Politics & Government

Arts Panel Homes in on Light-Pole Sculptures on San Pablo Avenue

El Cerrito's Arts and Culture Commission gave a tentative nod Wednesday night to 13 design ideas for copper sculptures that would be mounted on streetlight poles on San Pablo Avenue and move with the wind.

A proposal by two Berkeley artists to install abstract copper sculptures on 12 streetlight poles on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito moved closer to final approval Wednesday night when the Arts and Culture Commission narrowed down a set of proposed designs to 13.

The abstract shapes would be mounted high above the sidewalk and move with the wind. Each would be framed by a C-shaped partial circle of stainless steel designed to resemble the new bike racks installed by the city on San Pablo.

The husband and wife artist pair, Jonathan Russell and Saori Ide, have a $100,000 commission from the city to design and install what would be the city's largest public art project.

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Their first idea – colorful icons of people and objects on 50 streetlight poles along San Pablo – was rejected earlier this year by the commission, which said it wanted to see designs that are abstract and copper.

The artists came back to the commission on Sept. 27 with a few sample abstract, copper ideas and received a green light to return with a more fully developed proposal at this month's commission meeting.

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

They returned this time with 26 design images of various rounded, angular and irregular shapes, including one life-size mock-up of three connected loops. Commission members went over each one and choose 13 to pursue further. (See attached PDF files for the selected and rejected images.)

"This is great," Russell said after winning the panel's tentative endorsement of 13 designs. "This is totally great. I didn't expect it."

The commission and the artists have not always seen eye to eye. Not only did the panel reject their first idea, but the two sides did not agree on whether the rejected designs were the product of earlier commission guidance.

Only three of the five current members of the commission were present at the Wednesday night meeting: chair Joyce Hawley, Ed Franco and Thomas Halasz. The panel is supposed to have seven members, but two seats are vacant. The three voted to ask the artists to return, possibly at the Dec. 21 meeting depending on whether the other commissioners can attend, with design refinements that reflect the commission's feedback and the artists' judgment.

The project is the long-delayed, public-art piece of the city's multi-year San Pablo Avenue Streetscape Project.


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