The Duval County Courthouse Plaza Art Project is taking its next step forward with the submission of the final drawings and content.
The Artwork Selection Panel of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville plans to review the design in August.
The Art in Public Places program has a nearly 30-year history. In 1997, the Jacksonville City Council enacted an ordinance that allocates 0.75% of each city construction and renovation project with a budget more than $100,000 toward the creation, placement and conservation of public art.
Additional legislation enacted in 2006 authorizes the Cultural Council to administer the public art program on behalf of the city.
The $687,663 budget for the plaza installation is derived from the percentage of the construction cost of the courthouse.
Planned with strict guidelines
In June 2020, the Duval County Courthouse Plaza Stakeholder Committee approved a motion to advance the project to the Art in Public Places Committee.
After consulting with judges and court security personnel, a set of strict guidelines was established for the artist or artists who would eventually be selected to design and fabricate the artwork for the 2-acre green space at the front door of the building at 501 W. Adams St.
To prevent blockage of sight lines for security cameras, no trees would be planted. Long-term seating is disallowed to prevent those entering or leaving the courthouse from being confronted by someone else outside, such as a domestic abuser.
Water features were not included because the city wants the art installation to require minimum maintenance – no more than mowing the grass, blowing leaves, edging the sidewalks and pressure washing.
Selecting the artist
More than 140 artists submitted conceptual designs. On June 1, 2021, at a news conference in front of the courthouse, Cultural Council Executive Director Diana Donovan announced that Cliff Garten of Cliff Garten Studios in Venice Beach, California, would design the installation, titled “These Truths.”
The art will comprise two stainless steel ribbons emblazoned with the words “Justice,” “Equality,” “Truth,” and “Freedom.”
In addition to the four themes, the design for the ribbons includes writings from the foundational texts of American democracy, such as the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. There are additional contributions by local authors and poets. The installation will be illuminated at night.
Garten did not attend the announcement event but provided a video statement in which he said the installation will provide a place for public assembly.
“At a time when we are reassessing what a public monument is, we are in need of new models for how a public sculpture is made so that the place it forms is inclusive of everyone,” Garten said.
“This will be a proud symbol for our community,” Donovan said.
Garten has been designing public art since 1990. He has completed more than 60 projects across the U.S., with four more in the design stage, including “These Truths,” according to cliffgartenstudio.com.
Steady, thoughtful process
Nearing final approval was a steady, thoughtful process.
City ordinances define the steps and approvals required for public art, which grants authority to the Artwork Selection Panel and the Art in Public Places Committee for artist selection and design revisions.
“Cliff Garten Studios is known for his innovative approach of merging text into his design work. As the city determined the text would be a form of government speech, it took time for the Artwork Selection Panel to ensure the local poets and historians’ interpretive text was appropriate with the foundational text on the sculpture and approve that component,” Cultural Council Director of Public Art Kat Wright said.
Wright also said the final design includes more technical details such as lighting specifications, construction drawings and securing vendors and cost estimates. A final design of this scale and complexity normally takes from nine months to more than a year to complete, she said.
What’s next
After the final design is approved and permits are issued by the city, the timeline included with the design shows 11 months for fabrication of the ribbons, two months for site preparation and one month for installation.
The fabricator and installer will be Metal Arts Foundry in Lehi, Utah.
Engineering services are provided by Yetiweurks in Candler, North Carolina.
Jacksonville-based Acon Construction Co. Inc. will prepare the site and construct the in-ground supports for the sculptures.
California Lighting Sales in Redondo Beach, California, will supply the light fixtures.
Miller Electric Co., also in Jacksonville, will install the landscape lighting.