Sculptures Recommended for Inclusion in 2021-22 Art on the RiverCity of Dubuque
City Council Meeting
Consent Items # 11.
Copyrighted
June 21, 2021
ITEM TITLE: Sculptures Recommended for Inclusion in 2021-22 Art on the River
Rotating Public Art Exhibition
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval the Arts & Cultural Affairs
Advisory Commission's recommendations for the 2021-22 Art on the
River sculpture selections and requests the use of a portion of the
existing Fiscal Year 2021 program balances to support expanding the
2021-22 exhibit from 10 to 11 sculptures.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve
DISPOSITION:
FIN a f-IT91 SM I Ly, 121 z III &]
Description Type
Art on the River Sculpture Recommendations- MVM City Manager Memo
Memo
Memo to MVM re Recommended Sculptures for Art on Staff Memo
the River 2021-22 Exhibition
Presentation of Recommended 2021-22 Art on the Supporting Documentation
River Sculpture Selections, Placement, and Alternates
THE CITY OF
Dubuque
DUUB_-_*._TE
*AwiuCft
111111!
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
2007-2012-2013
2017*2019
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Sculptures Recommended for Inclusion in 2021-22 Art on the River
Rotating Public Art Exhibition
DATE: June 16, 2021
Jenni Petersen -Brant recommends City Council approval of the Arts & Cultural Affairs
Advisory Commission's recommendations for the 2021-22 Art on the River sculpture
selections and requests the use of a portion of the existing Fiscal Year 2021 program
balances to support expanding the 2021-22 exhibit from 10 to 11 sculptures.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
M . icl�ael C. Van Milligen
MCVMjh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brurnwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
Dubuque Economic Development Department
Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs
THE CITY OF 1300 Main Street
All-Amerin CRY Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4763
cc (563) 589-4393
TTY (563) 690-6678
DUB http://www.cityofdubuque.org
it &E Offi
2007*2012-2013
Masterpiece on the MiSSI'SSIppi 2017*2019
TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator
SUBJECT: Sculptures Recommended for Inclusion in 2021-22 Art on the River
Rotating Public Art Exhibition
DATE: June 15, 2021
INTRODUCTION
This memorandum serves as a recommendation of the 2021-22 Art on the River
sculpture selections to be approved and accepted by the City Manager and City
Council. The memorandum also requests the use of a portion of existing FY21 program
balances to support expand the 2021-22 exhibit from 10 to 11 sculptures.
BACKGROUND
The 2021-22 edition of Art on the River with be the City's 15th year of hosting this
popular exhibition of sculptural works of public art along the Mississippi Riverwalk in the
Port of Dubuque. The program exhibits a selection of large-scale sculptures, sourced
through an open call for art, for a period of one-year; the 2021-22 exhibit will be on
display from August 6, 2021 through late July 2022.
DISCUSSION
The Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission works with a committee of community
volunteers and staff to produce the program each year. The current Art on the River
planning committee includes Commissioners Gina Siegert and Ryan Decker,
community volunteer Mary Armstrong, and City staff members Jenni Petersen -Brant
and Kelli Buchaneu. The planning committee, in concurrence with the full Commission,
used the following process to populate this year's exhibit.
Theme: The theme "Art on the River: Resiliency Flows" was crafted by the planning
committee to encourage artwork submissions that speak to the resiliency and fortitude
needed to rebuild better as communities worldwide continue to rebound from the
impacts of the COVID-11 9 pandernic and grow in the ongoing fight for social justice.
Selection Process: Art on the River operates as an open call for art where program
guidelines and expectations are posted online and advertised broadly. Any artist
interested in submitting a sculpture for consideration can do so through an online form;
there is generally a 6-week window from when the application form is released to the
submission deadline. Artists do not pay a fee to apply; artists can submit multiple entries
/ applications. This year, we received 56 unique applications — a 60% increase of the
average number of applications received over the past 2 years of the program.
The planning committee chose to engage a panel of community members selected for
their expertise in public art or in relation to the exhibit's theme to serve as volunteer
jurors. The panel consisted of:
• Louise Karnes - Professor of Art at Clarke University, Member of the City of
Dubuque's Arts & Culture Master Plan Public Art Working Group
• Candace Eudaley - Chair of the City of Dubuque's Resiliency Commission
• Renee and Mike Meyer - Owners and Artists of Painted Sky Designs
The panel independently reviewed and scored all applications based on the following
criteria:
• Theme Appropriateness- How well does the sculpture speak, both visually and
through the artist's statements, to the 'Resiliency Flows' theme?
• Creativity: Does the making or presentation of the work demonstrate innovative,
original approaches in bold, thoughtful, and / or well -crafted ways?
• Aesthetic Value: Will the work arrest the public's attention? To what degree will
the work add to from the Riverwalk's natural or built landscape?
Scores were submitted to and tallied by Staff who identified the highest scoring
applications based on an average of the panelists' scores. Panelists then convened with
Staff support to review and confirm application rankings, discuss and propose
placement, and draft a recommendation of 11 sculptures for inclusion plus 3 alternates
for the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission to consider.
Recommendation: The community jury panel's recommendation was reviewed by Public
Works staff to identify and problem -solve any possible logistical issues with the pieces
selected or the locations in which they were recommended for placement. There were
no concerns identified that change the panel's recommendation; the recommendation
was submitted to and reviewed by the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission
during a Special Meeting on June 15, 2021.
At this meeting, the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission unanimously voted in
support of the following:
1. Concurrence with sculpture selections and their proposed placement
recommended by the community jury panel as follows-,
a. Mary Angers, "Sun to Moon Rotation"
b. Brian Petrone, "Downstream"
c. Gail Chavanelle, "Resilient Generations"
d. Tim Adams, "Seda"
e. Ben Pierce, "focus"
f. Matt Moyer, "Stalk 10052REH400-2 (Covid Corn to Go)"
g. Mary Angers, "The Single Twist"
h. Tim Adams, "Coral"
i. Luke Achterberg, "Scalar"
j. Christina Murphy, "Mother Earth"
k. Evan Lewis, "Three Liner"
2. Concurrence with inclusion of the site -specific sculpture 'Downstream' by Artist
Brian Petrone pending further logistical review between Artist and City staff;
3. Concurrence with alternate sculpture selections to be used as needed by Staff to
fill any exhibition voids that may arise if a recommended sculpture is unavailable
for exhibit-,
a. Matt Moyer, "Accordion Pump"
b. Mike Klein, "We're All Downstream"
c. Kirk Seese, "Pluma Sculpture, aka The Feather"
4. Recommend carryover and use of $1,800 in existing FY21 Art on the River
program balances to support inclusion of an 11 th sculpture. FY21 program
balances are due to savings from not holding a 2020-21 exhibit.
BUDGETIMPACTS
There are no new budget impacts associated with this request. The request uses
approved FY22 budget allocations dedicated to Art on the River; the FY22 Art on the
River's budget anticipated 10 artist stipends of $1,800 each.
To account for the recommended inclusion of an 11 1h sculpture, this request will use
$1,800 from sufficient FY21 savings our department has due to the cancelation of the
2020-21 Art on the River exhibit because of COVID-1 9 concerns. An FY21 to FY22
carryover of $1,800 in line item 62669 for activity 10072500 will be required.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff requests the City Manager and City Council approve the Arts & Cultural Affairs
Advisory Commission's recommendations noted above regarding the 2021-22 Art on
the River sculpture exhibition.
Following City Manager and City Council approval of the above, contracts will be
presented to the artists and forwarded to the City Manager for execution.
Cc: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director
Jenny Larson, Director of Finance and Budget
)n
the
RESILIENCY FLOWS
Recommended
Sculptures
"MORN,
Sun to Moon Rotation
Mary Angers
Long Branch, NJ
6' x 3.5' x .5'
The Sun to Moon Rotation is
also kinetic with the center sun
disc going around with the wind.
C) C)
9-
ia
12
Downstream
Brian Petrone
Evanston, IL
50'x 4'x 75"
The installation would consist of bamboo poles,
in d'iameters ranging from 1/2" to 2". Each post
, g
would be driven 2'into the ground.The cost of
the material would be taken from the arbst's
honorarium.The piece would be installed by the
artist and take 3-4 days during the July 26 —
August 6 window. During removal in 2022, any
needed lawn repair would also be deducted from
the honorarium. Bamboo �s a natural material that
can readily withstand the elements and is often
used as fencing, even in cold climates.
Resilient Generations
Gall Chavanelle
Dubuque, A
8'x 3.75'x 2'
Resilient Generations is created of 3/16" and 1/4" steel plate, finished
in a professional baked on powder coated textured copper vein.
Construction is always high quality since I work with a metal
fabricator to create/build my design. My marker hand drawing on
metal is translated in Fusion360 and converted to Auto -cad which
controlled the laser cutting. I was on the fabricator floor directing and
collaborating with metal professionals using the large manufacturing
machines to bend, roll, twist and weld the sculpture together Safety is
always part of the design. In Resilient Generations, the figures attach
securely with no outreaching elements to snag viewers.
.� k
I
Mad
Seda
Tim Adams
Webster Oty, 1A
5'x Yx 3'
This piece i's constructed from Black
and stainless steel, native stone, and
the center piece moves in the wind.
The piece is stout and stands up to the
Midwestern extreme weather
S -flt- -1.
focus
Ben Pierce
Cape Girardeau, MO
This sculpture is constructed of thick walled steel. fully
welded and edges ground down for a smooth finish thatis
safe for people to touch.The sculpture is balanced and free
standing and bolting it to a concrete pad or surface makes
it even more stable.This sculpture is made from thick steel
some 3/8 in thick and other parts 1/8 in thick and the base
is I inch thick. solid welded constriction makes this piece
very durable.The thick nature ensures the sculpture is not
prone to dents and dings.The painted section has an
industrial macropoxy primer and a oil based top coat paint
that resists fading and wear
Stalk 10052REH4OOm2
(Covid Corn to Go)
WL Matt Moyer
Columbb, MO
9.5' x 3.5' x 35
Various thicknesses of steel are used in this
sculpture. Additionally, enamel paint and
aluminum food service pans were used too.
The sculpture has a hot wax coating to
prevent rust run off to the displaying surface.
The Single Twist
Mary Angers
Long Branch, NJ
6'x 2.5'x 2.5'
The SingleTwist is made of
stainless steel and has a
circular base with bolts for
mounting.
- M,�rMr,
UP
Coral
Tim Adams
Webster Oty, 1A
01 x 41 x 51
This piece is made from upcycled steel. It is
painted with automotive grade paint to withstand
harsh weather It is cut from a propane tank which
is a fossil fuel and now is a piece to symbolize the
cost of humans on nature.There are many
paradoxes Just in the creation of this piece.
Nkt-
6
-%c-
Scalar
Luke Achterberg
Onalaska W1
Tx 3'x 2'
This sculpture is made of stainless stee
and painted with acrylic automotive
pai nt.
JV
4it
V.
Mother Earth
Christina Murphy
Chicogo, IL
5.5'x 4'x 3.75'
This sculpture is cast in bronze.
It will last, barring an earthquake
and without human interference
for 1000 years.
W I
' oil
t
Three Liner
Evan Lewis
Minerol Point, W1
5'x 5'x 5'
The base of my sculpture "Three Liner�'is constructed by weld-
ing one -inch black pipe and half -inch and 5/8" rebar The base
has been painted in outdoor paint less than eighteen months
ago. The structure of the kinetic elements is made from one -
inch, three-quarter inch and 5/8" stainless steel tubing, all with
heavy wall thicknesses. The fin elements are made of 6061
aluminum sheet, some of which is 0.06" thickness and 0.09"
thickness. The bearing of the kinetic element has been replaced
within the last eighteen months.
Alhk
I
a
Friday, August 6, 2021
through late July 2022
Aim
Amon-MNM
... ��' S - wq
mi . -, - m-, , � j
Alternates
Accordian Pump
Matt Moyer
Columbia MO
Side view
One vertical panel
removed to see cattail
interi or d eta i I - Catta i I s
are made of 1" pine
dowels & tapered
boards, attached to
both the base and
cross -support and
coated with
with three treatments
of spar varnish.
Green emblem atop
sculpture is an
aluminum square,
painted to resemble
plant leaves and
painted in two
shade of green
h 'AALI 10 D re
""We are all downstream" — Mike Klein
Overhead view
Stones collected frc
upstream locations
Mississippi River,
representing the
four directions of
Dakota tradition
Base is concrete
with inset
bolts for
attaching the
sculpture
Ah
40
Pluma Sculpture, aka
0
"The Feather"
Kirk Seese
Lutherville, MD
Thank you to our panel of community jurors:
Candace Eudaley, City of Dubuque
Resiliency Commission
Louise
Kames,
Clarke
University
Renee
& Mike
Meyer,
Painted Sky Designs
Thank you to our community planning committee:
Mary Armstrong, Master Plan Public Art Worl<ing Group
Kelli Buchaneu, City of Dubuque
Ryan Decl<er, City of Dubuque Arts & Cultural Affairs
Commission
Gina Siegert, City of Dubuque Arts & Cultural Affairs
Commission