FAC 08-31-04
APPROVED MINUTES
F
CUPEIQ1NO
FINE ARTS COMMISSION
Special Meeting, Conference Room A
10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino
August 31, 2004
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
Present: Chairperson Nancy Canter and Commissioners Janet Mohr, Shirley Lin-Kinoshita, Hema
Kundargi, and Carl Orr. Absent: None. Staff present: City Clerk Kimberly Smith and City
Architect Terry Greene.
PRESENTATIONS - None
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None
COMMISSIONER REPORTS
2. Monthly meeting with Mayor James (3'" Tuesday, 7 a.m., Hobee's Restaurant)
Commissioner Nancy Canter reviewed her summary regarding the July meeting. Shirley
Lin-Kinoshita will attend the September breakfast and Hema Kundargi will attend in
October.
3. Arts-related news updates from Commissioners
Commissioner Hema Kundargi reported that the Indian Festival of Lights would be held on
Oct. 3. The evening banquet is $35.
Commissioner Lin-Kinoshita reported that the Fine Arts League of Cupertino would have
speakers from Marketing for Artists on September 13 at 7:00 p.m. The free seminar is for
those interested in making a living from their art.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
4. Update on Art poster competition for Cupertino's 50th birthday (October 15,2005).
City Clerk Kimberly Smith stated that the City would not be organizing the event due to
lack of funding. She also stated that she had suggested that Nancy Bennett contact the Fine
Arts League to see if they were interested in coordinating such a competition.
August 31, 2004
Cupertino Fine Arts Commission
Page 2
NEW BUSINESS
5. Report on direction from City Council regarding accepting of sculpture of Cyrus the Great
Chairperson Nancy Canter indicated that all councilmembers voted for it except the Mayor.
She also indicated that during the Mayor's breakfast she had explained that she did not
vote for the sculpture due to the fact that the City does not have a policy in place regarding
acceptance of gifts such as a sculpture like Cyrus the Great.
City Clerk updated the commission on some of the background related to the sculpture
proposal and stated that the public hearing is only to receive input regarding location of the
sculpture. Nancy Canter felt that some statement neededto be made to the guidelines that
address offensive content. City Clerk indicated that a list search for policies related to
content had been done with other community development departments and public art
administration networks, but no policies had been found out of 15 different cities.
City Architect Terry Greene updated the commission on the work he has done related to
the donation of Cyrus the Great. He stated that a letter of agreement between the City and
the donors would be prepared which will list the conditions and the circumstances under
which the gift will be acceptable to the City of Cupertino.
The City Architect also suggested that it might be easier to write a policy that emphasizes
the positive aspects of what a particular piece should include rather than trying to think of
all the negative things that shouldn't be present. In addition, he reviewed several possible
locations that the commission may want to consider. City Clerk indicated that January
would probably be the best time to hold a public hearing.
The commission discussed possible locations for the sculpture and determined that there
were three areas around the Quinlan Center that they felt would be acceptable - the
fountain, where the Torque is located, and between the sidewalk and the parking area. The
commissioners were asked to review the possible locations and any others they think of,
think about possible names for the "sculpture garden", and review guidelines under the
"criteria and conditions for selection of artwork" for possible terminology that could be
added related to positive statements regarding appropriateness.
August 31, 2004
Cupertino Fine Arts Commission
Page 3
STAFF REPORTS
6. Committee Roster (information item)
NEWS ARTICLES
7. Media coverage
ADJOURNMENT
At 8:30 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.