey abstaining. 6. Next Meeting The next meeting will be July 9 at 5:30 PM. 7. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.