Minutes
Public Art Commission
September 17, 2014
 
Attendance
Commissioners: Bussell, Friend, Garrington, Clark, Hepford, Seltzer (staff),
 
Absent:
Slattery, council liaison
 
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. 
 
Minutes: Minutes of the August and September special meeting were approved with corrections
 
Citizen Issues
Roy Laird – Book Exchange
Mr. Laird had requested to be on the agenda to address the PAC.  He did not come to the meeting.  The PAC briefly discussed the graphic on the exterior wall of the Book Exchange and agree that they do not have the authority or process to make a recommendation about pre-existing wall graphics.  They agree this is a decision for the City Council.
 
Barry and Katharine Thalden
They are very interested in public art in Ashland and feel a brochure showing information and locations of public art in Ashland would be a useful tool for visitors and citizens.  He has been in touch with the Chamber of Commerce and would like the Public Art Commission to collaborate with the Chamber on this project.  He provided an example of a brochure produced by SOU and the Schneider Museum and a list of public art in Ashland.
 
Public Art Inventory
Creating an inventory of public art and developing an online resource is one of the three goals identified by the PAC in their Three Year Goal/Work.
 
They discussed Mr. Thalden’s proposal and agree a hard copy guide is useful though becomes dated quickly.  They agree there needs to be a distinction between items that are ‘Public Art’ and part of the public art collection and items that are of ‘Artistic Interest’ but not part of the collection.
 
They also agreed that each piece of public art needs to include the title, the artist, the installation date, and the medium and requested to see a mock-up of the guide when it is available.  They also asked if the Chamber would share the photos that have been taken.
 
Motion: Move to collaborate with the Chamber and Thaldens on developing a paper guide to public art in Ashland.  Garrington/Friend.  Motion passes.
 
Seltzer will notify the Chamber and Mr. Thalden of the decision and provide the information that relates to the public art collection.
 
Further discussion centered on creating a story board of public art in Ashland similar to the example sent by Jason Wegner (city GIS).  Seltzer will provide Jason with the information.
 
All agreed to continue to gather images of items that might be considered items of artistic interest that will ultimately be included in the PAC public art guide.  Garrington noted as an example the front rock wall in Lithia Park.
 
Friend noted it was time to update the Three Year Workplan and offered to schedule a work session at her house in the upcoming months.
 
Gateway Update
The PAC reviewed the draft documents to be sent to the selected artists including a cover letter from Garrington and a compilation of public input.
 
The PAC agreed to keep the dates originally stated in the RFQ to review the selected artists’ concepts in the fall of 2015 and not move it earlier to the spring as was previously discussed.
 
It was requested to add a link to the online comments and include photos of the Gateway .
 
Public Art on pathway between Thomas Theatre and East Main
Friend provided an overview of the request of the Downtown Beautification Improvement committee with approval of the City Council for the PAC to oversee the commissioning and installation of public art adjacent to the horizontal wall of Earthly Goods.
 
Seltzer has requested a topographic survey of the area to determine exactly city owned property.  PAC will focus on developing their vision statement for that space to be included in the RFP/RFQ.
 
It was noted that a number of the artists that provided submissions for the Gateway project would be qualified for this project.
 
Utility Box
In response to the PAC request, Seltzer has included an approval step in the artist contract.  Artist must notify the PAC when the piece is finished.  PAC will review the work to ensure it matches the approved design.  Artist will receive final payment pending PAC approval.
 
Mural Process Review
Due to time constraints this item was deferred to the October meeting.
 
Meeting adjourned at 10:00.