HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PAC-2015-02-25Approved by PAC – 3/25/15
Public Art Commission
Minutes
February 25, 2015
Present: Jessica Shurberg, Jay Potter, Sally Grubb, Samantha Hillson, Megan Wilson,
Councilperson Cynthia Brock*, Gary Ferguson
* Cynthia Brock introduced herself to the commission as the new Common Council
representative. Cynthia has spoken with Eric Whitney in the past about putting a mural on
the water tank at West Village. The tank is on City property, but it is important to achieve
participation and buy-in from the residents and management of West Village.
Public: Blake Fall-Conroy
1. Additions/Deletions:
Addition of “Alternative Foliage” proposal, Nicholas Lawson Carbonaro
2. Public Comment:
Blake is present to observe the meeting. Update about Mayor’s office installation,
1,110 texts, all pertinent issues/comments.
3. Approval of November 2014 minutes
4. Murals
a. Manimal Friends, Ramiro Davaro-Comas (Brooklyn, NY)
Proposal for giraffes to be primary focus of mural, artist will provide funding
Proposed locations are already reserved for other murals, so we need to determine
another location. PAC will discuss locations through email to discuss at next
meeting. We need file of wall locations from Caleb.
Some members find giraffes spooky and unappealing. Interest in some of the artist’s
other manimals (owl, hippos, zebras).
Discussion about having this mural in a stairwell or on a park building.
Megan will contact artist and perhaps we can have a conference call at next meeting.
b. Alternative Foliage, Nicholas Lawson Carbonaro (Ithaca, NY)
Artist is requesting funding for materials
Need to determine location
Positive feedback from board
c. Another 21 Boxes
Jessica will clean off Cayuga and Tompkins box
State and Stewart box will have to wait for warmer weather, but hopefully artist will
complete. Jay has been in communication
d. Additional discussion about mural process:
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Blake suggested that the list of approved walls be posted clearly on the City website
and referenced in the application
Megan will work with Caleb to get the list on the City website.
Currently, the list is available on Facebook on Ithacans for Public Art
Agreement that we should make this information more transparent and available
5. Other Business:
a. PAC Structure and Support
Areas that need support include grants/funding, web design, outreach
Discussion about expanding and formalizing Ithacans for Public Art (IPA), vision to
incorporate sculpture, landscape/earthworks, dance, music, light, sound. Gary will
speak to John Spence about using the CAP space for an initial meeting to see if we
can recruit my interested people to become involved.
Blake commented that the PAC meeting does not feel open to the public, process
seems cloudy, and he has difficulty understanding why we can’t find artists who will
create art for free
Discussion from PAC board that we need to consider funding because some artists
cannot afford to create pieces for free. Our intention is to support public art in
Ithaca and we are constantly working to streamline the process and make it
consistent for all artists. The meetings are always open to the public and we welcome
public comment. For each new piece selected, a public comment opportunity is
given to all properties surrounding the potential piece. We hope more people attend
our meetings in the future.
Meeting time could be revisited, but the PAC meetings have been at different times
throughout the years and no one time has led to an increase in public participation.
d. Art in the Heart (due to time restraint, we skipped to this item)
Gary gave an overview of the timeline and structure for this year’s event
Temporary sculpture in downtown Ithaca
There will be two categories: juried who will receive a small stiped and by invitation
who will receive a larger stipend
DIA will purchase one piece from the juried pieces selected for display
The due date for application will be April 15, 2015
The exhibit will be from mid-June to November
e. Additional Discussion
Commons Project Committee should revisit mural discussion for newly installed
electrical boxes. Perhaps an M&T Bank grant could be applied for this initiative if
there is interest.
Arts Market on the Commons: Cynthia suggested having an arts market in Ithaca,
similar to arts markets in plazas throughout the world. There was agreement and
interest from others. Perhaps this could be in conjunction with First Friday Gallery
nights, during the day. Jay suggested contacting the organizers for the Red Wagon
Art Market and the CAP art market at the Farmers’ Market.
Light Wave Bench: Jay updated the committee about the Lightwave bench that was
initially donated to the City. The bench will be installed at the Cornell Plantations in
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2/25/15
the near future. Suggestion to continue to work on outreach to students in the future
who may be interested in donating art. Outreach to Cornell and IC art departments.
Endowment for maintenance of public art in the City. Cynthia explained that the
City can receive money for maintenance and it would be kept in a separate account.
Perhaps a percentage for maintenance can be included in future grant/funding
opportunities.
County Room Tax: We should talk to Tom Knipe about public art being included in
the projects supported by beautification funds.
Meeting was adjourned.