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CAC - Consideration of the Deaccession of a Permanent Public Artwork Located at 12211 W. Washington Boulevard
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Meeting Date: 01/16/2018
Contact Person/Dept: B. Christine Byers/Administrative Services - Cultural Affairs
Phone Number: (310) 253-6003
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: Meetings and Agendas - Cultural Affairs Commission (01/11/18); Property Owners, Occupants, and Businesses within 500’ Radius (to End of the Block) (Sent via US Mail 12/29/17)
Department Approval: Sol Blumenfeld, Community Development Director (01/10/18)
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RECOMMENDATION
The CAC Public Art Subcommittee recommends the Cultural Affairs Commission (CAC) approve the request to deaccession permanent public artwork located at 12211 W. Washington Blvd.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
12211 W. Washington Blvd. is located on the northwest corner of Washington and Grand View Boulevards. In 1997, the former owner, C.W. Cook Co., Inc., remodeled what was a General Telephone Company operator and training facility into a multi-tenant office space. The Building Permit valuation for the tenant improvements triggered the City’s Art in Public Places Program (APPP) requirement. The then owner opted to fulfill the APPP requirement with a permanent public artwork designed by architect Andrea Cohen Gehring (Ms. Gehring’s firm oversaw the remodel of the building). Titled, Three Sheets to the Wind, the artwork is composed of large metal mesh triangular structures representing the sails of ships. The “sails” are anchored to a base of floating corrugated metal depicting the ocean waves that span two sides of the one-story portion of the building. The artwork was installed in late 1997/early 1998 and cost $6,100 to fabricate.
In 2013, the property was acquired by West Washington Investors, LP. Dianne Shapiro, Project Manager at Abramson Teiger Architects, prepared the attached memorandum on behalf of the current owner requesting that the artwork be deaccessioned so as to accommodate visible signage for the building’s five tenants. The artwork’s potential removal is supported by the designer, Ms. Gehring.
Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 15.06.175 provides guidelines for deaccessioning permanent artworks commissioned in conjunction with the City’s Art in Public Places Program. A basic requirement for deaccessioning is that the artwork must have been installed for at least five years. In this instance, the artwork has been on public view for 20 years. Having met the minimum installation time-frame, of the possible findings listed for deaccessioning of artworks, the most appropriate in this instance is that from an aesthetic perspective, the artwork’s whimsical theme, spare design, and industrial materials no longer serve the site, the owner or the tenants. Further, no real long-term historical or cultural value has ever been associated with this artwork.
Ms. Shapiro met with staff and the CAC Public Art Subcommittee (Commissioners Pali and Williams) on December 28, 2017 to present the property owner’s request. Upon review of the material provided, the subcommittee supported a recommendation that the CAC approve the request to deaccession the artwork Three Sheets to the Wind.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Per the CCMC, the owner has several options for replacing the deaccessioned artwork, including providing new art for the site or paying an in-lieu fee to the Cultural Trust Fund. Upon CAC approval, the owner intends to pay the value of the artwork ($6,100) to the Cultural Trust Fund.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 18-01-16_ATT No. 1_ Abramson Teiger Memorandum_01.10.18
MOTION
That the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission:
1. Approve West Washington Investors LP’s request to deaccession an artwork by Andrea Cohen Gehring (Three Sheets to the Wind) originally commissioned under the City’s Art in Public Places Program for the property located at 12211 W. Washington Blvd.