Arts Commission recommends Cameron Eagle’s 35-foot “66 Kicks” boot to City Council

The Oklahoma City Arts Commission voted Sept. 15 to recommend that City Council approve a public art commission agreement to install “66 Kicks,” a 35-foot boot sculpture by artist Cameron Eagle, on a MAPS-funded beautification site east of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum along historic Route 66.

The project, which carries an art award of $875,000 from MAPS, is intended as an eye-catching gateway feature for Route 66 and would sit on an approximately 5-foot mound. Randy Marks, program planner in Arts and Cultural Affairs, described the work as part of the MAPS 4 beautification program: “66 Kicks is the design proposal by Cameron Eagle for the maps for beautification project for Route 66.”

Commissioners, museum staff and neighborhood representatives discussed site details, maintenance and public access. The museum will assume day-to-day maintenance and security for the installation; Pat Fitzgerald, president and CEO of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, said the museum will provide 24/7 security and camera monitoring and will control parking access. “We do plan on maintaining this as well as securing this. We have 24, 7 security, with cameras,” Fitzgerald said.

Design and technical details presented to the commission said the boot will be fabricated from 1/8-inch aluminum, painted with a coating the project team expects to last about 15 years, and will use high-strength acrylic “stitching” that mimics neon so the interior lighting pushes outward through the stitching. Marks said the piece will be large and visible from the highway but that lighting studies show the sculpture’s illumination will not substantially increase ambient light beyond the existing roadway lighting.

Neighborhood representatives said they were largely satisfied after a Sept. 8 meeting with staff and the artist but raised continuing concerns. Braden Heisey, vice president of the Persimmon Hills Neighborhood Association, told the commission the group worried the site could become an “attractive nuisance” and asked that museum staff manage hours and access. “It’s gonna draw people in, which is what we want the art to do,” Heisey said, adding that controlled access and museum monitoring eased the group’s concerns.

Commissioners also asked about landscaping and circulation. The design calls for artificial turf within a perimeter directly around the sculpture with mowed grass outside that perimeter; the museum will handle mowing and trash pickup. The project team said walkways and at least one bridge will connect the museum parking lot to the sculpture across a small creek and that the museum plans to control public parking and not leave the lot open overnight. Randy Marks said MAPS has a trust fund set aside for future repairs to MAPS projects.

Residents and the commission asked for a traffic study of NE 60 Third Street between MLK and Kelly Avenue as development and new businesses continue in the corridor; staff agreed to forward the request to Public Works. Commissioner Sawyer and other commissioners who attended the neighborhood meeting were noted as part of the outreach.

Speakers at the meeting also described related local investment by the museum: Fitzgerald said the museum recently spent about $2,000,000 on exterior landscaping and $3,000,000 on a new parking lot, and that the museum has spent roughly $22,000,000 in all with $25,000,000 raised toward a $40,000,000 goal for broader projects and improvements.

The commission voted to recommend the public art commission agreement to City Council. The meeting record shows the motion and second were made and that the vote passed; no roll-call tally was provided in the transcript. Earlier in the meeting the commission also voted to receive the Aug. 22 special meeting minutes; that motion passed and likewise the transcript does not show a roll-call tally.

The project will next appear before City Council for final approval of the public art commission agreement and any associated permits or site work agreements. If approved by Council, further design refinements will address final walkway alignment, tree removal or replacement, site grading and a maintenance schedule to preserve the work’s appearance over time.

Votes at a glance: - Receive minutes from Aug. 22 special meeting — Motion passed (mover/second not specified in transcript; no roll-call tally recorded). - Recommend City Council approval of a public art commission agreement for “66 Kicks” (Cameron Eagle) — Motion passed (mover/second not specified in transcript; no roll-call tally recorded).