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CAC - Consideration of a Proposal for Six New Permanent Artworks at 8824 National Boulevard (Ivy Station) Toward Fulfillment of the City’s Art in Public Places Program.
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Meeting Date: May 21, 2019
Contact Person/Dept: B. Christine Byers/Administrative Services - Cultural Affairs
Phone Number: (310) 253-6003
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Cultural Affairs Commission (05/17/19); Property Owners, Occupants, and Businesses within 500’ Radius (to End of Block) (Sent via US Mail on 05/07/19).
Department Approval: Sol Blumenfeld, Community Development Director (05/16/19); Serena Wright-Black, Assistant City Manager (05/17/19)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Cultural Affairs Commission (“CAC”) consider the information provided pertaining to six new permanent artworks and per Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 15.06.135 (C) make a determination whether the proposed artworks are in fulfillment of the City’s Art in Public Places Program (“APPP”) requirement for the development project at 8824 National Boulevard, referred as “Ivy Station”.
BACKGROUND
Lowe is the developer (Applicant) of the property at 8824 National Boulevard (Ivy Station). The project is comprised of office, residential, retail, restaurant and hotel space with subterranean parking and approximately one acre of open space. Ivy Station, with its proximity to the Metro Expo Line and downtown Culver City, is being programmed as a dynamic, vibrant, active area that provides connections to visitors, tenants and residents alike. The majority of the property is within Culver City with a portion of the office building (adjacent to Venice Boulevard) located within the City of Los Angeles.
Pursuant to CCMC Section 15.06.120, new commercial development projects with a building valuation of $500,000 or more and remodeling projects with a building valuation of $250,000 or more are subject to the City’s Art in Public Places Program (APPP) requirement. Lowe’s Art in Public Places Program allocation (1% of the applicable Building Permit valuation) is $1,416,008 for the Culver City portion. To date, this includes the 1% APPP allocation in conjunction with Building Permits B16-1043, B16-1044, B16-1045, and B16-0755. Lowe has already paid $300,000 into the Cultural Trust Fund toward the proposed Washington/National TOD Gateway Project (being implemented by the City), thereby leaving $1,116,008 available to cover administrative costs, including an art consultant fee, and costs associated with commissioning site-specific art for the property. The percent for art allocation associated with the portion of the project sited within the City of Los Angeles ($394,794) will be invested in events and programming over an approximately 24 month period and is being coordinated through the City of Los Angeles’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
The Applicant has chosen to fulfill the Culver City APPP requirement for Ivy Station with several art installations across the property, including points of entry to the property from National Blvd. and the Metro Expo Line station. A seventh artwork to be installed on a 2nd floor balcony of the hotel will be visible from the public right of way on Washington Blvd.
The Applicant is collaborating with LeBasse Projects who is responsible for facilitating artist selection, coordinating City review of the proposed art concepts, as well as overseeing fabrication and installation of all artworks. One goal of the public art program for Ivy Station is to showcase both local and international artists, as well as provide an opportunity for newer artists to create landmark permanent artworks.
As outlined in detail in the attached Art Installation Proposal (Art Plan), a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was sent out by invitation to thirty-five artists. These artists were both local and international, representing diverse backgrounds, and had executed projects of a similar scale. The list included a dozen female artists and twenty artists of color. A short list of seven artists/artist teams was developed from which three were selected to create the six artworks being considered at this time by the CAC. (A seventh installation proposed for a balcony ceiling on the Washington Boulevard elevation of the hotel will be brought forward at a later date for CAC consideration; the Applicant is currently considering Add Fuel for this seventh artwork and has provided some information in the attached materials for purposes of context.)
Below is a brief summary of the three artists/artist teams and the artwork concepts being brought forth for consideration at this time. The attached Art Plan provides considerable more information and background on each.
Tomokazu Matsuyama - This New York based Japanese artist, is proposing two installations for Ivy Station: 1) A three-dimensional blue and yellow sculpture featuring laser-cut flowers that incorporates an existing pylon (ventilation shaft) sited at a key entryway into the property on National Boulevard; and, 2) A black-and-white mural on the south-facing wall of the nearby office building. The patterns and imagery, which relate to the natural environment, are intended to create a bold visual impact, both harmonious and in tension with the environment, and draw visitors into the paseo or lawn area, at Ivy Station. This would be the artist’s first permanent public art commission in greater Los Angeles. Pylon sculpture dimensions: 20’ high x 10’ wide. Mural dimensions: 83’8” high x 15’10” wide.
Sage Vaughn - This Los Angeles based artist is best known for his collage-like paintings that incorporate themes and aesthetics common in street art, such as the drips from vertical spraying, stencils and tattoo art. While this artist has completed several murals in greater Los Angeles, Ivy Station would be the site for his first sculptural installation. This artist is proposing a series of powder-coated steel butterflies affixed to the wall facing the Metro Expo Line station platform. A second artwork, incorporating an existing pylon (ventilation shaft) directly adjacent to an entrance to the Metro station, will feature butterflies and leaves (both painted and sculptural). These two artworks, which also reference the natural world, are intended to relate conceptually to Tomokazu Matsuyama’s installations at Ivy Station. Similar to the concept of harmony and tension in Matsuyama’s work, Sage Vaughn wishes to reference the balance between nature and an ever-growing metropolis. The proposed pylon artwork dimensions will be 10’ high x 10’8” diameter. For the residential building façade, there will be a total of nine butterflies, of varying sizes. The smallest butterfly will measure 58” wide x 57” high; the largest 208” wide x 210” high.
FAILE - A Brooklyn-based artistic collaboration between Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, FAILE is proposing two installations in the Central Paseo section of Ivy Station. The first installation transforms an existing elevator shaft by covering all sides in three types of custom tiles that reference Culver City-specific themes. The elevator shaft is easily visible both from the Metro side of the property as well as from National Blvd. The second work proposed is a free-standing cube-like sculpture that will be sited near the elevator shaft in the lawn area and covered in the same three tile patterns. While FAILE has completed a few installations in Los Angeles, this will be their first commission in Culver City. Their work is inspired by traditions of ceramic tiles from the Mediterranean regions, mixed with references to quilt-making from the American south. The elevator shaft measures approximately 18’ high x 24’ long x 15’ wide. The individual tiles are 4.25” x 4.25”. The free-standing cube-like sculpture will be about 10’ high x 12’ long.
The CAC Public Art subcommittee (Vice Chair Pali and Commissioner Williams) first met with the Applicant and LeBasse Projects on November 12, 2018. Based on comments from the subcommittee, the Applicant chose to make some revisions to the draft Art Plan, including replacing an artist being considered at that time with FAILE. The Applicant represented an updated Art Plan to the subcommittee on April 22, 2019. At both meetings, discussion topics included inclusion and diversity of artists represented in Culver City’s Art in Public Places Program; how the artworks related to one another, to the site and to Culver City; and meeting vs. exceeding the criteria on which artworks are to be evaluated per CCMC Section 15.06.135 (D) and (E). The subcommittee and staff were in agreement that the proposed artworks met the basic criteria as included in the Municipal Code. Planning Division staff attended the April subcommittee meeting and expressed support for incorporating the two ventilation shafts and the elevator shaft into the Art Plan.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The cost for design, fabrication and installation for this project is borne entirely by the Applicant. The responsibility and cost for future maintenance and restoration of the artwork is the responsibility of the property owner pursuant to Section 15.06.150 of the CCMC.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 19-05-21_ATT_Art Installation Proposal: Ivy Station
RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
That the Cultural Affairs Commission:
1. (Choose one) Approve, approve with conditions, or deny the two proposed permanent artworks by Tomokazu Matsuyama toward fulfillment of the City’s Art in Public Places Program requirement for the Ivy Station Project at 8824 National Boulevard;
AND
2. (Choose one) Approve, approve with conditions, or deny the two proposed permanent artworks by Sage Vaughn toward fulfillment of the City’s Art in Public Places Program requirement for the Ivy Station Project at 8824 National Boulevard;
AND
3. (Choose one) Approve, approve with conditions, or deny the two proposed permanent artworks by FAILE toward fulfillment of the City’s Art in Public Places Program requirement for the Ivy Station Project at 8824 National Boulevard.