The Santa Monica City Manager’s office will be entering into a professional services contract with artist Mike Ross for $125,000 “for the fabrication and installation of an artwork for the east façade of Parking Structure 6.”
“Artist Mike Ross is proposing to create a whimsical, brightly-colored ‘paint drip’ sculpture for the east façade of the new Parking Structure 6 at a cost of $125,000,” staff said. “The work would enliven the alleyway and engage passersby; parts of the sculpture would be viewable from the Third Street Promenade.”
Based upon the artist rendering, the sculpture would be conspicuously visible in the alleyway adjacent to the outer façade of the renovated Parking Structure 6. It would be 59.9 feet wide by 62.2 feet tall.
Parking Structure 6, located at 1431 2nd Street between Broadway and Santa Monica Boulevard, is currently closed for redevelopment and is expected to be complete in late 2013.
According to City Hall, Ross was selected last year through a competitive process and his design has been reviewed and approved by the Santa Monica Arts Commission and its Public Art Committee.
The sculpture would be made of fiber-reinforced polymer and fabricated by Kreysler and Associates.
“Mr. Ross strives to create art that is iconic, visually rich and thought-provoking – connecting with universal themes while remaining engaging and accessible. His work is experiential,” staff said. “He seeks to share his sense of joy and wonder for the world around us through playful forms created from industrial artifacts and employing bright, saturated colors. His work is also informed by the years he spent working as a research scientist in artificial intelligence and linguistics, and inspired by emergent phenomena, complex systems and the interaction of the natural and the man-made.”
The $125,000 would be spent on “engineering, fabrication, transportation and installation of the artwork.”
The Public Art Committee of the Arts Commission approved Ross’s final design on May 3.
