TO:
Honorable Mayor Powell and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
David N. Carmany, City Manager
FROM:
Richard Gill, Director of Parks & Recreation
Gina Allen, Recreation Services Manager
Megumi Moisen, Recreation Supervisor
SUBJECT:Title
Selection of a Public Art Piece Celebrating the City's Centennial.
APPROVE
Body
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
The Cultural Arts Commission and staff recommend that the City Council approve LIGHT GATE by Mags Harries and Lajos Heder for a public art piece celebrating the City's Centennial.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The City Council approved $150,000 from the Public Art Trust fund for the Centennial Public Art Project. $20,000 was paid to the five artists for designs, maquettes, and renderings.
BACKGROUND:
During the January 3, 2012 City Council meeting, City Council approved the Centennial Public Art Project for $150,000 and also approved the formation of an art selection committee which is known as the Art in Public Places Committee as it is outlined in the Public Art Master Plan. The vision statement approved by the Commission and Council for this project is as follows: The Centennial Art Project is to create an exceptional visual experience for locals and visitors, celebrating the City's past and inspiring future generations.
DISCUSSION:
Following the direction from City Council during the January 3, 2012 meeting, the Cultural Arts Commission developed the Request for Qualification for the Centennial Art Project. The Request for Qualification was approved by the City Council on June 19, 2012. The Request for Qualification followed the guidelines set forth in the Public Art Master Plan and also mirrored the RFQ used by the County of Los Angeles Civic Art Commission which was used for the County's Manhattan Beach library art project. The following are highlights included in the Request for Qualification:
1. Project budget up to $150,000
2. Criteria for Selecting Finalists
a) Strength of past artworks with an emphasis on artwork in the public setting.
b) Experience fabricating and installing permanent artwork on time and on budget.
3. Open Call to All Artists
4. Timeline
a) Submission Deadline: August 3, 2012
b) Selection of Finalists: Mid-August, 2012
c) City Tour to Finalists: September 2012
d) Conceptual Design Submission Deadline (finalists): November 2, 2012
e) Finalists' presentation to the Cultural Arts Commission: November 13, 2012
f) City Council Design Approval (Project awarded): December 2012
g) Artwork Installation: Mid 2013
During the June 5, 2012 special meeting, the Cultural Arts Commission decided to have nine Art in Public Places Committee members consisting of five Cultural Arts Commissioners and four community members. The Commission received eight applications from the community.
On July 10, 2012, the Commission selected the following four individuals to appoint as Art in Public Places Committee members:
1. Lynn Haggard, Artist, Manhattan Beach
2. Jeanne Jackson, Artist, Manhattan Beach
3. Jim Murray, Artist, Manhattan Beach
4. Marc Pally, Artist, Public Art Consultant, Los Angeles
In late June 2012, the Request for Qualification was e-mailed to more than 1,300 artists on the roster obtained from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Art Program, and a postcard listing the website link to the Request for Qualification was mailed to approximately 80 Manhattan Beach Artists. Staff utilized the internet list serve sites such as the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network and LA Culture Net. Staff received a great response with over 160 qualified submissions.
On August 14, 2012, finalists were determined through a series of four rounds of evaluations. Round one included all Art in Public Places Committee members selecting their top 10 artists based on the criteria and project goals established in the Request for Qualification. This round ended with a total of 37 artists. Round two continued with a discussion of the artist's strengths; the Art in Public Places Committee nominated artists who were qualified for further discussion. Round two ended with 20 artists. During round three the Art in Public Places Committee sustained a discussion of the individual artist's strengths and weaknesses. The Art in Public Places Committee nominated artists who were most qualified and embodied the characteristics to design a piece for Manhattan Beach. At the conclusion of this round the Art in Public Places Committee was able to refine the artist finalists to 12. The final round included an in depth discussion of the top 12 artists and focused on the artists' body of work, resume, budgets of past work, proven experience engaging communities, and the narrative quality of their individual artworks. After heavy deliberation and consideration, the Art in Public Places Committee selected five artists to develop proposals for the Centennial Art Project. The finalists are:
Michael Davis (CA)
Matthew Geller (NY)
Harries & Hedder (MA)
Michael McMillen (CA)
Owen Morrel (NY)
On September 14, 2012, the City's Cultural Arts staff led the artist finalists on a tour of significant City sites including the Manhattan Beach Historical Society, Polliwog Park, Metlox area, Civic Plaza, Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Ardmore/Valley Drive, Veterans Parkway, and the Manhattan Beach Pier. Later that day the artists met with the Art in Public Places Committee to ask questions about the City and its history. Chris Miller, photographer for the Beach Reporter, presented a collage of photos of past Manhattan Beach events. She shared her personal history of growing up in a neighboring beach city community, answered questions regarding the past demographics of the City, and shared unique historical events that may be of interest to the artists.
In order to ensure the success of the Centennial Art Project, staff hired the expertise of a public art consultant with in-depth knowledge and experience in public art. In addition to aesthetics, art installation in public spaces contains a variety of issues including legality, public access and safety, engineering, fabrication, installation, quality control, budget and scheduling oversight, and future maintenance. Staff hired; after Council approval, Rebecca Ansert from Green Public Art Consultancy.
The five Centennial Artist Finalists were invited to present their proposals to the Art in Public Places Committee and the public on November 13, 2012. Each artist presented a conceptual design, drawings, models, images and/or computer renderings; location of the artwork, site plan; general size and scale of artwork; physical properties of artwork; project narrative; desired impact of the artwork; relationship to project goals; public access to artwork; physical properties of artwork; potential materials and methods; and potential relationships and connections to other sites. Artists were each given 45 minutes with the APPC to present their ideas and field questions from the Committee and community. At the conclusion of all the presentations, the public was permitted to comment and reflect on all of the proposals. The Art in Public Places Committee deliberated for two hours weighing the pros and cons of each proposal.
Selected Artist Proposal
Only one proposal embodied all of the qualities the Committee was seeking for the Centennial Art Project - elegant; iconic; timeless design; minimal maintenance; open for personal interpretation; representative of the community; and significant enough to commemorate the City's Centennial. Artist team, Harries Heder's Light Gate, embodies all of these qualities and was selected by the Art in Public Places Committee as the proposal they recommend to City Council for approval.
LIGHT GATE by Mags Harries and Lajos Heder:
Light Gate is sited along Highland Avenue at 14th Street, in a public plaza between City Hall and the new library. The almost 15-foot tall artwork is composed of stainless steel, glass and prismatic film, and has a large passageway through the center measuring 7' 4" H x 2' 8" W. The site-specific artwork encompasses the revered elements of Manhattan Beach: sunlight, sand and sea, and the civic center.
The artwork honors the heart of Manhattan Beach and celebrates the Centennial by connecting the City's Civic Center to the ocean's horizon. A fulcrum of city and sand, Light Gate provides a connection port/gateway from past to future; grounds the viewer at the civic center and encourages them to look out over the horizon to imagine a future of endless possibilities.
By activating a currently underutilized area, the playful artwork will constantly evolve as the light changes and will invite youth and families to walk through and around it. The project is abstract so as to allow individuals to have their own personal interpretations of the artwork, evoking a dialogue about what art is and what art can be. These qualities represented by the artist's design embody what the Art in Public Places Committee was seeking for the Centennial Art Project: elegant; iconic; timeless design; minimal maintenance; open for personal interpretation; representative of the community; and significant enough to commemorate the City's Centennial.
Art in Public Places Committee Comments:
The Committee had a few minor comments about the proposal which included a desire to locate the artwork slightly further away from the curb to allow for safer interaction in and around the artwork; further refinement of the ramp and possible integration of the artwork into the landscaping of the new plaza. The consensus of the Committee was that the artwork proposal encompassed all of the goals and objectives established at the onset of the Centennial Art Project - in addition, connects the City Civic Center with the sun, sand and ocean; encourages interaction and will stimulate dialogue; will constantly evolve as the light changes throughout the day and year; and symbolically represents transparency in government.
MAGS HARRIES and LAJOS HEDER
Rendering of artwork provided by artist
Light Gate
Attachment 1
Materials: Stainless Steel, Prismatic Film, Glass
Dimensions: 14' 11" H x 11' 8" W. Opening measures 7' 4" H x 2' 8" W.
Location: 14th Street and Highland Avenue
Artist's Statement:
The Manhattan Beach Centennial Celebration is at an important junction for the community to assess its past and anticipate its growth and change for its future. Visiting, we were struck by the challenge to find a site and a form that can act as a focal point, a fulcrum, for this transition.
Sited beside the Pacific Ocean, the beach was the original reason for the City's existence at this location. The Manhattan Beach Pier, completed in 1920, has created an enduring focus on the beach. The other evolving focal point of the City is the Civic Center, gathering in one place City Hall, the Police and Fire Safety Building, and the soon to be constructed new library. This intersection of the beach and the civic center is the site we selected for the location of our artwork.
Light Gate will be located at the top of 14th Street, between City Hall and the new library, along Highland Avenue in the new Plaza. The artwork will be made of glass laminated with prismatic lighting film that will create rich and varied light effects with the sun. Light Gate will focus the view through an opening down 14th Street to the Ocean.
It will be a place of constantly shifting light and view, more than a solid object. It will put the visitor in the center of this important nexus. As you move around and through the sculpture, it will shift unexpectedly from transparency, to prismatic refraction, to mirror reflection. The glass and steel construction playing with the sunlight will harmonize with the crystalline glass architecture of the new Library.
Mags Harries and Lajos Heder formed their collaboration in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 and have worked together on over 25 major public commissions to activate public space through art. In the collaboration, Mags Harries brings her experience as a sculptor, teacher and previous work creating public art. Lajos Heder, aside from being an artist, was trained as an architect and has worked on community projects, urban design, site planning, architecture, and construction. The artist team focuses on creating public places that have on-going practical use as well as strong metaphoric significance to connect people and communities through physical and performance art elements.
Reasons that the Other Proposals were not recommended
The following are the additional four artists' proposals. Each lacked an element that the Art in Public Places Committee was seeking.
MICHAEL DAVIS
Rendering of artwork provided by artist
Velzy Board, Aero Armillary, Adrenaline, Marathon
Attachment 2
Materials: Tnemec painted and/or anodized aluminum, gold leaf, plexiglas or laminated glass, bronze, ceramic tile
Dimensions: Sizes vary. Approximately 10' to 15' H. Minimum distance from ground is 7'.
Location: 13th Street between N. Valley Drive and Morningside Drive
Project description:
The artist selected a location, four existing poles located on 13th Street between N. Valley Drive and Morningside Drive, to be in close proximity to downtown and the ocean. Davis wanted to create an artwork that utilized wind and sun to activate the art, defined perimeters and entrance points, is iconic, and represents the story and history of the city.
The four pieces of the artwork represent the early pioneer spirit that transformed wild sand dunes into a city; the self-sufficiency of the community that started philanthropic groups such as the Neptune Club; local volunteer spirit organizing events such as the Hometown Marathon and Volleyball, Surfing and Cycling competitions; and workers who contributed to the vitality of the aerospace industry and fostered modern technology. The VELZY BOARD is a replication of a classic Dale Velzy designed longboard covered with historic imaged ceramic tiles. The surfboard is positioned on the pole to align directly towards solar south and align with the sun's path. The AERO ARMILLARY is a stylized ancient armillary sundial constructed as homage to science, technology and the aerospace industry. MARATHON is composed of five wind-activated weathervanes and is a tribute to the running athlete and reference to the city's early P.E. trolley depot deigned as a faux Greed temple. And finally, ADRENALINE, is a tribute to the community activities of the city particularly the robust and popular athletic events such as Volleyball and Cycling. It also references the city's designation as a "Vitality City." This sculpture is a stylized representation of the adrenaline molecule that wraps around the pole. In conjunction with the molecule are three gold spheres that reference the shape and modeling of competition volleyball, and a wind-activated turbine designed in the style of a racing bicycle wheel.
Michael Davis was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He currently lives and works in San Pedro, California. Michael received a Master of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton. He is a practicing studio and public artist and has exhibited nationally. Michael has public art commissions installed throughout the United States and in Japan. His work has been featured in numerous publications including Artforum, Art News, Art in America, Public Art Review, and recently in L.A.Rising, SoCal Artists before 1980.
Art in Public Places Committee comments:
Overall the committee thought the artwork closely tied to the City's history and they liked the concept of creating a civic art area. Some of the major concerns included: the artwork's proposed location which was thought to be interesting but more importantly problematic and a dead zone most of the time; the artwork was thought to be too spread out across the street intersection which made it even more difficult to find a connective thread between the four individual pieces: there was great concern that the community would not engage with the entire concept, and that the location of the artworks is too high for pedestrians. It was mutually agreed that the four proposed poles were not an ideal base for the Centennial artwork, the proposal was too representational and not abstract enough to allow for personal interpretation, and overall the artwork was not big and/or significant enough to represent the City's Centennial year.
MICHAEL MCMILLEN
Rendering of artwork provided by artist
Pacifica
Attachment 3
Materials: Bronze, stone and stainless steel
Dimensions: 17' H x 24" W
Location: Polliwog Park (between N. Valley Drive and N. Ardmore Avenue) OR NW corner of 13th Street and Morningside Drive
Project description:
The artist took direct inspiration from The Neptunian Woman's Club's shell and trident motif and reinterpreted it in bronze, stone and stainless steel. The artwork would stand 17 feet overall, with a highly detailed bronze central column mounted atop a stone and concrete foundation, curved outward at the base. The masonry pedestal is an architectural reference to the popular bungalow style of a hundred years ago. The water tumbled stones, an enlarged scale reference to the vast sand dunes that once covered this coast and upon which the town was built. The bronze column is an echo of Trajan's column of ancient Rome, but in place of the martial narrative, we see a multitude of motifs, both natural and man-made, spiraling upward that directly reference the local history. The overall effect is of a rotating time line, nature and history expressed as a turning continuum. Maritime, sports, aerospace, Metlox, rail heritage and other references, all leading upward to a solitary bungalow, supported by history and symbolic of the community. Out of the roof emerges a sailor's coiled rope which continues the spiral upward around a stainless steel lance that supports the dates and terminates with Neptune's Trident, symbol of the ancient god of the seas and the founding visionaries of this seaside community.
Since 1973 Michael McMillen has been working in the medium of installation art as a means of directly involving the viewer in the art experience. His work has often used architectural references to transport the viewer into realms of metaphor and open narrative, where they become active participants. In addition to installations, McMillen also makes constructions and paintings to investigate the intertwined themes of time, change and illusion. The artist has always been attracted to the cast-offs of our material society, and continues to incorporate such materials in the ongoing search to find visual/spiritual poetry.
Art in Public Places Committee comments:
The Committee particularly liked the intricate bronze work proposed by the artist but was concerned that the design of the base would prevent visitors from getting up close to see the bronze detail. Overall concerns were that the artwork would be dated immediately upon installation which didn't embrace the Centennial Art Project's goal to inspire future generations. It was agreed that the proposal was too literal and closely matched the existing Neptunian Women's Club sculpture which did not allow room for personal interpretation; it did not represent the significance of the Centennial project; and it did not accurately represent the sophisticated Manhattan Beach community.
MATTHEW GELLER
Rendering of artwork provided by artist
Buoy, Buoy
Attachment 4
Materials: Painted galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum, LED lights, gravel, geoweb, rubber, creeping phlox
Dimensions: 25' H x 16' W
Location: Veterans Parkway (east side) near an intersection such as Ardmore and 2nd Street
Project description:
This project is designed to be a Manhattan Beach destination partially camouflaged by the landscape along the Veterans Parkway. It is shaped like a buoy, now repurposed as a gazebo and observatory. The overall structure is designed to elicit many City highlights: the ocean, the pier, the weather and a strong community spirit. The location of the artwork connects the past and the present - the site of the former Santa Fe rail line converted to a scenic green belt. Up to a dozen people can sit on the circular bench and converse, look out toward the ocean, view the surrounding nature, or gaze up at the clouds or stars above. An oversized wheel on the center column allows people to move the umbrella-like canopy. On top of the canopy sits a yellow whirligig which will spin in the wind. At night, a 4-cupped aerometer, a common sight on buoys, provides power to light a beacon atop the structure. The faster the winds speed, the brighter the beacon.
Matthew Geller is particularly drawn to overlooked or underutilized environments. It is in these environments that he teases out small fragments of narrative by augmenting or amplifying the raw materials of a given place. He asks the viewer to engage with both what was always there as well as what might be. With all of his work he sets out to engage the public and foster a sense of community. The works are playful, accessible-and very often unexpected. Matthew Geller lives and works in New York City.
Art in Public Places Committee comments:
The Committee unanimously agreed that they liked the artist's intention of encouraging community interaction through the artwork design, overall scale of the artwork, and the artist's flexibility in selecting the final color palate. Overall the Committee struggled to find a connection between the Centennial Art Project goals and the artwork's design; the selection of site was not visible and/or powerful enough; and there was major concern about long-term maintenance with all of the gears and moving parts.
OWEN MORREL
Rendering of artwork provided by artist
BUOY MB90266
Attachment 5
Materials: Aluminum, concrete, LED light
Dimensions: 20' H x 8' W
Location: North side of intersection of Valley/Ardmore and Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Project description:
Manhattan Beach reminded the artist's childhood living in a small seaside town on Long Island. From his bedroom he could see the ocean and a distant lighthouse tower. He spent many summers fishing with his father in Montauk Point and was inspired by the long line trawlers at the docks as they returned with the catch at the end of the day. One of the first things he learned while working on the boat was how to look for the buoys marking the deep-water channels. He learned where the buoys were and how they marked the channel out to sea and perhaps most importantly, back to homeport. The imagery of the buoy and guiding light become a powerful and comforting image which the artist associated with home. In this design, the buoy marks the entrance gateway for Manhattan Beach and symbol of returning home.
Over the past thirty years the operative words in Owen Morell's artwork have been simplicity and light. He measures success of a public artwork in how the artwork relates to the context in which it is sited, surrounding landscape and physical environment, and those who travel through the site. To accomplish this, the sculpture must be sufficiently open-ended and substantially empty of self-importance to encourage viewers to become participants in the creative act.
Art in Public Places Committee comments:
The Committee like this artwork in terms of an art piece and was particularly drawn to the artist's connection between creating, an artwork to symbolize the safe way home. The Committee was divided on marking the artists proposed site City's entry point/gateway. Overall the Committee had great difficulty in connecting the buoy image to Manhattan Beach because the City is not a port town; the simplistic, whimsical, and representational artwork does not relate to the community of Manhattan Beach.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, staff recommends that City Council approves Light Gate by Mags Harries and Lajos Heder at the City's Centennial Art piece.
Attachments:
1. Artist Rendering - "Light Gate" by Mags Harries and Lajos Heder
2. Artist Rendering - "Velzy Board, Aero Armillary, Adrenaline, Marathon" by Michael Davis
3. Artist Rendering - "Pacifica" by Michael McMillen
4. Artist Rendering - "Buoy, Buoy" by Matthew Geller
5. Artist Rendering - "Buoy MB90266" by Owen Morrel