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Statement of Interest San Pablo Avenue Streetscape Project This is the opportunity that we have been waiting for! We are an artist team living and working in Berkeley, just off of San Pablo Avenue. We are excited because our lives are so intertwined with the El Cerrito community. This includes Japanese writing classes for our children at Sycamore Preschool on Navellier Street, piano lessons on Fairmont Avenue, and youth soccer games at Castro Park. We also come to shop and dine in El Cerrito Plaza on a weekly basis. We feel that the pubic art opportunity for the San Pablo Avenue Streetscape Project is one of the more inspiring projects that we have come across. We’d like to create an “identifying signature” piece to enhance and enliven San Pablo Ave and its surroundings: one that will highlight the vibrant culture and diversity that we find everyday in El Cerrito. Proposed Design Concept: Our idea is to create eye catching visual images that will be displayed on all (over 200) of the streetlight poles along San Pablo Avenue. We will create steel cutout images attached to each streetlight pole that will also incorporate a street banner hanging mechanism, ready for the city to put up banners when needed. The shapes and imagery of the steel cutouts will reflect the considerable diversity of people and activities of the city. These will include themes from everyday activities: sports, schools, professions, community, and history. The images will celebrate the rich, diverse cultures and history of the city. We are open to any feedback from the community and the city to finalize the images of the artwork as well as the choice of colors. Materials and Equipment: Our metal fabricating shop located on Camelia Street is fully equipped with the necessary equipment to tackle any size public artwork. All artwork for this project will be fabricated at our studio. We will use steel plate (approx. 16 gauge thick) with a preference for recycled materials such as old street signage when possible. The cutout silhouette images will be sealed against corrosion by powder coating in bright colors and then hand painted using X?X?X?X paint. This will not only ensure visibility from a distance but also create more pedestrian friendly environment and provide continuity and color along the Project route. Dimensions: Artwork will be fit and scaled with the street light dimensions. This will be determined according to each image used. Saori Ide & Jonathan Russell 724 Camelia Street, Studio B Berkeley, CA 94710 [PHONE REDACTED] ---PAGE BREAK--- Safety: The elevated placement of the artwork will insure pedestrian safety as well as protect against vandalism. Maintenance: The artwork will be fabricated in durable, permanent, outdoor media that is safe, easily maintained, and has proven its viability in public artworks. A touch up kit will be provided but there should be little to no deterioration to the cutout images over the years to come. Saori Ide, born in Japan, has worked on many outdoor sculpture installations in the past. All of these were site specific and greatly appreciated by the various communities in which they were placed. Her unique use of space, in dialogue with placed objects, always brings the viewer to a heightened awareness of their surroundings. Saori is also an art consultant and works with many designers, architects, and the facility managers and owners. Her professional work includes working with her clients from conceptual design, reading blue prints, presentation of proposed ideas, budget proposal, overseeing and managing the projects, and installation of finished artwork. She has worked in various environments including offices, hotels, healthcare, and private residences. Jonathan Russell, a professor at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, has worked in various public and private commissions. One of his public commissions is “Cod in the Wind” commissioned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and installed at the Tetlow Park in Boston, MA. He created a 27’ high kinetic sculpture consisting of 18 hammered copper fish that move with the wind. This piece was very successful because the idea and the mechanical parts worked well together. Cod is a symbol of state of Massachusetts and the group of fish represents its community. Moving individually as well as a whole expresses the idea of people working together and at the same time the individuality of each one of us stays present. He worked closely with the city and the commissioning agent to keep within the budget, stay on schedule, and to provide a safe and maintenance free public sculpture. Jonathan has learned the old technique, used in making of old weathervanes, of hammering copper sheets to create the shape and forms. This method is appropriate for its use because of it is light in weight and the copper is a great weather resistant material. We strongly believe that a public art project is a collaborative work between artists and people who are involved in the decision-making, which may design professionals, city officials, public art committees, art consultant and other community members. Let us create an artwork that can be the strong visual element to the streetscape of San Pablo Avenue. We look forward to the opportunity to work with the creative team. Thank you for your consideration. ---PAGE BREAK--- Resume Education 1996 BFA, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM Experience 1998- 2003 Art Consultant – Chroma Art Design, San Francisco, CA 2003 - present Established Saori Russell Fine Art - International Art Consulting, San Francisco, CA Selected Projects & Clients List 2006 Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, CA (Designer: Gensler) 2007 Fremont Hospital, Fremont, CA (Designer: Carrie Lee Mohun) 2008 Hilton Hotel, Charlotte, NC (Designer: Kevin Joyce Design) Others: Holiday Inn Hotels, Embassy Suites Hotels, Double Tree Hotels, Eden Medical Center, Stanford Linear Accelerator Guest Lodge, Gate 3, Cupertino Electric Headquarter Honors 2001 2002 IN/SITE Art Award Nomination 1996 Graduated Summa cum Laude 1996 Charles Matox Prize 1995 – 1996 John Knight Scholarship Art Exhibitions 2005 Peace Art Show, [AC2] Gallery, Albuquerque, NM 2004 Gallery One Zero, San Francisco 2001-02 Palos Verdes Art Center, Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA 2000 Art Space, San Francisco, CA 2000 5th Annual Sculpture Walk, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA 1996 University of NM, Albuquerque, NM 1993 Raw Space Gallery, Albuquerque, NM Saori Ide 724 Camelia Street, Studio B Berkeley, CA 94710 [PHONE REDACTED] www.saoriide.com [EMAIL REDACTED] ---PAGE BREAK--- Resume EDUCATION 1991 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston MA TEACHING EXPERIENCE 1999-2009 Academy of Art College, SF 1999 College of Creative Studies, UCSB 1998-9 UC Santa Barbara 1992-93 Harvard University, 3D Core 1992-93 Harvard University, Drawing 1991-92 MA College of Art - Welding and Foundry EXHIBITIONS 2008 Adobe Center for the Arts, Hayward, CA 2007 ArtScape, Walnut Creek, CA 2006 Sakai Museum, Osaka, Japan 2005 Peace Art Show, [AC2] Gallery, Albuquerque, NM 2005 Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2004 Gallery 1777, San Francisco, CA 2003 Chroma Art Design, San Francisco, CA 2002 Palos Verdes Center for the Arts, Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA 2002 Harrison Gallery, Williamstown, MA 2001 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA 1999 The Tacheles, Berlin, Germany PUBLIC COMMISSIONS / INSTALLATIONS 2002 “Artists Chair – Red” Palos Verdes Center for the Arts Palos Verdes CA 2001 “Bodies in Progress” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts SF, CA 2001 “Artists Chair” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts SF, CF 2000 “Bodies in Progress” Tacheles, Berlin Germany 1998 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Tetlow Park Public Sculpture Commission: 25' high kinetic wind sculpture. Hammered copper & steel. Installed Nov. 1998 Contact: Jeffrey Keough - [PHONE REDACTED] 1996 Light Installation, Salem, MA. Cape Pond Ice Co Inc. 12'x 30' Light and Ice Aquarium 1995 "NEW ENGLAND WOMAN OF THE YEAR " Sculpture Commissioned by the MA Mental Health Assoc. Currently installed in Boston Red Sox Club House - Fenway Park. Jonathan Russell 724 Camelia Street, Studio B Berkeley, CA 94710 [PHONE REDACTED] [EMAIL REDACTED] www.RedMetalArts.com ---PAGE BREAK--- Image List 1. COD IN THE WIND, 1999 Medium: Copper and Steel Dimensions: 27’h x 12’w x 3’d Commonwealth of Massachusetts Tetlow Park Public Sculpture commission 27' high kinetic wind sculpture made of hammered copper & steel. Installed 1999 Budget: $20,000. Contact: Jeffrey Keough – [PHONE REDACTED] Fish are divided into three separate groups that move with the wind. As the wind blows it creates an undulating movement of the three sections that simulates a school of fish swimming. 2. COD IN THE WIND (west view), 1999 Medium: Copper and Steel Dimensions: 27’h x 12’w x 3’d Commonwealth of Massachusetts Tetlow Park Public Sculpture commission 3. COD IN THE WIND (detail view)), 1999 Medium: Copper and Steel Dimensions: 27’h x 12’w x 3’d Commonwealth of Massachusetts Tetlow Park Public Sculpture commission 4. ARTISTS CHAIR (view 2000 Medium: Steel Dimensions: 27’h x 9’w x 9’d Installation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts SF, CF Commissioned by the Yerba Buena Alliance 5. ARTISTS CHAIR (view 2000 Medium: Steel Dimensions: 27’h x 9’w x 9’d Installation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF, CA Commissioned by the Yerba Buena Alliance San Pablo Avenue Streetscape Project Saori Ide & Jonathan Russell 724 Camelia Street, Studio B Berkeley, CA 94710 [PHONE REDACTED] ---PAGE BREAK--- 6. RED ARTISTS CHAIR, 2001 Medium: Steel Dimensions: 27’h x 9’w x 9’d Installation at the Palos Verdes Center for the Arts, Palos Verdes, CA Contact: Scott Canty, Art Curator, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Senior Curator, Los Angeles World Airports, City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department: (323) 644-6269 7. BODIES IN PROGRESS, 2000 Medium: Copper and Steel Dimensions: 18’h x 12’w x 17’d Installation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF, CA Commissioned by the Yerba Buena Alliance 8. BODIES IN PROGRESS (detail), 2000 Medium: Copper and Steel Dimensions: 18’h x 12’w x 17’d Installation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF, CA Commissioned by the Yerba Buena Alliance 9. LANTERNS, 2000 Medium: Steel, Plexiglas, Lighting Elements Dimensions: 5’h x 20”w x 20”d Installation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF, CA Commissioned by the Yerba Buena Alliance 10. WINDOW OF ENLIGHTENMENT, 1996 Medium: Steel, Crashed Marbles, Rocks Dimensions: 5’h x 30’w x 30’d Installation at Albuquerque, NM ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK---