Jan 28, 2021 Public Art Committee on 2021-01-28 12:00 PM

We'll go ahead and open the January 28th meeting. Let's do roll. Monet Franklin is here. Michelle Lynn? Here. Meredith Ewing? Here. Alicia Egert is absent. Jody Ismert is absent. Fred Nicholson? Yes, he's absent. Terry Nobles? Here. Ed Steele? He's not on yet. And Georgina Ngozi? I'm assuming she's absent. No, she's got on mute. She's trying to find her mute button. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Here I am. I was trying to find that mute button. And agenda item number one is to consider approval of the minutes of December 4, 2020. If we're ready, I'll go ahead and approve them. I mean, I'll put the motion forward. Sorry. I'll go ahead and second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. My apologies. You seconded? I did. Thank you. At item B, receive report and hold a discussion and give staff input regarding the status of the following public art committee projects. One is the North Park Dog Park, two is the Roman Villa Athletic Complex, three is the Tennis Center, four is Fire Station number three, five is the Foundations of Art History Mural, six is the MLK Project, seven is the Interracial Fellowship Monument, and eight is the I-35 Medallions. Okay, Monet, I'll be giving the report on that one. Let me share my screen here. How is that? Is everybody good? Can see that? Okay. All right, so our first project, let me see if I can get it to actually move. There we go. All right, North Lakes Dog Park, we have had some action on that before. We'd submitted one of the proposals by an artist, but it was rejected by the subcommittee because it was actually very, it didn't seem to have the same, what they were looking for is something that was more whimsical type of an affair. It was thought to be too off the shelf type of thing. So I've got some working in our purchasing department and they are going to be looking at trying to get that in a local area for the cafe or to be able to put that out through our regular systems for it. One of the problems I think we had with the pre-selected artists was that a whole lot of people had things that were very traditional looking and it didn't really have that same type of thing that the subcommittee was looking for and that we had put into the proposal scope of work. So that's kind of where we're at. We're looking at alternative ways to get that out and hopefully we can get somebody fairly local that will want to be able to put something really nice together within our budget currently have. Do we have any questions? Do you have any ideas like the timeline for when that might be submitted or complete for us to push out to artists or and then I don't remember when this has to be completed for us to maintain those funds. It has to be completed by the end of August. Okay. So we still have some time. The budget is not calling for something that's a very large sculpture and it's not something like we were talking about with Vela which was so much bigger or the amount of complexity that the DWAF has. Okay. Any other questions? Okay, I will continue. All right. The second one is the Vela Athletic Complex. Right now the artists are fabricating that work. We've had several meetings with them, Drew and I and I think Gary and one where we talked about doing something different around the base to help soften that area and so the artist definitely wanted to be able to do that with something like a planter. I know that when we had presented this to council that council gave kind of feedback saying hey is that all metal, is that going to get hot? We've looked into that and it's probably not going to get very hot enough to anything have a touch to it but in order to prevent anything like that we're going to surround it a little bit of landscaping and change maybe some seating around it. Drew has been working with that. Drew, did you want to provide any update for that? We're finalizing the design now we're looking at all the infrastructure that needs to be put in and what concrete work needs to be cut and redone to accommodate the electrical and irrigation for those planter beds. So we should have an update and a rendering for that next public art meeting. On a sad note just in the paper this morning I don't know if anybody had read the Denton record chronicle or online they had an article on Dr. Vaila because he passed away I believe Tuesday. So that's a sad note. On a good note for that he was able to look at the concept drawings and so on that were submitted by the artist Gary had showed him that and he was very pleased with that look. So it's nice to know that he had that opportunity to see that before he had passed. Did anybody have any other questions about the Vaila art? Okay let me move along then. Tennis center that hasn't been initiated yet but I think we can hold the kickoff meeting for that particular piece real quick here. Most of that tennis center is completed enough that we can go ahead and have shots and so on so that when we put the scope together the artist is going to be able to see really what's there. And so we'll have to have that subcommittee meeting to be able to do that. So let's expect a meeting or a meeting notice for those people on that bigger group. So that's really not much there. Any questions on that? Okay fire station number three they're still doing a lot of work out there. They have not completed the fence on last check that I understand. That sculpture will be placed in an area in front of the fence so it's also difficult to be able to give a setting to a artist that needs to provide the proposal without having that particular area completed so we know really what's going to happen with it. John on this project for our next meeting we will have sites for us to possibly select on where that art piece will go. As the fire station is being finished we'll be able to take better pictures and get a true aerial shot on what that fire station looks like and where the potential art could go in the future to help better make these make the decision. Any other questions? Foundations of our history mural if anybody has been out there to take a look and see how it's got completed yesterday and it looks really good. I actually have included a few pictures that were two weeks ago and you can see the artist working here and it was difficult I think because of different weather patterns that we had and you can't put the paint on when the temperature is going to freeze the paints or it's not going to stick really well but you can see kind of here just how that was progressing and then the final layer that protective coating was not put on these at this point and so when they did that the pictures I just saw this morning it really makes the colors come much more just like a glaze might do on that and so you can see one view from underneath for that side there. Did anybody have any questions? Can I just make a comment that the times I've driven past this in the past few weeks everybody I know loves it hands down this has been a wonderful project from start to beginning or start to finish but that it has also slowed down traffic and I know that we've talked about public art as a traffic calming device so maybe we're contributing to safety as well as beauty in the neighborhood. Well I drove by once and the artist was there and it stopped traffic because they were yelling out to go and talk to him so it's so true it does affect traffic. Okay moving right along then. YMOK Rec Center Sculpture we had a meeting scheduled this morning but that didn't happen with Madeline Wiener we're going to try to touch base with her again we're looking at preparing the site and planning out the installation for that you can remember from some of the past meetings that we've had we talked about moving it from the location that was in the tree area where it couldn't be seen it wasn't easy to get to for people that were leaving or waiting for rides so we're going to be moving the flagpole and installing in that general area and part of the meeting that we want to talk to her about is what we want to do for like stamp concrete around it and some of the colors and adjustments to some of the landscaping also around the building and so on just to kick things up a little bit for that. Drew did you have anything to add? That is all you know that we were going to talk to the artist about we're also having a meeting internally on Friday with the Martin Luther King recreation staff and not only this is evolving and this is what we really like about art and about you know beautifying areas is that you know this piece will go in will beautify the area on where the artwork will go but we're also going to enhance the entire landscaping for the rec center so. Did anyone have any questions? Okay moving along all right lots of things happening with the women's interracial fellowship monument again we're looking at we've had meetings with the landscape architects for the park we as you can recall we had a plan for that park previously that council didn't come in line with so we're reworking that quite a bit you know be able to have things more focused on this particular art piece for the park and so we've had lots of conversations with the landscape architects and we've had conversations with the artist and for everything from lighting to engineering of the area degrading all of those to and adjustments of where things might go in the park so we haven't completely finalized that as a start yet she has started some fabrication for the different pieces and ordering all her parts and there's there's things that she's going to need but what she really needs and I did send out an email to the subcommittee over this and I believe Michelle and responded for that she's going to be able to help is that she needs kind of boots on the ground be able to possibly meet with some of the different members of the DWIF and I have an updated list of that but I don't have a complete list and so we need to make sure that everybody that's represented on the DWF gets recognized in this whole process from previous conversations that I've had with Lenny McAdam she also mentioned that well some people came on for just a little while to do a certain thing and then they didn't they weren't interested and so on so it's going to be I think difficult to nail down that we even talked I talked with the artist that maybe we can leave a few of the discs or panels open if we happen to discover somebody that we missed that we can come back and and work them back into that side of it so we're still finalizing some of those plans but she's gone ahead and has been working with us on a location of those the curtain wall type piece and then where the discs and various things are going to get located so that it all matches really in with the park some of the lighting we're talking about having more of the those festival lighting drew what's that name of that lighting that goes across the top the string lighting yeah the string lighting that helped to give it a different different look and very inviting location there especially after you know dark and so on to keep everything well lit for it so we do need help we need to need some boots in the ground and I think Michelle has stepped forward to be able to provide some of that but I think that she's going to need some additional help with that so anybody that can help Michelle great Michelle did you have anything to add to that she's wondering I have bad audio my house is old and full of bricks I have bad internet connection in here I have a list a lot of these women are interested in being part of the conversation as the monument gets developed and yeah and so if y'all know anybody personally please go ahead and and I guess contact John or me and we'll add them to the list but so far the response from the the women and their children has been really positive and everybody wants to have their say and in what gets remembered absolutely any other comments okay I'll come back to the screen then see if I can get it advance and that was pretty much all we had as far as the updates we had actually we had one more I think we had sent out for some information on the medallions and I think Drew we got that into the meeting agenda yes we did so Drew I don't have anything here on a PowerPoint for it so Drew would you like to address that yes so I would like to address this committee on the medallion so if you remember and then I'm sure if you've driven on I-35E we do have the UNT medallions that are hung on the wall and then they are lighted and so at we've had several different discussions with TechStat there was an issue a design and a construction issue when installing those medallions so typically whenever they build those walls for the bridge embankments on TechStat roadways those those concrete pieces to the wall are slid in they're prefabricated stamped concrete and you can you know you can imagine anything to go on the walls I mean look at if you know driving all around DFW for instance just down the road here the Lake Louisville bridge you know they have the different types of fish and boats stamped into those walls that is the easiest way to put any kind of medallion that we would want into the walls that it's very cost effective if we would want medallions in the future for I-30 for the main I-35 after it merges or anywhere on I-35W they did suggest that we go that way to have those and then we did you know we work through an artist to have those medallions designed they can then put that into CAD and then have the stamp the you know the the wall piece stamped to whatever medallion size or design that we wanted if we did want to continue with the hanging medallions like we have on I-35E for UNT in the UNT area we would need to the city would need to come up with extra the extra construction cost and the extra extra design cost because the wall has to be designed to be able to withstand the weight of the medallion so if you're following me if you know a normal wall it just gets stamped a different style and in colored a different way if a medallion is hanging on it it's almost like if we hang a really heavy picture or a cabinet you know on our wall we can't just hang it in the drywall we have to find a stud and it has to be you know really substantial to be able to hold that amount of weight depending on how much it weighs so that was their their concern we can do it and we you know we can definitely make it happen the city will just have to fund the construction dollars and the design dollars to re-engineer the wall above and beyond what TxDOT has already agreed upon and and already has in their or already will do in the future for those walls so that that's something that we can we really need to start thinking about now you know what we want there obviously you know we have UNT designed you know they have those medallions overall 535E after the merge you know we were thinking of you know TWU you know we have we have that college that sometimes kind of gets left out of different conversations just because you know UNT being so much bigger but you know that that's really the you know main access to TWU is university so would it be really nice to have TWU medallions and we work with the university to hang you know their types of medallions on after the I-35 merge and then what kind of medallions would we want in the merge area whenever they build those walls you know what's significant to Denton is it the music theme is it you know more of a traditional art artistic theme is it you know I can go on and on on what the theme could be or what we would like to have there so I really want we don't have to make a decision today I am in the process of getting all the construction documents on their typical walls and the walls they had to build to hang the medallions on and what the cost the difference of cost dollars were I don't have that at the moment but hopefully we'll have it before next meeting we're working with TxDOT to get all those those figures and documents so that is something I wanted to bring up and maybe strike a discussion with this group on what you would like and wouldn't like for future medallions for the I-35s so I know we talked about music right Ed we had all those clever ideas several years back I don't think Drew was around then but do you remember those Terry and Ed I know remember those yes we had we had rather lengthy discussions about that and I think we picked a music theme at some point so I was even thinking back to when there are a concept for a park at Eagle and Elm I've seen a lot of that moved around back and forth and eventually they'll build a sidewalk but I was thinking at some point we had the music theme kind of recurring both on a medallion and maybe in some of the entryway parks into the city. Eagle and Elm has started again we started it about 18 months ago and then the PEC4 project started and decided that they needed a new wastewater line there and some other improvements utility improvement center area so we halted the sidewalk has been repaired and our crews are working now to put in the most strips and then all the river rock and landscaping for that we're calling that a beautification node and then I'm in the process now of designing a musical sign I'm trying really hard but it's going to be kind of a replica of the little d bike racks that we have you know downtown so I have a musical song in mind on how to dance the notes up and down the sign and obviously you know make the little d bike rack resemble it and make it really large on top of that sign and then in the middle of the sign you know it'll say city of Denton you know but along the sign it's almost dancing and it will have excuse me but I'm trying to be really abstract here and really have a really good you know I guess imagination on this so most it won't it won't be straight across like a musical bar of notes that most of us think of when we read sheet music but if we can you know have a little little bit of imagination the notes will start near the ground and then work their way up and over the sign and then come back down I would really like to entertain your interest on what song would be best in a landscape I guess model we were thinking you know the yellow rose of Texas I've looked through various different you know Google searches on who wrote songs about Denton and I can't come to one that really stands out in my mind but if something stands out in your mind please let me know that as far as I've gotten is about the sign size and the little d on top and then I've tried to move musical notes back and forth to make it fit so okay has somebody been that's been involved with the arts and jazz festival for a long long time my first thought is the hokey pokey or the chicken dance because Brave Combo is our resident Grammy award-winning polka band and that was my first thought of something because I think Brave Combo kind of reflects the eclectic nature of Denton and music scene I do agree with that and maybe I can reach out to them to help help pick out a musical you know theme to that sign so that was my idea if you have other ideas please let me know because the original idea was just make a sign and put the little d on top but I want to be in parks and of course with art you can have it as much imagination as you want or as little as you want and so I'm I have a really good imagination so I wanted to make sure that you know if anything if you're driving by you know it also serve you know as a traffic calming you stop at that red light no matter which way you're going through there you typically stop at at all the way at all four ways so maybe you can look over there and if you have you know if you've been in music in any kind of time you can kind of look over and say oh this is the song you know and it really brightens your day as you drive through there not only is it is it prettier than what it typically what it normally is but also maybe it brightens your day to say oh look you know I you know I really like the little feedback racks downtown or look what Denton's doing and you know we have this musical theme so please let me know if you think of anything or if you have a different idea it's not in concrete yet so we hope to bring these ideas to you really soon and then eventually take them to council for approval so we can build that sign so but the everything landscape wise is going in now okay Drew I bet if you called Carl Fitch with brave combo I bet he'd have a whole lot of ideas okay so it might be a fun conversation to have sir so do we do we want to do think of maybe let's if we can steer back to the medallions maybe think of the TWU medallion sound right at you know I-35 and University does that sound okay to you I don't remember us talking about that one before I know we talked about other themes at some point but I guess it would be fair to include both of our universities yes and then maybe we do some and then of course there's lots of bridges so maybe we do something you know and we stick to that musical theme you know that's unique to Denton in the merge I think part of the medallion conversation Michelle if you remember the same that we were actually talking about the new bridge that goes over to Buckeyes yeah I think that's initially we were talking about putting something on that bridge pre-construction was and I'm thinking TWU came up I'm thinking a Denton theme and music came up so yeah because I think we had the ability to do four at the time maybe two different interchanges so that's what we were discussing back then okay I'm not for sure where that all went but we know that's constructed if we did any kind of medallion or wanted to do some kind of art piece in that area we would need to build a base at the wall and then and then almost abstractly hang it you know or anchor it in that base because you know we can't really touch the wall now so but if we if you want us to continue to look at that area we can also but we we will need some help on ideas or the Denton theme and musical theme if that's the direction we want to go I want to pick Ed's brain though I mean I remember having a conversation I think with Terry and Ed about there was one that was like a microphone with stylized notes and a saxophone with stylized notes Ed does this ring a bell I don't think it's with us oh yeah it's not with us okay well but yes I remember I remember what we were talking about and with the microphone and the stylized notes we were talking about either doing it at where the new Bucky's bridge is and or the loop 288 exit because these were the primary northbound exits for Denton and we were trying to have some sort of signature kind of almost greeting public art as you come into town off of the interstate okay but Drew was on the same page as us we had we had a whole list of different ways that you could take a musical note and incorporate it into something else so I can go back and look at my notes or we can just bring fresh brainstorm a new I was thinking the park idea at Elm and Eagle where I was actually at maybe a guitar that was stylized guitar so Drew you're on we're all on the same page we just kind of figure out how to move forward with that okay we can do some different options for Eagle and Elm and maybe we do something design something with a guitar and maybe a song that kind of flows through the guitar and then we can also do something with the little d and just bring different options for us to pick yeah so so what do you think about the medallions in the future do you want us to continue to looking at actually hanging the medallions on the wall or do you want to look at the stamp concrete or maybe we look at both and then evaluate the cost difference because it will obviously be something that we'll need to go after funds for I'm thinking the stamp concrete is probably more permanent and I'm almost guessing more cost effective it is because designing it early and I'm pretty impressed with with the I-35 south of us at the exits for Lewisville and Highland Village with the boat thing with the lake theme and then the different colors stamped in I think that's really the way to go for the future because I'm thinking over time the the heavy medallions you know it's the anchors are gonna with weather and age the anchors are gonna have some issues and possibly you know continue continuing to keep the lighting going so I'm all for the for the earlier stamp concrete idea okay I like that idea as well because it's cheaper and you don't have to worry about hanging anything damaging the walls anything anyone else yeah I'm for that as well seems like a more logical way to go but whatever whatever the experts say I agree too well John that's what I had as far as I'm glad you brought Eagle and Elm up so that's what that's what I had as far as the medallions and then hopefully we can get and I'll call brave combo so if we can get maybe some different ideas and then we can get some options to you hopefully next meeting if not the meeting after it Monet that concludes our updates any concluding items we can close the meeting at 1234.