Potential Locations Mapped for Light-pole Art on San Pablo Avenue

The plan for what would be the biggest public art project in El Cerrito history – installing 12 abstract copper sculptures on a streetlight poles along San Pablo Avenue – entered a significant new stage last night, Wednesday, when members of the Arts and Culture Commission tentatively mapped where they would go.

Commission members to study potential locations and last night placed tiny toothpick-size streetlight poles on a table-size map of San Pablo. After considerable discussion, a tentative consensus left the map with the sculptures in five groupings between El Cerrito Plaza on the south and Home Depot on the north.

Only three members of the five-member panel were present at last night's meeting at City Hall, and those three – Joyce Hawley, Thomas Halasz and Paul Lupinksy –  opted not to take a vote but to continue the discussion until their February meeting in hopes that the full commission could attend.

The commission's final vote and a public hearing on the proposal were tentatively planned for the commission's meeting for March.

By next month's commission meeting, the panel could grow to its authorized size of seven members since the City Council is now interviewing applicants to fill the commission's two vacant seats, said Councilwoman Rebecca Benassini, who was present at last night's meeting, her first as the new council liaison to the commission.

Two artists – Jonathan Russell and Saori Ide of Berkeley – were awarded a $100,000 commission in an open competition sponsored by the city to create the sculptures as the public art component of the San Pablo Avenue Streetscape Project. The $6.6-million streetscape project is essentially complete except for the art, which was delayed by earlier disagreement over what direction it would take.

Last night's map of locations put two sculptures at the city's southern gateway at El Cerrito Plaza, with one next to and the other at the corner of Carlson Boulevard at the Payless shoe store parking lot.

Heading north on San Pablo, the next grouping would be placed on three poles near City Hall. Next would be two at the busy intersection of Potrero Avenue, and then three next to the del Norte BART station. The final two scupltures would go near Home Depot.

Given that the BART station and Potrero Avenue locations are freeway access points and major traffic/transit nodes, four of the five groupings would be located at the city's main entrance points.

"Those are our gateways," said Assistant City Manager Karen Pinkos, who served as staff liaison at the meeting.

The commissioners and Pinkos indicated that selecting City Hall for the fifth grouping would place them in a highly visible location of special civic significance.

Before the commission's Jan. 10 tour of possible locations, the artists had presented three options for locating the sculptures in symmetrical groupings: pairs at six locations, groups of four at three locations or groups of six at two locations.

Commission members last night, however, said they preferred a mix. The placement of sculptures near Home Depot came at the urging of Hawley, the panel chair. "I think it's important not to exclude that part of town," she said.

In earlier meetings, the commission considered their preferences for the designs of the scupltures, which would move with the wind. Each of the abstract copper forms would be framed in a C-shaped partial circle of stainless steel four feet in diameter. The frames are  designed to resemble the city-installed bike racks on San Pablo.

The artworks would be placed on the sidewalk side of the poles, with the bottom of the frames 20 feet off the ground.

Funding for the project results from the city's Art in Public Places Ordinance, adopted by the City Council in 2005, requiring that new projects costing $250,000 or more devote at least one percent of the development costs to public art. It is Chapter 13.50 in the city's Municipal Code.

The artists' first proposal – 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 Arts and Culture Commission is a volunteer citizens panel appointed by the City Council. Among its responsibilities is the selection of public art works and the rotating art exhibit at City Hall.

For past articles on the San Pablo Avenue public art project, click "San Pablo Avenue Streetlight Pole Sculptures" next to Related Topics below this article. For alerts on future stories on the topic, click the "Keep me posted!" button below the article.