"Florida airport art panel's role fuzzy"

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 

Airport art panel's role fuzzy
Commission, art in parking lot on hold 
By Christopher Calnan 
The Florida Times-Union


Money or Monet, that's the question the Jacksonville Airport Authority
is struggling with.

The authority board spent an hour yesterday discussing its arrangement
with the Jacksonville International Airport Arts Commission but couldn't
reach a decision.

It also couldn't decide whether it wanted to turn the parking lot of the
authority's new headquarters into a $310,000 work of art.

Although the board first considered both issues a month ago, yesterday,
it postponed making any decision until it got more information.

Authority Executive Director John Clark wants a formal agreement with
the commission in which the JAA would give 1 percent of the cost of
construction projects to the commission.

Unlike the current arrangement, the authority would own and manage the
art with the commission acting strictly as an adviser under Clark's
proposal.

Also under Clark's proposal, the 1 percent would be earmarked for JIA
art. An additional $100,000 a year would be provided by the authority
for public art at any of the authority's four airports.

The commission currently has an informal agreement with the authority,
and Clark said his proposal would "codify a relationship" with the
commission. But board member Jay Stein said the authority's three other
airports didn't need public art and $100,000 a year was too pricey.

"We don't need to spend that kind of money," he said.

The board initially voted to put Clark's proposal on the meeting's
consent agenda only to change its mind and postpone a vote until it got
more information.

The board also delayed voting on a public art project outside the new $8
million headquarters building.

The Arts Commission wants to use an undetermined amount of authority
money to pay Massachusetts artist and landscape architect Martha
Schwartz $310,000 to install trees and hundreds of colored objects
called gazing balls around the headquarters parking lot.

The JAA already has budgeted $156,000 to landscape the parking lot area.
The commission wants to use that money and contribute $60,000 it would
receive as a percentage of the construction for the project, plus the
balance from the city's Tree Fund.

But Stein questioned why a local artist wasn't contracted for the
project, and the board directed Clark to return with other options for
the headquarters. 

After the meeting, commission chairwoman Peggy Cornelius praised board
chairman Ed Austin's support of public art and said she was pleased the
authority agreed to the 1 percent funding -- even though the proposal
hasn't been approved yet.

Also, she said the delay in a decision could help the board understand
what the commission does and what it wants to do for airport public art.


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