<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN">

TOWN Of  CARY

Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department

Public Art Advisory Board

2003 Minutes

Tuesday, October 28 , 2003

Bldg. A, Front Conference Room

316 North Academy Street

Cary, NC 27511 

 

Attendance:  Carl Regutti, Chair; Carol Aupperle; Adam Cave; June Finkbeiner;; Julia Kunkel Morrison; Marla Dorrell, Council Liaison

Staff:  Lyman Collins; Nancy Novell; Vicki Hayes

Absent: Luan Harmeson, Melanie Chernoff and Nick Merola

Guest:  Ella Williams, FALC and Paul Eade, artist

 

 

I

Call To Order – Carl Regutti, Chair

Carl introduced and welcomed guests.

II
Minutes
Carol Aupperle moved to approve the minutes of September 30, 2003.  Julia Kunkel Morrison seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

III
New Projects

 

Paul Eade - Mural
Carl Regutti welcomed Artist, Paul Eade, to the meeting.  Mr. Eade explained he had been commissioned by a local business, Cinelli’s, 1305 Kildaire Farm Road, to design a mural on the outside of the building.  The restaurant is a dark brick 70’s style building, with dark brown trim.  The mural would be placed on the wall near the drive-thru area, which is only seen in the Shoppes of Kildaire parking lot.  The mural would be on four separate panels and hung on the outside of restaurant.  This would give the owner the option to take the piece down at anytime. Mr. Eade passed around samples of his work, along with photographs of the design.  The mural is a cartoonist blue car, on a white background, with a man and women riding in the car.  Carol Aupperle felt it looked like a cartoonist advertisement.  Mr. Eade showed examples of other art, Sorrell’s Paint that had the same type of work. Carl explained this board was not established at the time of the Sorrell’s mural.  Marla Dorell explained Ashworth Drugs and Sorrell’s were pieces that reflected the downtown atmosphere.  Marla like the car piece and thought it was a good idea to place it near the drive-thru.  However, she also felt the piece could blend into the building and surrounding area better.  Julia Kunkel Morrison said she wanted to see the piece worked into the building better.  Adam Cave asked if there would be lighting on the piece.  Mr. Eade was not sure if lights were there, but would suggest some soft light.  Adam liked the piece and thought it was appropriate to the area, but the color scheme should blend into the building better.  Lyman Collins explained to the board this was a private owner and the Town would not own this piece.  The board needs to look at the review criteria for placement of public art.  Marla asked how he could work the piece the in to the building better?  Mr. Eade said he could tone the white background down by using a warmer tone (i.e.: cream).  Carl asked if he could make revisions.  Mr. Eade explained he had other commitments.  Carol asked what the board needed to do tonight.  Lyman explained the board needed to take action and either to recommend or reject the piece.  The board’s action will be sent to Planning and Zoning for further action. The board thanked Mr. Eade for coming and for serving as a “guinea pig” as the first artist to propose a mural under the Town’s newly approved interim review process for placement of public art.

 

ACTION:  Carl Regutti made a motion to approve the mural with the following modifications: the image extends from one pier to the other pier and the stark white background blend into the color scheme of the building.  June Finkbeiner seconded.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

USA Baseball Facility
Nancy Novell explained USA Baseball, which selects and trains the Olympic team and other U.S. amateur teams, has chosen Cary for its national training center. The complex will be an expansion of the Town of Cary's Thomas Brooks Park. The training center, which will include 4 baseball fields, club house, batting cages, entry plaza/retail area, concessions area and a maintenance facility, is tentatively slated for completion by 2005.

 

Nancy explained she and Alice Webb, Parks Planner for PRCR meet with the architects to discuss the possibilities of incorporating public art into the new space.  The design team has identified four distinctive locations within the site to incorporate public art and submitted the following.

 

  1. Entry Plaza

Serving as the “front door” for the USA Baseball component of the project, the Entry/Retail/Ticketing Plaza becomes the first point of interaction for patrons.  With the site design allowing this location to be accessed outside of the secured control point on a daily basis and with its adjacency to the northern parking lot, the plaza will, ultimately, become the most recognizable component of the project.  It will serve as a communal environment where friends and family members can meet, pre-game rallies and corporate events can be held and continual retail service can be provided.  To this end, we believe providing a public art element that celebrates baseball and/or USA Baseball specifically, would further enhance and anchor the space.  The plaza will be well suited to celebrate the romance of baseball’s history as well as the sentiment and patriotism for USA Baseball.  This impact could be appreciated and expressed through iconic, artistic interpretation.

 

For the entry plaza we can visualize a strong, dynamic vertical structure seen across the immediate landscape, visually identifying the location of Thomas Brooks Park from the adjacent roadways.  The structure would sit on a small grass berm and be self-lit so as to be seen from even greater distances at night and as a way to provide supplemental lighting for the entry plaza.  Around the base of the structure, we can imagine small plaques or sculptures honoring players or memorable moments from baseball’s history and/or USA Baseball’s past.  Patrons would be able to circulate around these artistic elements, experiencing a setting and atmosphere unlike anything else in Cary.

 

  1. Entry Gate

At the southern most edge of the entry plaza, spectators will pass through a facility Entry Gate to enter the USA Baseball facilities.  Our design team sees this gate as an opportunity for the incorporation of public art.  The gate is framed between two ticket buildings and has an axial relationship to the Signature Field, reflecting its prominence.  In the spirit of the Regency Park Amphitheatre entry gate, we would propose the entry reflect a playful interpretation of the “spirit of baseball” through the use of metal or iron materials.  By taking the gate, which is typically a fairly mundane component, and merging it into the realm of public art, the entry will be reinforcing the intangible of ambience at a location through which every attendee will pass.  Due to its importance as a security control point, the development of this component would require a high priority for design and implementation.

 

  1. Mid-Fields Plaza

Centrally located between the practice fields and signature field is the Mid-Fields Plaza.  The current design shows this space as a landscaped commons area for circulation between each of the four fields that will soften the necessary circulation hardscape and offer sun shading through tree plantings.  Within this patron-friendly zone, there exists an opportunity to develop areas for public art.  We can picture the use of oversized baseballs in the form of bollards as well as wire-framed representations of ball players, seemingly in motion: pitching, hitting and running, that could be illuminated at night.  Or, possibly the use of small sculptures celebrating the essence of baseball’s ability to capture the memories and recollections from the corners of our memory; a ball player showing children how to throw a certain pitch or handing them a jersey, a parent and child playing catch, a parent helping a child swing a bat that’s just a bit too heavy, the excited look on a child’s face as a player is autographing his/her glove, the euphoria of an athlete who has just experienced victory, etc.  The emotional connections of public art sculptures such as these will come to define the plaza.

 

  1. Roadway Entry

At the northern most edge of the site, two new entry roads will provide vehicular access.  For most spectators, this will be their first point of interaction with the new facility.  Our design team can foresee an architectural landmark at the eastern-most roadway, with attached signage, to signify a processional beginning to the expanded Thomas Brooks Park and USA Baseball component.  The materials and scale of this marker could range from a low, stone and metal water-wall with engraved graphics to a compatible interpretation of the stone column, wood-lattice and metal “gateways” already incorporated at several locations within the design.  Either design option should require minimal maintenance requirements and an integrated lighting solution to represent the “front-door” of the complex.

 

Each of these locations offers a distinctive avenue to celebrate the one-of-a-kind attributes of USA Baseball, the setting of Thomas Brooks Park and ancillary benefits of public-art – each combining to create a vibrant destination for Cary.

 

Nancy Novell said this would be a great opportunity for the board to start a project in the beginning stages.  This will be a very high profile project with great potential.  Lyman Collins explained this board needs to appoint two members to serve on the Artist Review Panel.  Carl Regutti asked what the budget for this project would be.  Lyman explained we are still working on the logistics of this issue.  Adam Cave asked what the time frame for this project is.  Nancy said she would get more details and bring the information back to the board.  Lyman said the purpose tonight is to endorse public art at this site and to appoint two members to be on the Artist Review Panel.  Adam wanted to know what the responsibilities were for the panel.  The purpose would be an ad-hoc panel consisting of five to seven voting members, formed for a limited period of time (usually two or three meetings).  The panel would review the credentials, prior work, proposals and other materials submitted by artists and make recommendations to the Public Arts Advisory Board (PAAB) as to which artist to commission for the project.  Carol Aupperle and Julia Kunkel Morrison volunteered to sit on this panel.  Carl Regutti appointed Carol as the chairperson for this panel.

 

ACTION:  Carol Aupperle made a motion to endorse public art at the Thomas Brooks Park Phase II/USA Baseball Complex.  Julia Kunkel Morrison seconded.  The motion passed unanimously.

IV

Town Hall Campus Gateway Project

 

Town Hall Campus Gateway Committee update
Julia Kunkel Morrison suggested that all members of the Public Art Advisory Board join the Town Hall Campus Gateway Committee, a committee formed prior to the establishment of the Public Art Advisory Board as the Artist Review Panel for Town Hall Gateway.  This committee selected Catherine Widgery as the artist for the Town Hall Gateway project.  By joining this Committee,  the Public Art Advisory Board’s Town Hall Campus sub-committee, along with members of the board, would join together to create one committee to meet with Catherine Widgery and review her proposal for the Town Hall Campus Gateway Project.  This would give Catherine the opportunity to collaborate everyone’s ideas together and report to one body. The board felt this was a good idea.

The Public Art Advisory Board will consider Catherine’s design proposal once it’s submitted in February and make recommendations upon final review.

 

Review Priorities


The following priorities have been listed by the Public Art Advisory Board’s Town Hall Campus Sub-committee:

 

Public Art Advisory Board:  Priorities for Town Hall Campus Expansion

Revised 10/02/2003—Revised 10/03/2003* - Revised 10/10/03 – Revised 10-23-03

 

Priority #1:  Gateway and Artworks by Catherine Widgery

1-A  Gateway Piece at corner of Old Chapel Hill Road and Academy

 

1-B  Gateway Piece at corner of Ambassador Loop and Academy

           

1-C  Etched Design for glass in Bridge

 

1-D Etched Pattern design in tiles of pathways

 

1-E  Etched Pattern design in individual tiles of round bluestone terraces

 

1-F  Cohesive design for brick in flagpoles and on pathways to designate a Cary brick pattern to be used throughout town

 

1-G Gateway Piece on lawn facing major parking area east of Building C

 

(1-H  Outdoor column by Building C - suggested by Architect)

 

 

Priority #2:  Signage

2-A Signage design and motif (to be used for all signage)

 

2-B  Way finding Signage

 

2-C  Monumental Signage

 

2-D  Kiosk Signage

 

2 – E  Signage for identification of all trees, plants and herbs in the Arboretum

 

 

Priority #3:  Long Range Opportunities for Town Hall Campus

3-A Sculpture for Main Courtyard Pool

 

3-B  Additional 4 sculptures to be planned for court yard area

 

3-C  Mobile or Hanging Sculpture for Entrance Lobby for Building D

 

3-D  Mobile or Hanging Sculpture for Entrance Lobby for Building A

 

3-E  Mobile or Hanging Sculpture for Entrance Lobby for Building B

 

3-F  Mobile or Hanging Sculpture for Entrance Lobby for Building C

 

3-G  Benches as works of art like the Children’s together playground

 

3-H  Outdoor tables and chairs as artwork or manufactured choices to complement art

 

3-I  Outdoor waste receptacles cans as artwork or manufactured choices to complement art

 

3-J Art project for retaining wall outside parking garage at southwest entrance (joint project involving the community, esp. children with the artist.)

 

3-K Art for arbor entrance at Page Walker.

 

3-L Retaining Wall with art for Page-Walker stage.

 

3-M  Art in parking deck stairwells

 

3-N  Art using parking garage wire railings

 

3-0  Screening art in culvert between parking garage and building C staff Entry

 

3-P  Exterior art for the front of the Community Center

 

3-Q  Transitional art to reduce unsightliness of police radio tower near Page Walker Stage

 

3-R  Relocation of Walter Hines Page bust

 

3-S  Relocation of Join the Parade

 

3-T  Relocation of Fred Bond Statue

 

3-U  Statue of Koka Booth

 

3-V  Corner of Chapel Hill Road and Academy- expansion of artwork

 

(3-W Decorate Dumpster Screen next to Tower Room – suggested by Architect and Engineering)

 

 

Information on Catherine Widgery’s next visit
Nancy Novell reported Catherine’s next visit will be November 19th, 20th and 21st.  The  scheduled time for the Town Hall Campus Gateway and Public Meeting will be sent to board members in early November.

VII

Board Members – Reports from Representative Organizations

 

Cary Visual Arts (CVA)
June Passed around CVA’s monthly report.  Carl Regutti said that he attended CVA’s last Discovery meeting to bring more of a balance to the Public Art Advisory Board (PAAB).

 

Fine Arts League of Cary (FALC)
Ella Williams reported FALC board members became concerned when Holly Bankoski had to leave the Public Art Advisory Board (PAAB).  Carl Regutti asked Ella to attend any of the Public Art Advisory Board (PAAB) meetings.  He also requested her to send the PAAB members a copy of the FALC newsletter.  Nancy Novell said she would get the board members names and addresses to Ella.  At the end of the Board meeting Ella told Nancy Novell that she preferred to e-mal rather than to mail the newsletters, and Nancy said she would send Ella the board members’ e-mail addresses.

 

Other Organizations
No report was given.

IX

Old Business

Nancy Novell reported the Public Art Ordinance is still in progress and as the board engages in real life experiences it will help shape the ordinance.  The ordinance should be complete by January.

 

Nancy Novell reported TTA will be having another public meeting on November 12th at Page Walker Arts and History Center from 5pm – 8pm.  She explained that RSVP’s are requested because they serve dinner.  Any member that would like to attend can email Nancy and she will RSVP on their behalf.

X

New Business

 

Carol Aupperle asked when the tile wall project at Jordan Hall will be presented to the board.  Lyman Collins said that all the information is being gathered and that it will come to the board at the December meeting.  Carol mentioned taking a commission on sales from art exhibits in Town facilities and asked if we could look at other places and their exhibition policies.  Lyman said we do need to look into this. 

 

Nancy Novell reminded board members to reapply before December 1st.  She explained you can apply on line or call Karen Gray for an application.  The meeting location and date have change to the Herb Young Community Center on the 3rd Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.

 

XI

Adjourn