Two polished marble mosaics stand at either end of the Science Hall on the City College of San Francisco Campus. These mosaics are by the Swiss-born artist Herman Volz and represent fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics in tiny tiles.
Completed on site, the mosaics took two years to install with a staff of eight workmen. Each tile is of varying thickness, resulting in shadows that emphasize their shape. Each marble tile was carefully polished, cemented onto the façade of the building, and then polished again. Begun during “Art in Action” at the Golden Gate International Exhibition (1939-1940), they were restored in 2005. They are absolutely huge, and it is very difficult to get a good enough photograph to convey the message. This is taken from several yards away, just to give you a sense of the massiveness of the project.
Volz was educated in Europe and came to the US in 1933, where he became well-known as a painter, lithographer, and mosaic/ceramic artist for the WPA. He exhibited at San Francisco’s Museum of the Legion of Honor from 1937-1941 and won the San Francisco Art Association prize in 1937.
The color palette of the mosaic is also difficult to photograph, I have broken out some of the more easy to photograph pieces for you here.
The quote in this detail photo reads “Give me a base and I move the world.”
[…] Olmsted created numerous murals and sculptures for public works in San Francisco, including the Theory and Science mural at San Francisco City College. He taught art for a while at Arts and Crafts in […]