Fall Event Recap
Oldest Living Resident continued from Page 4
Lettis only recently stopped playing tennis and driving at the age of 102 , although his license is still valid , according to Epstein . He plays bridge twice a week and enjoys attending speaker series . He also is remarkably healthy , Epstein said , noting that her father ’ s medication list is quite short – he takes one aspirin daily . Lettis says the hardest part of getting old is outliving his wife and friends . Still , he is surrounded by a big family that consists of four children , 11 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren .
When asked how he felt about turning 104 years old , Lettis smiled and then added , “ I don ’ t have any feeling about it … I just keep living .”
The Mountain View Historical Association extends many thanks to the Mountain View Voice for granting permission to reprint the above article by staff reporter Emily Margaretten , originally published on October 15 , 2024 . Read the story and view photographs by Anna Hoch-Kenney at https :// tinyurl . com / MVoldest-resident
Left to right : Suzanne Epstein , Loyd ’ s daughter , Loyd Lettis , Pamela Baird , MVHA President , Carol Donohue , MVHA Board Member , who organized the project to find Mountain View ’ s Oldest Resident
Fall Event Recap
THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC ART IN MOUNTAIN VIEW
ART E VERYWHERE !
“ Boy and Girl at Play in the Calla Lily Field ” in the Civic Center Plaza is viewed by hundreds of people each day .
The new Google Gradient building provided a great backdrop for the fall History Event . The exciting design of the building and the artwork outside provided a good preview of the information to be featured by the speakers .
To start the meeting , Pamela Baird , board president , gave a brief overview of the types of Public Art . According to Wikipedia “ Public Art is art in any medium whose form , function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process , and is visually and physically accessible to the public .” Private but public artwork is defined by Unesco as “ art that is located on privately owned property but designated for public use — open , accessible and enjoyed by all citizens for free .”
Jonathan Clark , an early member of the Visual Arts Committee , gave an interesting background about the start of the organization , originally called “ The Visual Arts Jury .” He served on what became the Mountain View Visual Arts Committee from its founding in 1989 through 1995 .
The Committee initially started as five ( later seven ) appointed community members to select art for purchase and placement in public spaces . Funding was provided through a city requirement that 1 % of the budget of major public works projects be set aside for art . Initially , the group engaged the public through a display of large sculptures placed in Pioneer Park and the City Hall Plaza . From public feedback four sculptures were selected for purchase , including the “ Boy and Girl at Play in the Calla Lily Field ” in front of the Performing Arts Center .
A year later a temporary International Quilt Exhibit was hosted on the unfinished fourth floor of the newly completed City Hall building . In 1993 the group worked with MVHA and the American Legion to install a War Memorial in the
City Hall Plaza . The next year the VAC sponsored four major exhibitions , selected art for the new Whisman Sports Center and sponsored several shows in the PAC .
By 1995 Mountain View ’ s innovative and engaging public art program became the envy of other communities . Jonathan thinks this success was due to the involvement of the community at large in the evaluation and selection of the art . He feels fortunate and grateful that he had the opportunity to be a part of “ the golden age of community art ” in Mountain View .
Kirstin Hinds , from city staff , explained more history of the Visual Arts committee , how funding is created , how the committee has evolved and the strategy for the organization going forward . In 2022 the percentage of the project cost dedicated to art increased to two percent . Over 40 pieces of publicly owned art and over 60 pieces of privately owned , but publicly viewable art , have been
Lisa and Robert Ferguson installed in the city since 1987 . with “ Curious ” outside the
Current Visual Arts Committee member ,
Google Gradient building
Cliff Bryant , gave an enthusiastic account of his time as a member . He especially enjoys the discussions the group has regarding the artwork to be selected .
Lastly , the two artists who created the sculpture “ Curious ” outside the Google Gradient building , spoke about the collaboration with the Google team selecting the art for the new facility . Lisa and Robert Ferguson ( https :// www . mr-and-mrs-ferguson . com ) initially became acquainted with the team through their artwork created for the Burning Man Festival . They described the complicated method of producing the large sculpture ( a welded steel frame covered by hand carved polystyrene with over 160,000 pennies inserted into the surface ). After the meeting , the pair took
Cliff Bryant , artist and Visual Arts Committee member , relays the benefits of public art .
interested participants outside to further explain the artwork and how it was installed .
The large crowd appreciated learning about the art around us . We are fortunate to have so many pieces around our city available for viewing and enjoyment .
6