Loading...
FAC 06-22-04 AGENDA FINE ARTS COMMISSION Regular Meeting, Conference Room A 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino June 22, 2004 7:30 p.m. CUPEIQ1NO CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Minutes ofthe regular meeting of May 25, 2004 PRESENTATIONS ORAL COMMUNICATIONS WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIONER REPORTS 2. Monthly meeting with Mayor James (3m Tuesday, 7 a.m., Hobee's Restaurant) . Report from commissioner Carl Orr regarding the June meeting . Confirm representative to attend July meeting - tentatively scheduled to be Janet Mohr 3. Arts-related news updates from Commissioners UNFINISHED BUSINESS 4. Prepare recommendation regarding offer to donate bas-relief sculpture of Cyrus the Great for the Cupertino Library (continued from May 25). Dedication ceremony for Cali Mill Plaza scheduled for July 24,10 a.m. 5. 6. Percent for Art recommendation for inclusion in the General Plan - hearings before the Planning Commission may begin in August. 7. Arrange for Distinguished Artist of the Year award to be presented to Kate Curry at Shakespeare Festival performance on Saturday, July 31. Catalogue current and future City art collection 8. NEW BUSINESS STAFF REPORTS 9. Committee Roster (information item) DRAFT MINUTES FINE ARTS COMMISSION Regular Meeting, Conference Room A 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino May 25, 2004 CITY OF CUPEIQ1NO CALL TO ORDER At 7:35 p.m., Chairperson Nancy Canter called the meeting to order in Conference Room A of Cupertino City Hall, 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California. ROLL CALL Present: Chairperson Nancy Canter, and Commissioners Janet Mohr, Shirley Lin-Kinoshita and Hema Kundargi. Commissioners absent: Carl Orr. Staff present: City Clerk Kimberly Smith. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Minutes of the regular meeting of April 27, 2004. Commissioners Kundargi and Orr moved and seconded to adopt the minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously. PRESENTATIONS ORAL COMMUNICATIONS WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIONER REPORTS 2. Monthly meeting with Mayor James (3rd Tuesday, 7 a.m., Hobee's Restaurant) Hema Kundargi reviewed the discussions held at the Mayor's Breakfast meeting in May, including fund-raising events for the Cupertino Library, attendance statistics at the "Down Under" Teen Center, and a request by the Senior Commission to work with the Fine Arts Commission to display art in the new library. It was agreed that Carl Orr would attend the June breakfast, and Janet Mohr would attend in July. 3. Arts-related news updates from Commissioners Commissioner Kundargi's vegetarian cooking show won a national award from the Home Town Video Festival. Kundargi also reported that she had attended the Library Commission meeting, and the Public Works Director Ralph Qualls was also in attendance. She explained that the Fine Arts Commission hoped to do small rotating displays of art, perhaps in 10 places, and have arrangements in advance to hang artwork, provide appropriate lighting, etc. She said that I-I May 25, 2004 Cupertino Fine Arts Commission Page 2 Mr. Qualls agreed to give the F AC a tour ofthe new facility in September or October before the opening. Kundargi said that Kathy Stakey of the Library Commission had inquired about the future of the morion sculpture, which is currently in storage and needs minor repair. She said the Fine Arts Commission might wish to send a letter of recommendation with suggestions for sites where the sculpture could be placed. Lin-Kinoshita said that she and Kundargi would be working with recreation supervisor Nancy Bennett on the art poster for Cupertino's 50th anniversary. She said they would be helping to market and promote the project to local artists. Nancy Bennett has already contacted the Fine Arts League of Cupertino, and the Historical Society, and it would be put on the agenda when there was new information. Chairperson Nancy Canter re-ordered the agenda to discuss item 6.a. next. NEW BUSINESS 6a. Discuss ways for the Teen Commission and the Fine Arts Commission to work together. Teen Commissioner Cosmo Jiang asked if the commission could assist them with finding art for the blank walls at the new Teen Center, known as "Down Under." He explained that the teen commission will recess in the summer and will meet again in September or October of2004. He said they hoped to arrange for artworks that could be changed once or twice a year. The Fine Arts Commissioners discussed a number of approaches, and suggested that Jiang contact art clubs and instructors at his high school to find a contact idea. Other ideas including featuring one school at a time. Kundargi said it would be important to have contact from each school at some point in time. Mohr volunteered to look at the Teen Center facility and create an inventory of space available for art. Jiang provided his e-mail address and phone number so the commission members could stay in touch and offer suggestions. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5. Status report on "Perspectives" sculpture and the opening of City Center Plaza Park. The City Clerk announced that City Council had officially changed the name ofthe Park to Cali Mill Plaza. The dedication ceremony has been scheduled for July 24 at 10:00 a.m. 6. Status report on Percent for Art recommendation for inclusion in the General Plan. The City Clerk said that public hearings will start in the next few months and she invited the Fine Arts Commissioners to participate in support oftheir recommendation for a Percent for Art program. 7. Review of nominations and selection of Distinguished Artist of the Year for 2004. Shirley Lin-Kinoshita recused herself from discussion and voting on this item because she knew one of the nominees. /-2 Cupertino Fine Arts Commission Page 3 May 25, 2004 Hema Kundargi/Carl Orr moved to select Kate Curry for the award. The motion carried Kundargi, Orr, Mohr, and Canter voting Aye and Lin-Kinoshita abstaining. The City Clerk said she would contact the Shakespeare Festival to arrange for a time on their stage to make the award. 8. Prepare recommendation regarding offer to donate bas-relief sculpture of Cyrus the Great for the Cupertino Library. The City Clerk said that Fariba Nejat and Nirvana Anoosheh of the Payvand Cultural Organization had approached the city with a proposal to donate a sculpture. It would feature on one side a replica of an ancient statue of the Persian leader Cyrus the Great, creator of the first written human rights, and on the other side it could feature another civil rights leader or some other figure of the Council's choice. It was suggested that the sculpture be placed in a city park, and the City Clerk had suggested that it also be considered for the Cupertino library, since there had been no budget for art in the building and both the Library Commission and Fine Arts Commission had been working on ways to make that happen. The Commissioners concurred to continue this item to the next meeting. 9. Review and adopt amended Guidelines for the Selection of Public Art. The City Clerk said that City Manager David Knapp had suggested that the Commission adopt these guidelines and he would include them as a part ofthe Administrative Procedures that is distributed to all departments. Janet Mohr provided some suggested grammatical corrections. Shirley Lin-Kinoshita and Nancy Canter moved to adopt the amended Guidelines with grammatical changes to be made at the direction of the City Clerk, and to request that the Guidelines be included as a part of the City's Administrative Procedures. The motion carried unanimously. 10. Catalogue current and future City art collection The commissioners agreed to make the next meeting a working meeting to fill out the catalogue forms and determine what information must still be acquired. STAFF REPORTS II. 12. Committee Roster (information item) - no action taken Letters offering support for arts sent to Teen Commission and Library Commission. The Commissioners received copies of the letters that had been sent to the other commissions. NEWS ARTICLES 13. Media coverage ADJOURNMENT At 9:50 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. Kimberly Smith, City Clerk 1~3 At the Council meeting of June 7, 2004, Bahman Marzbani from Sydney, Australia, talked about a proposal to donate a sculpture to the City of Cupertino, which could be placed in a local park or in the library. The Library Commission and Fine Arts Commission have been informed of the proposal made by Fariba Nejat and Nirvana Anoosheh, and the Fine Arts Commission is preparing a recommendation. Mr. Marzban explained that the sculpture would feature a statue of Cyrus the Great on one side, could feature a statue of an American hero or the representation of a "forgotten soldier" on the other side. He explained that Cyrus was a Persian emperor who created the first declaration of human rights in 536 B.C., which emphasized liberty, religious freedom, justice, and gender equality. Mr. Marzban distributed the following materials at the Council meeting, which are attached here: Information from www.oznet.net/cvrus/cvrus.htm , information from http://(aculty.mdc.edu/;mcnair/Joe12par;!;es/cvrus the r;!;reat.htm , and the text titled "first charter of human rights" Cyrus the Great in Sydney, Australia This is a replica of a Bas-Relief found in Pasargade, the capital city of Persia founded by Cyrus. It depicts Cyrus the Great ( 580-529 BC). Cyrus was the first Achaemenian Emperor of Persia, who issued a decree on his aims and policies, later hailed as his charter of the rights of nations. Inscribed on a clay cylinder, this is known to be the first declaration of Human Rights, and is now kept at the British Museum. A replica of this is also at the United Nations in New York. The Bas-relief shown here by Lewis Batros, a Sydney Artist, was put up at Sydney's Bicentennial Park, October 1994, through the efforts of the Australian Iranian community with donations from all over the world and contributions from the NSW Local Government. It symbolizes Multiculturalism, a word coined to express the coexistence and peaceful cohabitation of peoples from different background and culture in one land. A doctrine which is the foundation of advanced societies especialiy in Australia and the USA and which was also Cyrus's Claim to fame. At a time when Iran bashing was the rule and the norm, this gesture by the New South Wales Government was seen as a welcoming sign by the Iranian community and the event has since been annually remembered during the Mehregan Festival in September. Please visit the other pages in this site for a more detailed account. Make a bookmark to come back, and thank you so much for visiting, I hope that your experience has been a good one. 1./-/ First charter of human rights Cyrus the Great (reigning king of the Persian Empire) entered Babylon in 539 B.C. On the day of coronation, Cyrus read his decree of freedom and human rights, which is, currently, kept in the British Museum in London. Among his goals, entering Babylon, was to free the Jews from slavery. Following is an excerpt from this charter. "Now that I put the crown of kingdom of Iran, Babylon, and the nations of the four directions on the head with the health of Ahura Mazda1, I announce that I will respect the traditions, customs and religions of the nations of my empire and never let any of my governors look down or insult them until I am alive. From now on, until the Ahura Mazda grants me the kingdom favor, I will impose my monarchy on no nation. Each is free to accept it, and if anyone of them rejects it, I never resolve on war to reign. Until I am king of Iran, Babylon and the four directions, I will never let anyone oppress any others, and I will take his or her right back and penalize the oppressor. And until I am the monarch, I will never let anyone take possession of movable and landed properties of the others by force or without compensation. Until I am alive I prevent unpaid, forced labor. Today, I announced that everyone is free to choose a religion. People are free to live in all regions and take up a job provided that they never violate other's rights. No one could be penalized for his or her relative's faults. I prevent slavery and my governors and subordinates are obliged to prevent exchanging men and women as slaves within their own ruling domains. Such a tradition should be exterminated the world over. ~L I implore to Ahura Mazda to make me succeed in fulfilling my obligations to the nations of Iran, Babylon and the ones of the four directions." ------------------------------------------------------ Notes: 1) Ahura Mazda: the wise creator of universe and life (God), the first monotheistic God that Zarathushtra preached to the world. History dates Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) draft back to a range of 2000-6000 B.C. 4~3 Items to be catalogued and photographed: . Children's tile wall, by Cupertino school children/Euphrat Museum of Art supervision. Located at the Quinlan Community Center children's patio. Children's Tile Wall", a series of kiln-fired hand-made bas-relief ceramic tiles created by children, inserted into stucco wall surrounding the pre-school classroom play area at the Quinlan Community Center. Installed approximately October 2001. . Sculpture - Morion. Metal sculpture of morion (conquistador's helmet). the City symbol. Had been located at library, now temporarily stored near the City maintenance yard on Mary Avenue during library construction. Measures approximately 30 feet high, constructed of rusted core 10 steel, City purchased it for approximately $60,000- $70,000 in the iate 70's or early 80's. . Mural in City Hall-historical scenes, "The Cupertino Mutal" by T. Scott Sayre . Mural in City Hall- watercolor landscape, "Spring in Cupertino" by Zhun Wang Zho, donated between Aug 1993 and Aug 2000 . Sculpture - Torque (loaned), by Robert Ellison, located at the Quinlan Community Center on Stelling. Red paint on steel. Two year loan from -' renewable. . Sculpture - Perspectives (commissioned $150,000), by Roger Berry, located at the comer of Stevens Creek and DeAnza Bivds, in the Cali Mill Plaza. Burnished stainless steel. March 2004 . Sculpture - children and animals, by Georgia Gerber, donated by Dick and Carolyn Randall, located in the Civic Center Plaza in front of the Cupertino Library. Bronze. October 2004 . Sculpture ~ reading child, by Georgia Gerber, donated by Dick and Carolyn Randall, located in the Library atrium. Bronze. October 2004. Value ofboth sculptures $60,000 . . Fountain - Civic Center Plaza, designed by Community Hall. October 2004 as part of new Library and -----------------______n___-_---_____--n--_________n__n_--__---------------______nn____-n_-n- . Reference Portal software sculpture . Reference Whole Foods Market mural Reference DeAnza College art works . Reference Quinlan Community Center revolving exhibit ofFALC . Reference Cupertino Senior Center artworks, if any g--I 5. Fountain - Quinlan Community Center - nonfunctioning. discussions underway as to whether it should be repaired at cost of $70,000 In FY 2004-2005 or demolished and planted as rose garden or other solution. 6. Fountain and ponds - Memorial Park and Senior Center area 7. Two Japanese -style pagoda stone lanterns, gifts from Sister City Toyokawa Japan (some time before Aug 2000). located at Memorial Park 8. Historical (maybe) gazebo with white-painted gingerbread located near ponds at Memorial park 9. Perhaps in storage. possibly at the yard, a painting on velvet of a conquistadore, with a 3- dimensional helmet and suit of armor. It may have since been "disappeared". it was passed around as a white elephant for a while and used to regularly end up on city hall's doorstep. 10. Perhaps in storage, a donated oil or acrylic painting measuring about 2 feet by 4 feet, which featured the Highway 85 sign, Deanza College buildings and a bare footprint. 14. A variety of smail items presented as gifts from Sister City Toyakawa. Japan, and Friendship City Hsinchu City, Taiwan. These include tea sets, wine glasses, dolls, pens, and other ornamental items. I don't think these ciassify as art, but perhaps the auditors will have a definition. 15. An battery-operated operated grandfather clock presented as a gift from Toyokawa Japan presented approximately 5 years ago. This may not be "art" either. Think it is at the Corporation Yard. g-~ City of Cupertino Catalogue of Art and Sculpture Catalogue No. 001 Description Title: Spring in Cupeliino Subject Matterl Mural featuring Cupertino landscape, hillsides, buildings and Highway 85 Description: tall Four panels each measuring 41 1/4 inches wide and 96 1/8 inches Date of Artwork: Materials and Condition: Asian-style watercolor on four rice paper panels Location(s): East wall of City Hall lobby, 10300 Torre Avenue Artist Name: Mr. Zhung Wang Zhao Address: Telephone: Fax: Email: Website: Notes: ACQuisition Date: October 7,1995 Indicate method of acquisition: Donated by Mr. Zhung Wang Zhao and Mrs. Yun Liu Zhao. Gift made possible with support of San Francisco Tung-bei Association, Luzelo Company, Inc., and Beijing TCM Acupuncture Center 8--:3 Purchase price, if applicable: Value (with date of appraisal, if applicable): City of Cupertino ID number Owner Name: City of Cupertino Address: Telephone: Fax: Email: Website: Notes: CopvriQht Status Maintenance Recommended care and maintenance, and any special services or supplies necessary. Shirley Lin Kinoshita, Fine Arts Commissioner, prepared this information when the paintings were being moved during the lobby remodel in March, 2002. I found the mural in good condition, but some buckling on the first panel is noted. If Mr. Green can safely remove the four panels, and reinforce the backing before me mounting them, this would certainly be advisable. Rice paper is very thin paper and fragile. It's usually mounted with the type of wallpaper- like Lou on the rigid board to remove wrinkles and support the painting. Since the paper surface is so fragile, extra care has to be taken in removal and restoration. I don't know what kind of protective coating woodwork, but the normal course. for most media is to use in acrylic spray such as Clive on brand for pastels and watercolors. To prevent accidental damage with routine traffic near the mural, a rigid clear covering, such as an acrylic panel, is recommended. -2- ~-L( Images -3- $ì-S COMMITTEE ROSTER Cupertino Fine Arts Commission updated 6/11/04 or Status .".11 ..,'. ...... '.".'.' '. Mayor's Breakfast Any available member Monthly meeting with Third Tuesday of the month, 7:00 a.m., Hobee's Restaurant, may attend Mayor and Cupertino representatives of all boards and commissions Distinguished Artist Constance Guidotti selected in 2003, accepted plaque at of the Year 2004 Shakespeare. Exhibited works for one month at Quinlan Center by arrangement with the Fine Arts League.. 1 % for Art Lin-Kinoshita and Work with Planning, Proposed text submitted to Planning Department as part of Orr in 2002 Finance to develop General Plan update process. Council currently receiving input program, forms, etc. from General Plan Task Force (community members). All are welcome to hearings. Public hearings for rest of community not yet scheduled. Grants Committee No grant funds available for FY 2003 (Spring 2004) Grants Committee No grant funds available for FY 2003 (Fall 2004) Fine Arts Grants - Lin-Kinoshita and No grant funds available for FY 2003 high school Mohr in 2002 category -S;) t Art & Wine Notes from 2003: "party favors" (colorful necklaces) were a Festival 2005 good draw for children who brought parents. [fhot, consider Info booth spray bottleslportable battery fans. Need large Fine Arts Commission sign on the booth, there were too many city logos banner alone was not sufficient. Paperweights needed. 400 flyers each will be sufficient. Consider gift bags, people didn't want to take too many flyers. Very successful, great public outreach. Commission chose not to participate in 2004, instead focusing on City Center Plaza Park dedication happening that same month, but will reconsider an info booth for 2005 Library Art Kundargi Will attend Library Commission meeting(s), monitor progress of Opportunities library construction and identifY potential art locations. Clerk prepared letter for chair's signature offering support. All commissioners to visit other libraries, etc. and collect ideas for art for the Cupertino Library, scheduled to open October 2004 City Center Plaza! .Sculpture installed March 10-13, 2004. Work ongoing on Sculpture fountains, landscaping. Park scheduled to open to visitors mid- "Perspectives" May, DEDICATION CEREMONY JULY 2410 A.M. Other agency contacts: History - On 10-28-03 FAC members plus City Manager and Frank Jelinch (P&R) Senior Architect visited Norcal Metal Fabricators to view Don Bragg, Prometheus Perspectives under construction. Clerk and commissioners to Cypress Hotel begin building web site info, photos (Shirley) to promote Perspectives to be ready for it's unveiling .J:I \ ~ 2005 Cherry Kundargi was lead in 2001 and 2002. Lin-Kinoshita was lead in Blossom Festival 2003. Children's Art History: First year was competition, 2nd year was exhibit of 4 Display Seasons corner. Each model received a $45 stipend, schools got plaques totaling about $400. 3RD and 4th yrs were felt banners. Interest waning, too time-consuming on part ofFAC to finish/instaillteardown. 5th year was an art exhibit - creation supervised by Euphrat Arts in Schools programs. 6th year oversaw the project, which was 2-D and 3-D projects therne of "Stevens Creek Naturally",indigenous plant, animal and insect life of the creek. Theme for 2004 was "The Creative Spirit - Artwork by Cupertino Children." Oversight by Diana Argabrite ofEuphrat Museum. Commissioners agreed it was highly sucessful this year, good circulation through Quinlan Center, very high quality art from children. Festival Organizer is Lucille Honig, (408) 257-7424 Euphrat Family No plans for 2004 event. Cancelled in 2003. Instead, Euphrat Day held a hands-on art and an information booth, F AC created April 1 2003 brochures and flyers of upcoming recreational and art events for the booth at the Flea Market on April 5. Arts and Recreation Shirley Lin-Kinoshita Brochure completed, two items still have TBA. Distributed to Brochure city offices. Changes can be made and item reprinted for Cherry Blossom Festival if desired. Poster competition Shirley Lin-Kinoshita Committee to work with Nancy Bennett, Recreation Coordinator - Cupertino's 50th (lead) on juried exhibition and competition to create poster of city anniversary Hema Kundargi historicallandmark(s), to be sold in honor of city's 50'" anniversary, and art works to be exhibited as part of celebration "Down Under" Janet Mohr Work with Cosmo Jiang of the Cupertino Teen Commission to Teen Center art assist them in acquiring or creating rotating art display at Teen request Center. Most activity delayed until Teen Comm is back in Sept 4} \ UJ Shah espeare in the Park f st~y ¿; / ¥'W. Shakespeare: Sales tax is funding source Continued from page 1 The city contributes funding to a total of six festivals every year, along with the annual fireworks display. Since the fire- works cost roughly the same amount as five festivals combined (excluding the Shakespeare. festival), the council is considering which events are most sig- nificant to the public. "Right now it's all on the table," Lowenthal said. "I expect a lot of com- promise." He said that one possibility would be for the community to help raise money to support the programs it desires. However, he said the primary source of funding for these events is sales tax. "Most of all, we need people to shop Cupertino," Lowenthal said. "That's the best way to support these festivals." Toby Leavitt, executive director of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, which sponsors Shakespeare in the Park in Cupertino, said she hopes that the city will be able to put on this sum- mer's program. She said she has received numerous communications from Cupertino residents giving their support to Shakespeare in the Park. "It's actually been an unexpected sil- ver lining to this black cloud that we're in" she said 'Leavitt s:rid she hopes that people will also come out to voice their support during the council's hearings on the budget decisions. "It is hard to create tradition in the ever-changing world, and a community traditi()n is something to cherish and maintain," said Cupertino resident Christine Kennedy Pierce, who has come to council meetings to learn more about the cuts. "I don't want to lose the tradition of Shakespeare in the park. Residents who feel inclined to speak about the Shakespeare festival or other budget items can attend the city council budget hearings being held at 6:45 p.m. June 7, 14 and 21. City council cham- bers are located at 10300 Torre Ave. in Cupertino. BRIEFS Young artists shine in local Olympiad The Olympics will be held in Greece this year,. but local students are bringing home pnzes from artistic competitions recently held in the "Athens of the West." The West Valley/Mission College Foundation awarded five Cupertino reSidents as part of the Olympiad of the Arts. Ninety students from Santa Oara County were honored for their studies in a myriad of areas, including the visu- al arts, dance and music. Four of the Cupertino winners were honored for classical piano: Jay Wang of MisslOn College, and Grace Bahk Michael Wang and June-Ho Kim of Monta Vista received an award for act- mg. Honorees exhibited their work and perfo~ed at We~t Valley College on May 2 m COn]unctlOn with the Saratoga Rotary Art Show. The Olympiad of the Arts began in 1928 due to the efforts of u.S. Sen. James Phelan and Dr. Henry Meade Bland, who believed the Santa Clara Valley was capable of achieving the cul- tur~l significance. of that famous Greek capItal. Until 1984, the event was hetd every four years to coincide with the Olympic Games, and the competition :: ~~~e creativity and excel- The Olympiad's sponsors, including Arts Council Silicon Valley awarded $6,000 in prizes this year. ' Jau festival in need of volunteer helpers The San Jose Jazz Society needs more than 600 volunteers for the San Jose Jazz Festival, taking place from Aug. 5 to 8 m Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Music lovers are Ileeded to sell beverages and tic~ets .and hell? .with staging, while lis- tenmg m 011 a liD.eup including Terellce Blanchard and Pete Escovedô To sign up, call 408.288.7557; "ext. 2327. City offering class in composting for free Compo~t ""? wor~ wollders, so the city of Cupertmo 15 offeTIllg a class in how to compost. In coordination with the Home Composling Education Program for Santa Clara County, Cupertino is hold- mg a free "Composting Basics" work- shop on1une 5. The two-hour workshop will address the basics in backyard and WOTIll com- posting, and information on purchasing low-cost composting bins and equipment will be available. Master Composter vol- unteers from the local area will teach the class. The workshop will take place on June 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at McClellan Ranch Park. Preregistration is required. To enroll, call 408.918.4640. Sponsors are needed for Red Cross drives The American Red Cross is looking for sponsors to hold blood drives at their businesses and ""hools to help the reach its goal. of a five- to seven-day blood supply m California in case of a disaster. Those interested in sponsoring a blood drive must be able to supply at least 40 donors and a room of 1000 squ~e feet forone day.For more infor- mation, ca1l8oo.GIVE.LIFE. t /2-þ t /ð-I Photo"",p' =urt~y of Cbulie SchIey Webelos (from left) Sandeep Peddada. Stephen Abeshima. Jared Kim, Marcus Schorow. Michael Schrey, Cory Chen and Devon Koning (missing from the pic- ture is Jason Jin) produced a film on DVD that takes viewers back in time to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Scout-produced film 'Pack to the Future' makes film fest By ALLISON ROST Along the banks of Calabazas Creek, a number of Cub Scouts run for their lives. The cause is a modem- day version of Mt. Vesuvius, created from a foot-high pile of dirt and erupting cour- tesy of a combination of vinegar, baking soda and red food coloring. It's part of Pack to the Future, an 11- minute film produced by first-year Webelos in local Pack 411. The trip back in time and the encroaching lava were all scripted, but the whole process tested their mettle at remembering lines and editing digital video. The youngsters made their film debut as part of a badge, but their efforts have not gone unnoticed-Pack to the Future was featured at the inaugural Danville International Children's FIlm Festival the weekend of May 21. Such cinematic projects are not uncom- mon to those in Pack 411 completing the Showman badge. "Every month, a certain den is signed up for a movie or a skit," says Marcus Schorow. 9. Past pack pro- ductions have become legendary. includ- ing a documentary on water rocket launches and a Harry Potter spoof. Den 4's opportunity came calling via a bona fide DeLorean, much like the one seen in the 1985 film Back to the Future. Bethel Lutheran Church. which hosts the den's meetings, was using the car for a service last October. "The church was doing a special production." says Mona Schorow, the den leader. The den filmed the DeLorean's owner driving the car-but the boys weren't allowed in the driver's seat. That footage became the backbone of the production. "It was the most amazing thing to see- these boys brainstormed at each meet- ing," Schorow say¡;. After watching the original film. the group of 11 boys scripted a premise that sent them traveling to March Zoo5 to see their future selves graduate from Cub to Boy Scouts. But when they got there, the Scouts found that they were unable to advance because of a missing geology badge. The solution? Go baok in time to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and collect some unique geological evidence. The filming took over a month because camera time was spotty. "We were work- ing just on Monday¡; and some weekends," say¡; nine-year-old Jared Kim. The script provided basic guidelines, but a number of lines were ad-libbed, which challenged the young thespians. "It's. hard to act out everything yon do. It's hard to remember lines." Marcus says. "There were a lot of outtakes." Several of those involved the makeshift volcano, created in Schorow's backyard. The vinegarlbaking soda mixture didn't work on several takes, and the model DeLorean kept flipping over. Other flubs were featured at the end of the movie and proved that it was a learning experience. "They had no idea that you could shoot things out of order," Schorow says. However, editing the footage was the real challenge. Pack leader Charlie Schrey let the boy¡; splice the digital footage together using Apple's iMovie, a task that took two months to complete. Through a Back to the Future website. Schrey found a composer in France who put a theme song together. "It was hard work," say¡; 100year-old Devon Koning, "but I enjoyed the sound effects." Of the 30 DVD copies of Pack to the Future, one made it to the creators of Danville's first International Children's FIlm Festival. Much to the surprise of the I Scouts, the movie was chosen for the fes- , tival's slate. i While their cinematic counterparts let: procrastination get the best of them, Den 4 doesn't intend to follow suit. The Showman badge is just one step to becom- ing a full-fledged Boy Scout, but there are few others that require such projects. "This is our big one." Devon says. Their work paid off when Pack to the Future premiered at the Pack 411 Pinewood Derby in January to good reviews. "Seeing the finished product was the best part," says Sandeep Peddada, 9. and Devon reports that a number of audience members clapped. "But they were looking at the car," Marcus adds, a teaè to ':stage free' exhibition Japan has brought sushi, karaoke and all manner of . video games to the shores 'of the United States. And ,now, s a little ,more de its way The Wafuof IkebaÌ1a will show off itS , members' talents in the art of se flower arrang- .,' e 12 and 13 at Community 'Center. Teacher-level mem- "b e school's apter will, d demonstrate 'work tbrough- days. ntis taking place te the l50th erican- ns. } 0-;;) De Anza art students to take over museum The school year is winding to a close, and De Anza College art students final- ly have the opportunity to strut their creative stuff. . The De Anza College Student Art Show is running through June 10, and features a broad range of media, with all pieces created by De Anza students. A jury of three will select three works for awards, and the results will be announced at a reception on June 8. The show is exhibiting in the Euphrat Museum of Art on the De Anza cam- pus. Museum hours are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to <tp.m. ¿/i/o'/ ItJ-3