Council Picks Artist for Public Work

At its meeting Wednesday night, the Moorpark City Council voted to contract with sculptor John Fisher to create a public art piece for the Ruben Castro Human Services building.

The council followed the recommendation of the city’s Arts Commission, which received and evaluated 46 proposals from California artists. A thematic sketch of Fisher’s proposal (pictured) shows people carved from stone gathered together. The concept is one of the things that the commission liked about Fisher’s proposal, said Assistant City Manager Hugh Riley, reporting to the council.

“I think this cluster of humanity, if you will, that is his concept represents the diverse nature of the people who will be using this building,” he said.

He also reported that the artist works on site, and community members will be able to watch as Fisher creates the piece.

The council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to sign an agreement in an amount not to exceed $138,000 to include design, fabrication and installation.

Councilman Keith Millhouse pointed out that the project is not being paid for by the citizens of Moorpark.

“I think it needs to be explained, for anybody that will listen, that the Art in Public Places is a fee that the city established some time ago,” he said. “It’s paid for by people who have come into the community and built projects within the community with a dedicated portion going solely for that.”

He went on to say that this is not money that can be used for police or other services, “so we are not taking money that could be used elsewhere and using it for public art,” Millhouse said.

To see more of the artist's work, visit the city's website and click on the staff's reports from the agenda page.