Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Ticket availability ... RVTD's Saturday bus service resumes this Saturday ... Ticket availability ... Ticket availability ... RVTD's Saturday bus service resumes this Saturday ... Ticket availability ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Dispelling public art myths Comment By Sandy Friend and Margaret Garrington DailyTidings.com By Sandy Friend and Margaret Garrington Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Sandy Friend and Margaret Garrington Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 12:01 AM » RELATED CONTENT • Gateway Island to get 'Threshold' » Social News Most of us happily grant our elected officials, city staff and volunteers appointed to numerous city commissions the responsibility for studying myriad issues, collecting public input, preparing reports and acting as advisers to our City Council. The Public Arts Commission was established 15 years ago when citizen volunteers recommended the City Council form a commission solely dedicated to bringing public art to the city. Their thinking was that this public art acquisition could be funded through a small portion of Transient Occupancy Tax money. As a result of action by a former City Council, there are ordinances and a Public Art Master Plan to guide the work of the PAC. The master plan was based on input from Ashland citizens charged with determining a vision, expectations and desires for public art. Similar to all commission meetings, PAC meetings are open to all. At each monthly meeting anyone may speak to the PAC. There is no secrecy or hidden agenda. The commission focuses on developing and publishing calls for artists, reviewing submissions, collecting public input, publicizing information, hearing from local art proponents and making recommendations, all in open public forums and with meeting minutes published on the city website. With respect to the Gateway Island art concepts, a few Ashland residents have taken it upon themselves to say they represent the opinions of all residents of Ashland. They say there was no citizen involvement, the artist is not local and the public art costs too much. From the start of the Gateway project, the PAC solicited input from the community during two first Friday gallery events, a library display with questionnaires, the city website, council updates and a number of public meetings where all 63 artist applications were reviewed for public art experience, skill set and overall suitability for the project. A few local artists applied and received the same consideration as all others. Four artists were chosen to prepare concepts, and three artists/concepts in that group were chosen to go forward. As guided by city ordinance, a selection panel made up of Ashland citizens, separate from the PAC, reviewed the project concepts of these outstanding, recognized and qualified artists and recommended Susan Zoccola’s “Gather.” The naysayers, who first emerged at the end of the public process, neglect to say none of them ever attended a PAC meeting or commented in any way during the four years the PAC worked on this project. Most then voiced their opinion from the protection of their keyboard after the process was complete and the recommendation sent to the council. The expense of a large public art piece primarily goes to engineering, fabrication and installation. The artist in the Gateway project will receive just 10 percent of the total commissioning cost to the city. The PAC is open to and recommends all types of art for the city’s collection. At present, there are many examples of naturalistic and representational art, much of which was created by local artists and can be viewed in the public art inventory on the city website. In addition to the recent attacks on the integrity of the PAC and the selection process, a few in our community have also written disturbingly mean emails directly to Zoccola, stating they represent all Ashland citizens and telling her that her work is not wanted here. The PAC is left to wonder how this represents the true openness and kindness of our community. The Public Art Ordinance and Master Plan highlight diversity as one guideline for choosing public art. Diversity benefits and enriches our community, opens minds and adds to the richness of experience. Since there is an abundance of natural beauty surrounding us, the Gateway artist chose not to replicate it, but has channeled nature through abstract references in her organic forms. These elegant and refined design solutions create an identity and landmark for the Gateway site and, yes, are also surprisingly diverse additions to our city. We encourage you to check out the detailed history of the public process to select the Gateway artist and her concept, “Gather,” at www.ashland.or.us/gateway . Sandy Friend is chair and Margaret Garrington is vice chair of the city of Ashland's Public Arts Commission. By Sandy Friend and Margaret Garrington DailyTidings.com By Sandy Friend and Margaret Garrington Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501