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Relationship to the Downtown Public Art Master Plan/Downtown Specific Plan <br />The PDA Murals Program has been developed independent of the Downtown Public Art <br />Master Plan, which will be presented to the City Council for its consideration and <br />approval later this spring. The Downtown Public Art Master Plan was initiated by the <br />Civic Arts Commission to identify possible locations and opportunities for additional <br />public art in the Downtown area. The Plan concentrates on sculptural, multi-media, <br />temporary, and experiential types of installations and projects, excluding murals. That <br />was a conscious decision done with the understanding that the PDA would champion <br />and promote that particular art form (murals). This parallel evolutionary process has <br />been recognized and preferred by the PDA, the Downtown Public Art Master Plan Task <br />Force, and the Civic Arts Commission. In the future, there may be opportunities for <br />collaboration and partnering between the two (2) agencies to develop more art for the <br />Downtown in a coordinated and mutually supporting way. Staff finds that the Murals <br />Program is consistent with the City's desire for more art, as outlined in the Downtown <br />Specific Plan. <br />Design/Content of the Mural <br />Mr. Winter has worked very closely with the PDA Murals Committee and the property <br />owner to design a mural which will commemorate Pleasanton's agricultural/rural <br />heritage, and please the vast majority of viewers. The design, as presented, reflects <br />PDA's full support and considerable effort. <br />Mr. Winter is a skilled architectural illustrator/artist. He has chosen, however, a looser <br />painting style evocative of the "primitive" rural school of artists that gained so much <br />popularity among collectors in the previous century. Mr. Winter purposely chose a <br />scene with smaller, dispersed elements that would not compete with the surrounding <br />visual environment, nor clutter it. A large majority of those viewing the mural will likely <br />enjoy and embrace it, and the PDA might wish to consider publishing an interpretive <br />brochure that identifies some of the historical elements that are depicted. <br />Appropriateness for the Surrounding Visual Environment <br />A successful mural must stand on its own artistic/aesthetic merit, but also add to, not <br />detract from or clash with, its surrounding visual environment. Mr. Winter has drawn a <br />rendering depicting the mural in the context of some of its surrounds in the Downtown <br />area. This is a selected view, but indicates the mural's potential for a successful <br />integration into its surroundings. <br />Page 3 of 4 <br />