HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransmittal - 8/8/2023ERIN MENDENHALL
MAYOR
DEPARTMENT of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CITY COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL
Lis T (Aug 8,202316:45 MDT)
Lisa Shaffer, Chief Administrative Officer
LORENA RIFFO JENSON
DIRECTOR
Date Received: 08/08/2023
Date sent to Council: 08/08/2023
TO: Salt Lake City Council DATE: JULY 17H, 2023
Darin Mano, Chair
FROM: Lorena Riffo-Jenson, Director, Department of Economic Development
SUBJECT: Notification of deaccession of two artworks from the Salt Lake City Public Art
Collection: Wayne Chubin's Friends of the Park (Herman Franks Park location)
and Thomas Tessman's Pierpont Benches
STAFF CONTACTS: Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez, Public Art Program Manager, Salt Lake City
Arts Council, rnato.olmedo-gonzalez(d.)slcgov.com, 8o1-535-6511
ORDINANCE CONSIDERATIONS: 2.30.050: ART DESIGN BOARD JURISDICTION
E. Recommending to the Mayor and the deaccession of works of art in the City's collection. If
the Mayor accepts such recommendation, the Mayor will give notice to the City Council at least
forty five (45) days prior to the deaccession of any work of art in the City's collection, unless it
must be removed to mitigate an imminent safety hazard. (Ord. 7-21, 2021: Ord. 67-13, 2013)
DOCUMENT TYPE: Information Item & Ordinance
Mayor Erin Mendenhall approved the recommendation from the Salt Lake Art Design Board
enclosed, made in consultation with the Public Art Program, in favor of deaccessioning the
following artworks from the City's permanent public art collection:
a. Wayne Chubin's Friends of the Park, which was originally placed on the fagade of the
storage building within Herman Franks Park (70o East 1300 South).
b. Thomas Tessman's Pierpont Benches, which was originally located on the Pierpont
Walkway between 200 South & Pierpont Avenue.
This deaccession is based on the following programmatic priorities:
a) Both artworks could not be located and are now considered lost;
b) Deaccession of both artworks has been recommended as a course of action by a
professional assessment of our public art collection.
BUDGET IMPACT: Because the artwork has been considered lost, there is no budget impact
associated with these deaccessions.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
According to the Public Art Program's Artwork Deaccessioning Policy and Guidelines (adopted by
the Sal Lake Art Design Board on December 2, 2021), an artwork can be removed from our
permanent collection when:
a. It is not displayed, has not been consistently displayed in the past, and there are not any
plans for its future display;
b. It does not exist due to theft, accident, or natural disaster;
c. It is not or is rarely on display for lack of a suitable site.
Originally commissioned and installed in 1993, Wayne Chubin's Friends of the Park is a small,
discrete artwork installation consisting of mounted photographic plaques on enamel. These
plaques feature cheerful photographs and inspirational quotes of individuals who frequent Salt
Lake City parks. Friends of the Park was located in two different parks: 1) the fagade of the storage
building at Herman Franks Park and is now considered missing, and; 2) the south terrace of
Washington Park (Parley's Canyon, Exit 134 on 1-8o East), where the artwork remains. The
Herman Franks Park installation could not be located, and it is not known when it was removed or
the cause behind the artwork's disappearance. An exhaustive search of the Public Art Program's
records indicated that the artwork was last formally reviewed for condition issues in September
20o8. At the time, the Herman Franks artwork was noted for its damage, which included
extensive scratches and bullet holes due to vandalism. Although the artwork at Washington Park
is in overall fair condition, it noticeably faded and deteriorated due to its age. According to a data
worksheet found during the research process, the Public Art Program paid $1,258 for each
artwork location ($2,516 for both locations).
Thomas Tessman's Pierpont Benches, originally located Pierpont Walkway between 200 South &
Pierpont Avenue, consisted of an artist -designed sandstone bench, intentionally placed along the
pathway. An exhaustive search of our Public Art Program records did not find any information or
context regarding the artwork. Physically, the Pierpont Benches could not be located, and it is not
known when they were removed or the cause behind their disappearance. Given the artwork's
seamless integration onto the former landscape architecture of the site, it is the Public Art
Program's assumption its removal happened during a previous construction project and that the
benches were not thought of as proper artwork. There are no existing records of a report ever
being made to the Public Art Program regarding the artwork's removal.
Attachments: Last known images of the artworks.
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Figure 1 Wayne Chubin, Friends of the Park installation image. 2oo8 photograph.
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Abdul-Raheem Noor took his grandson ShareeE by V
the hand and walked to Herman Pranks Park nearly
every day during the summer of 1991 A Palestinian {
visiting from the West Bank, Abdul-Raheem had met .x
c=t, ShareeE for the list vine. 90 he spent the summer
gig acq"nted with 5hareel on the playpvund P b
and tearhbig him to count in English and Arabic on
tha swings. The Park s— T hey " r e a l l a b o u t H e r i t a g e-
Figure 2 Wayne Chubin, Friends of the Park, right panel detail. 2oo8 photograph.
Figure 3 Wayne Chubin, Friends of the Park, left panel detail. 2oo8 photograph.
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