Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Six Degrees

Posted by Cindy on March 31, 2015

Mar 312015

2825 Diamond Street Glen Park Six Degrees is an artwork installed in the entrance of Glen Park Branch Library done in 2007 for $36,000. The artists are Reddy Lieb and Linda Raynsford. The circular art elements were inspired by the history and ecology of Glen Park. The circle, which the artists used as their main geometric design form, is intended to symbolize wholeness and community. Specific references in the artwork are: In 1889, an amusement park was built in Glen Canyon to attract potential home buyers. One of the attractions was tightrope walker Jimmy “Scarface” Williams. Early streetcar tracks in Glen Park are Continue Reading

NYCHOS

Posted by Cindy on March 30, 2015

Mar 302015

500 Geary Lower Nob Hill Austrian street artist NYCHOS is in town for the opening his show “Street Anatomy” at Fifty24SF Gallery on April 18th. In conjunction with the show, he has been putting up a few pieces around town. According to his facebook page the Austrian urban art and graffiti illustrator Nychos was born in 1982 in Styria, Austria where he grew up in a hunting family. Getting confronted by the anatomy of dead animals at an early age and being an 80’s kid with an interest for cartoons and heavy metal ended up being some of the Continue Reading

Maynard Dixon and A Pageant of Traditions

Posted by Cindy on March 23, 2015

Mar 232015

Maynard Dixon and A Pageant of Traditions

The Stanley Mosk Library and Court Building Gillis Hall 914 Capitol Mall Sacramento, CA I recently toured the newly restored California State Library building. The $62 million restoration brought the library/courts building into the modern age. (The project came in under budget at around $49 million). Although this Maynard Dixon mural experienced a small amount of damage during the restoration, it remains in Gillis Hall for all to enjoy. Titled, A Pageant of Traditions, the mural is sixty nine feet long and fourteen feet tall. The mural, painted after the library was opened in 1928, symbolically depicts the greatest influences Continue Reading

Os Redeiros

Posted by Cindy on March 20, 2015

Mar 202015

This striking and strong sculpture is by Ramon Conde and stands on the Gran Via in Vigo Spain. Titled Os Redeiros it is of seven nude fisherman straining to pull in a net. The city of Vigo is a major fishing port in Spain. Ramón Conde was born in Ourense Spain December 18, 1951, the son of a stone sculptor. In 1971 he joined the Faculty of Arts in Santiago. He has shown all over Europe and in the United States. Other public works include the Arc de Triomphe (Lugo), the monument to Alonso III de Fonseca (in the Cloister Continue Reading

Rainbow Honor Walk

Posted by Cindy on March 20, 2015

Mar 202015

Castro Street Between Market and 20th There are twenty individuals honored on the Rainbow Honor Walk. According to the Walks website: The Rainbow Honor Walk seeks to honor heroines & heroes of the LGBT communities through a sidewalk tribute in San Francisco’s historic Castro district to honor their contributions. The Rainbow Honor Walk is an all-volunteer organization. The criteria for the first 20 names to be placed on the Rainbow Honor Walk are as follows: Self expressed LGBT individuals, now deceased, who made significant contributions in their fields. Criteria for additional names to be added to the Walk over the Continue Reading

Sprinter at the Koret

Posted by Cindy on February 2, 2015

Feb 022015

Koret Health and Recreation Center 2130 Fulton Street Inner Richmond This bronze sculpture sits directly to the right of the entry door to the University of San Francisco’s, Koret Health and Recreation Center. It is an 8′ tall bronze by Edith Peres-Lethmate. According to the Smithsonian the sculpture is a large-scale version of a sculpture executed in 1976. The sculpture was commissioned by the University and was funded by the university’s Class of 1986. According to the Koret blog ““Sprinter,” was originally created on a smaller scale in celebration of the 1984 Olympic games.” Edith Peres-Lethmate was born 1927 in Koblentz Continue Reading

Camilo Cienfuegos

Posted by Cindy on January 29, 2015

Jan 292015

Revolution Plaza Havana, Cuba On the Ministry of Ministry of Communications building is another line sculpture by Enrique Avila Gonzales. This one is of a lesser known revolutionary hero, Camilo Cienfuegos, shown here with his signature cowboy hat. The sculpture was erected in 2009. The words “Vas bien, Fidel” (You’re doing fine, Fidel) on the bottom right, refers to a reply given to Fidel at a January 8, 1959 victory rally. How am I doing? asked Castro You’re doing fine said Cienfuegos. Camilo Cienfuegos disappeared while he was traveling in a small plane from Camagüey province that same year.

Che Guevara, Korda and Gonzales

Posted by Cindy on January 28, 2015

Jan 282015

Plaza de Revolucion Havana, Cuba Plaza de la Revolución “Revolution Square” is one of the 13 largest outdoor plazas in the world. The square is notable as being where many political rallies take place and Fidel Castro and other political figures address Cubans. Fidel Castro has addressed more than a million Cubans on many occasions, such as 1 May and 26 July each year. This sculpture of Che Guevara is a single line replica of the famous Alberto Korda photograph of Che. The sculptor on this was Cuban artist Enrique Avila Gonzales. The words “Hasta la Victoria Sempre” (Onward forever to victory) Continue Reading

Dr. Burt Brent and his Hippopatomus

Posted by Cindy on January 28, 2015

Jan 282015

San Francisco Zoo Sloat and The Great Highway Lakeside This hippopotamus is not only a wonderful sculpture but a favorite climbing creature in the San Francisco Zoo. Heavyweight was sculpted by Dr. Burt Brent of Portola Valley. According to a 2007 article in the Almanac: Dr. Burt Brent, a plastic surgeon with an office in Woodside, has built his career and an international reputation on creating living ears for children born without ears or with deformed ears. He has pioneered a technique for building new ears out of the kid’s own rib cartilage; the ears actually grow as the child Continue Reading

El Caballero de Paris

Posted by Cindy on January 22, 2015

Jan 222015

This is one of my favorite public sculptures in Havana, and as you can see how the patina has been worn off, I am not the only one that has a fondness for this character. El Caballero de París was José Maria López Lledín (1920s-1977), was a well-known street person in Havana, Cuba in the 1950s. Lledín lost his mind and became “El Caballero de París” when he was arrested in late 1920 and sent to the prison at “El Castillo del Príncipe” in Havana, Cuba. The reasons are unknown but he always claimed in all interviews his innocence. He Continue Reading

John Lennon in Cuba

Posted by Cindy on January 20, 2015

Jan 202015

Lennon Park Havana, Cuba In the John Lennon Park at 17th and 6th, is a sculpture of the former Beatles member , sculpted by Cuban artist José Villa Soberón. On a marble tile at the foot of the bench there is an inscription: “Dirás que soy un soñador pero no soy el único” John Lennon, it is the Spanish translation of the English lyrics, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” from the song “Imagine”. The sculpture of Lennon (like many statues with glasses around the world) doesn’t always wear he’s signature round-lens glasses, which have been Continue Reading

Benny Moré

Posted by Cindy on January 20, 2015

Jan 202015

Prado Promenade Cienfuegos, Cuba Benny Moré (Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, 24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), or Benny, was a Cuban singer. He is often thought of as the greatest Cuban popular singer of all time. He was musical, and had a fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity. Moré was a master of most genres of Cuban music, such as the son montuno, mambo, guaracha, and bolero. In particular, it is unusual for a singer to be equally proficient at both the fast rhythms (e.g. guaracha) and the slower rhythms, such as the bolero. Continue Reading

Yasser Arafat in Cuba

Posted by Cindy on January 20, 2015

Jan 202015

7th Avenida Havana, Cuba Havana, Cuba, Nov. 24 2012 In the words of its sculptor, Andres Gonzalez Gonzalez, the bust reveals “a kindhearted leader who fought hard for the freedom of his people.” The monument measures 1.95 meters. The installation ceremony was presided over by Jose Ramon Balaguer, member of Cuba’s Communist Party Central Committee and head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the political organization. Also attending was the president of the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP) Kenia Serrano.

@Large Ai Weiwei Part 4

Posted by Cindy on January 16, 2015

Jan 162015

Alcatraz Island September 27, 2014 to April 26, 2015 There are two audio exhibits in this exhibition. The first can be found in the first floor, cell block A of the Cellhouse. Inside each cell, you can stand, although, as you can see, stools are provided, while you listen to spoken words, poetry, and music by people who have been detained for the creative expression of their beliefs, as well as works made under conditions of incarceration. There are 12 cells and each cell features a different recording. You can hear things as diverse as Tibetan singer Lolo, who has called Continue Reading

Refraction @Large Ai Weiwei Part 3

Posted by Cindy on January 15, 2015

Jan 152015

$Refraction @Large Ai Weiwei Part 3$

Alcatraz Island September 27, 2014 to April 26 2015 You are not able to view this piece from any place other than the guards catwalk above the room, while peering through panes of glass, this is why I have had to take the photo from the website. It was a very foggy day when I was there and pictures of this installation piece were almost impossible. The 8,000-pound sculpture is made of solar panels used to heat food in Tibet. The sculpture resembles a giant bird’s wing. The peering through the glass is another metaphor for imprisonment, and the Continue Reading

Trace @Large Ai Weiwei Part 2

Posted by Cindy on January 14, 2015

Jan 142015

Alcatraz Island September 27, 2014 to April 26, 2015 This is Trace. The most ambitious, the most highly touted, the most written about, and yet, in my opinon, the one that least lived up to expectations. This entire project is made of 1.2 MILLION LEGO blocks. It took a long time for the committee that put this together to decide who should be in it. Ai Weiwei selected these individuals based on information provided by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, he has called them “the heroes of our time”. The group also consisted of independent research members of Continue Reading

With Wind @Large Ai Weiwei Part 1

Posted by Cindy on January 13, 2015

Jan 132015

Alcatraz Island September 27, 2014 to April 26, 2015 If you have read this blog often you will know that I am a huge Ai Weiwei fan. I finally had the opportunity to visit the installation of his work on Alcatraz Island, and walked away as impressed as ever. There is so much that has been written on this exhibit that I am going to simply show you a few photos with explanations and encourage you to catch it before it leaves. The exhibit is found in many different areas, and I do not recommend attempting to do both the Continue Reading

Lover’s Lane

Posted by Cindy on December 22, 2014

Dec 222014

Lover’s Lane The Presidio There is a small trail in the Presidio titled Lover’s Lane. It has a well known history that you can read on the plaque found at one end of what is still existing of this trail. The sign reads: “This trail has witnessed the passing of Spanish soldiers, Franciscan missionaries and American soldiers of two centuries It is perhaps the oldest travel corridor in San Francisco. In 1776 this path connected the Spanish Presidio with the mission, three miles to the southeast. During the 1860s it became the main route used by off-duty solders to walk Continue Reading

Home Savings and Public Art

Posted by Cindy on December 17, 2014

Dec 172014

98 West Portal Avenue Corner of Vicente and West Portal West Portal This mosaic is on the outside of the bank that stands at the corner. At the time of the commission of the art (1976-77), the bank was a Home Savings Bank. This particular mural was a collaboration between Millard Owen Sheets, Denis O’Connor and designer Susan L. Hertel. Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was a native California. He was a painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks. He attended the Chouinard Continue Reading

Los Lobos de Loyola

Posted by Cindy on December 10, 2014

Dec 102014

University of San Francisco Fulton Street In Front of Gleeson Library/Geshke Center Inner Richmond Commissioned by USF this piece was installed November of 2011. The 2-ton work, Los Lobos de Loyola, depicts the wolves and stewpot from the family coat of arms of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. Some say the 15th-century image is a pun on the Loyola family name (“lobos y olla,” wolves and a stewpot); others suggest the pot is a symbol of hospitality and the wolves point to the family’s reputation as warriors. Crafted by Pancho Cardenas, the eight-foot high by sixteen foot long Continue Reading

Abstract Sculpture in BART

Posted by Cindy on December 2, 2014

Dec 022014

16th and Mission 24th and Mission Bart Stations Mission District These abstract, cast stone, pieces can be found in both the 16th and Mission and 24th and Mission BART stations. The works are by William George Mitchell. Mitchell (born 1925) is an English sculptor, artist and designer. He is best known for his large scale concrete murals and public works of art from the 1960s and 1970s. His work is often of an abstract or stylised nature with its roots in the traditions of craft and “buildability”. He studied at the Royal College of Art in London. After long years Continue Reading

Mission Branch Library and Leo Lentelli

Posted by Cindy on November 25, 2014

Nov 252014

Mission Branch Library 24th Between Bartlett and Orange Alley Mission District Leo Lentelli was one of San Francisco’s more prolific and well known sculptors during his time. Sadly very little of his work survives inside of the city. There is a beautiful piece at the Hunter Dunlin building downtown, and this sculpture over the original entry door on 24th Street of the Mission Branch Library. Lentelli, an immigrant from Italy spent 1914-1918 in San Francisco. During that time he did a series of equestrian statues that were part of the Court of the Universe and his sculptures of Water Sprites for the Continue Reading

What are those ruins in the parking lot of the San Francisco Zoo?

Posted by Cindy on November 17, 2014

Nov 172014

What are those ruins in the parking lot of the San Francisco Zoo?

San Francisco Zoo The Parking Lot Sloat and The Great Highway This small monument is a remnant of a once great institution of San Francisco, the Fleishacker Pool. Fleishhacker Pool, like the San Francisco Zoo, was a gift to San Francisco by Herbert Fleishhacker. The idea, conceived by John McLaren, designer of Golden Gate Park, was to help bring athletic competitions to San Francisco. The first event held at the pool was on April 22, 1925, and featured a freestyle swimmer named Johnny Weissmuller representing the Illinois Athletic Club. Weissmuller appeared several times at Fleishhacker and was a real crowd pleaser. Continue Reading

155 Sansome Street

Posted by Cindy on November 10, 2014

Nov 102014

155 Sansome Street Financial District The sculptures over the Sansome Street entrance to the Pacific Stock Exchange, now the City Club, were done in 1929-1930 by Ralph Stackpole. Stackpole has been in this website many times before and you can read about him and his work here. On January 18, 1930 Junius Cravens of the Argonaut wrote of this piece: “As one studies Stackpole’s fine decorative sculpture group, ‘Progress,’ which overhangs the east entrance to the office building, one finds in it a symbol,whether employed consciously or not, of the aforesaid future. A huge nude male figure, in high relief, dominates Continue Reading

Barnyard Watchdogs

Posted by Cindy on November 3, 2014

Nov 032014

San Francisco Zoo Entry to the Children’s Zoo Barnyard Watchdogs by Burt Brent This cute sculpture and climbing item is by Dr. Burt Brent. Dr. Brent is a reconstructive plastic surgeon best known for his work in reconstructing the absent outer ear. He has repaired ear defects in 1,800 patients, most of them children born with ear deformities such as Microtia. He also reconstructs ears lost or due to some form of trauma. Dr. Brent is now retired. Brent grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and was highly influenced by his maternal grandfather who taught him cabinetry and woodworking. Although he considered Continue Reading

Hearst Grizzly Gulch

Posted by Cindy on October 21, 2014

Oct 212014

San Francisco Zoo This grizzly by Tom Schrey graces the Hearst Grizzly Gulch building at the SF Zoo. Tom has a degree from California College of the Arts and presently works at Artworks Foundry. The following was excerpted from a June 15, 2007 SF Gate article by Patricia Yollin: Three summers ago, two grizzly bear orphans in Montana were trying to fend off starvation. Now they are coddled ursine superstars living in San Francisco. On Thursday, the public got its first glimpse of the twins’ opulent new home as Hearst Grizzly Gulch, a $3.7 million habitat at the Continue Reading

Bizim Cebish Muellim

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

Baku Boulevard Baku, Azerbaijan Baku Boulevard is a beautiful walking esplanade on the Caspian Sea that fronts almost the whole of Baku. There are hundreds of bronze whimsical statues along the boulevard. This fellow is a character from the Movie “Bizim Cebish Muellim”. I found no signatures on any of the sculptures and there is no markings anywhere to say who the sculptors were, but it is a divine way to spend the afternoon, strolling and appreciating the quality of public art that defines the boulevard. For more information on traveling in Azerbaijan check out PassportandBaggage.com

Twelve Beauties

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

İçəri Şəhər Old City or Inner City Baku Azerbaijan This sculpture by Nail Alakbarov cuts along the edges of İçəri Şəhər. The description that accompanies the sculpture far better explains the situation than I ever can… This composition represents a sculptural image of seven armudi glasses standing on top of each other. Armudi is the name of traditional Azerbaijanian glass used for drinking tea, it can be translated as “pear-shaped” since it resembles a pear. On the other hand such shape could be associated with the contour of a female body. Thus the glasses also symbolize seven beauties from a similarly Continue Reading

The Responsibility of Raising a Child

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

5th Avenue between Yamhill and Taylor Streets Portland, OR Along the TriMet route you will find this 2004 bronze buy Rick Bartow. Rick Bartow weaves Native American symbols of parenting and life cycles throughout The Responsibility of Raising a Child. The sculpture started out expressing the difficult circumstances of single parents, but by placing the infant in the basket it becomes a hopeful, encouraging and optimistic work. * Rick Bartow was born in 1946 in Newport, Oregon to a Yurok and Wiyot father who relocated to Oregon for work and married Bartow’s Euro-American mother. His artwork is influenced not only by Continue Reading

Nepenthes

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

Along NorthWest Davis Street Portland, OR These amazing structures are by Seattle based artist Dan Corson and are titled Nepenthes. There are four of them along NorthWest Davis Street ,each standing 17 feet tall covered in photo-voltaic cells. The elements glow at night. Nepenthes, named after the magical greek potion that eliminates sorrow and suffering. From an article by DesignBoom: By referencing the patterns of Oregon native vegetation and other carnivorous plants and inserting a quirky expression of nature into an urban environment, these sculptures celebrate historic Chinatown’s unique and diverse community. The structures are created out of robust layers Continue Reading

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