Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

The Tenderloin – Boeddecker Park

Posted by Cindy on May 4, 2012

May 042012

The Tenderloin Boeddecker Park Eddy and Jones Untitled by Anthony J. Smith This abstract sculpture is a sphere held up by a pair of large hands. Set in niches around the surface of the sphere are fourteen life masks of people who live in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The artist’s face and the face of Father Boedekker are also included in the sculpture. The bronze sculpture stands on a low, circular concrete base. This photo was taken through a fence. Boeddeker park is in one of the most crime ridden areas of San Francisco. The park is not Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on May 3, 2012

May 032012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * * * * * Flotsam by David Allen “A transient, contemporary ruin that stimulates the contemplation of forlorn beauty, time, weather, decay and distant shores.” Again, an explanation for those not up on marine vocabulary, flotsam is the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea. Just in case you were wondering Jetsam is unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore. David runs Artefact in Sonoma, California. At Artefact you’ll find rare antique architectural pieces, decorative objects crafted from Continue Reading

The Mission – 23

Posted by Cindy on May 2, 2012

May 022012

Mission and 23rd The Mission District * 23 in Binary Code 23 in Roman Numerals * * Mission 23 by Rigo23 – 2003 Mission 23 is a multi-part mosaic tile art piece embedded in the north-east and south-west sidewalks of Mission Street at 23rd Street. On each one of the white squares is a sentence painted in green that provides a fact about the number 23. Each of the large rectangles is a graphic symbol of the number 23, in white against a green background, to mimic a standard street sign, all of 1-inch mosaic tile. The number 23 holds Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on May 1, 2012

May 012012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * Fender Bender Bench by JC Miller “Inspired by the materials, colors, and equipment typical of human activity in a marine environment.” For those not familiar with the term, that orange item is used to keep boats from hitting docks and other boats when moored and is called a “fender”. J.C. Miller is a Landscape Architect. He opened Miller Studio after a dozen years of professional practice. His project experience includes public parks, historic landscapes, educational environments, civic spaces, and residential gardens.

Chinatown Mural

Posted by Cindy on April 30, 2012

Apr 302012

Chinatown Grant and Sacramento This mural is by Twick of ICP Crew who had a mural in SOMA that has since been painted over and another one around a Banksy in Chinatown. According to his Facebook page: “Twick” is a SF Hip Hop urban legend with many ranks like a general. He is one of the most respected figures shaping the Bay Area graffiti movement from the 80’s to present day. At the age of twelve Francisco (his real name) was inspired by the Chicano writing that decorated the walls of the Mission and his neighborhood. During this time he was introduced Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 29, 2012

Apr 292012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * * The Eel: Eliciting Ethereal Light by VeeV Design The eel explores relationships between physical environment and human sensation. Traversing the spectrum from corporeal to ethereal, the eel responds to external stimuli by emitting both heat and light with ranges of color intensity. The eel is clearly solid matter. Yet – at times – it appears intangible and diffuse. According to their vast, and fascinating website: Raveevarn began her design education in Bangkok, Thailand, at Chulalongkorn University. She continued her graduate studies in both Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 28, 2012

Apr 282012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibit * Moor by Russell Baldon “Simple chairs-fastened but movable-the same situation as the ships that once used the bollards”. I must admit, this one so struck my fancy. The use of that gorgeous and immense bollard and the wonderful play on words were just perfect for this type of exhibit. Born and raised in California, Baldon was a partner in his family’s wooden toy business before moving to San Francisco in 1984. After receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees, he has studied and worked with some of the country’s leading studio furniture makers, including Garry Knox Continue Reading

Lincoln Park – Tile Bench

Posted by Cindy on April 27, 2012

Apr 272012

Lincoln Park/Sea Cliff 32nd and California * * Aileen Barr This project was made possible by the Friends of Lincoln Park, San Francisco Parks Trust and the San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation. Aileen Barr has a large body of tile work around San Francisco. She studied Ceramic Design at the National College of Art and Design In Dublin, Ireland, graduating in 1985. She worked in New York for a number of years and it was here that she discovered her fascination with handmade tile. Working in tile and architectural ceramics allows for the creation of larger works of Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 26, 2012

Apr 262012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * Floating by Valerie Gnadt “A tactile experience. Sit. Close your eyes. Feel the texture of fabric and air. Listen to the foghorns and seagulls. Imagine floating in the Bay surrounded by Fort Mason’s History. A truck tire covered with hand-woven fabrics from out door materials, tarps and a marine cording.”

Land’s End – Lincoln Highway

Posted by Cindy on April 25, 2012

Apr 252012

Land’s End Legion of Honor The Lincoln Highway was one of the earliest transcontinental auto trails in the United States of America. Conceived and promoted by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. In 1915, the “Colorado Loop” was removed, and in 1928, a realignment relocated the Lincoln Highway through the northern tip of West Virginia. Thus, there are a total of 14 states, Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 24, 2012

Apr 242012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * * Benches by The Bay by Leslie Bruning “Designed to look like varied sizes of the Shovelnose Guitarfish, a species of the shark family living in the San Francisco Bay, these benches are meant for a human family to sit upon.” According to Bruning’s website: Leslie Bruning was born in Syracuse, KS and raised in Nebraska. After studying at Graz Center in Austria, he graduated with BA-Art from Nebraska Wesleyan University. In 1970 he was awarded a MFA -Sculpture from Syracuse University. He is currently Chair of the Art Area of Bellevue University, Bellevue Nebraska.

Haight Ashbury – Murals

Posted by Cindy on April 23, 2012

Apr 232012

Haight Ashbury There are murals everywhere in the Haight, these are just a few of the better ones. Haight and Masonic by Lango Jimi Hendrix by an unknown artist. This mural is at 1524 Haight Street, the home of Jimi Hendrix when he lived in San Francisco. It is now Ashbury Tobacco Center. This doll is on the Bettie Page Clothing Store at 1529 Haight. (Bettie Page was one of America’s great pin-up girls). This mural was painted by Amanda Lynn. Amanda studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and received a Bachelor’s of Fine Art with Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 22, 2012

Apr 222012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * Kissing Bench by Kent Roberts Kent Roberts has several pieces around San Francisco, including a boat in the Marina. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico and a BFA and MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and he works at SFMOMA.

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 21, 2012

Apr 212012

Fort Mason * SEATS Exhibition Bow Seat by Oliver Dicicco “An homage to all the small boats that have plied the San Francisco Bay.” According to Oliver DiCicco’s website: Oliver displays the versatility of a renaissance artist. He is a multi-talented designer who is at the same time sculptor, fabricator, scientist, engineer, and musician. The mix of playful curiosity, technical capability and aesthetic sensibility required to accomplish his broad range of work is astonishing. After perusing Oliver’s website, I couldn’t agree more, his range of work truly is astonishing.

Land’s End – El Cid

Posted by Cindy on April 20, 2012

Apr 202012

Land’s End Palace of the Legion of Honor * El Cid by Anna Huntington This piece is part of the Collection of the Fine Arts Museum. It sits on the lawn in front of the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043 – July 10, 1099), known as El Cid Campeador (“The lord-master of military arts”), was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat. Exiled from the court of the Spanish Emperor Alfonso VI of León and Castile, El Cid went on to command a Moorish force consisting of Muladis, Berbers, Arabs and Malians, under Yusuf Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 19, 2012

Apr 192012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * Safe Harbor by Jefferson Mack “Public seating for humans and bicycles, an essential for re-creation, personal development, and civilization. Reflect on values overlooked in your modern life.” According to Jefferson Mack’s website he has been involved with the metal arts since 1990. Aside from architectural products, Jefferson Mack Metal features increasingly complete lines of furniture, lighting, fire and hearth accessories, as well as works for public commission.

Lower Haight – Love in the Lower Haight

Posted by Cindy on April 18, 2012

Apr 182012

Lower Haight Ursula Young This is on the corner of Laguna and Haight Streets. It is part of the Love in the Lower Haight Project. I have showcased a few artists in this area before. Started in October 0f 2010 the project is on the walls of a UC campus slated for demolition, as long as the walls are standing the artists project will continue. This piece by Ursula Young is so very, very girls of San Francisco for me, it just made me smile. According to her blog: Over the past fourteen years illustrator, painter and designer Ursula Xanthe Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 17, 2012

Apr 172012

Fort Mason * SEAT Exhibition “The Bracket Collection” by Pallet Studio provides dignified seating for anybody in mundane and over looked spaces. The Pallet Studio artists are Michael Wlosek, Lukas Nickerson and Andrew Perkins. According to Michael Wlosek’s Facebook Page he studied architecture at California College of the Arts and is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. According to Lukas Nickerson’s website: “I am interested in existing within the confluence of old century craft and modern technology, starting in the present and exploring the past; investigating what isolation from the modern world can bring back to the 21st century city.” He is a Continue Reading

The Haight – Evolutionary Rainbow

Posted by Cindy on April 16, 2012

Apr 162012

The Haight Haight and Cole * * * * * Called Evolutionary Rainbow, this mural was originally done by Joanna (Yana) Zegri in 1967 when she was a manager for the business in the building. She has returned to restore the mural in ’81, ’83, and ’06. This landmark Mural depicts a stage of evolution in each color, visible when you study the mural up close. Excerpt from San Francisco Bay Area Murals by Timothy W. Drescher: The earliest community mural in San Francisco was begun by Joana Zegri in 1967. It was never formally titled, but was called Evolution Continue Reading

Lincoln Park – Pax Jerusalem

Posted by Cindy on April 15, 2012

Apr 152012

Lincoln Park Legion of Honor * * Pax Jerusalem by Mark di Suvero This piece sits on the sculpture pad in front of the Legion of Honor, one of our finer museums in San Francisco. It is by Mark di Suvero, who has been in this blog before. It was controversial the day it was installed. Many felt is was not representative of the quality people had come to expect from di Suvero, it also was a runner up, when the city lost out on a sculpture by di Suvero’s boyhood friend Richard Serra. Di Suvero and Richard Serra grew Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 14, 2012

Apr 142012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition * * This piece is high up on a retaining wall. The chair is by Brian Goggins and is very similar to his Defenestration Piece running South of Market. The description that accompanies the piece is “Fortitude” A submarine chair transforms our perception of space and objects. This “submarine chair” is a chair found on WWII submarines known to be “fashionably indestructible”. People in submarines eventually need to sit down, and in 1944 aluminum company ALCOA collaborated with the U.S. Navy on the purpose-built 1006 Chair, also known as the Navy Chair or Submarine Chair. Continue Reading

Western Addition – World Walls for Peace

Posted by Cindy on April 13, 2012

Apr 132012

Western Addition - World Walls for Peace

Western Addition Page and Buchanan Street * In 1999, with consultation and training from the organization, World Walls for Peace, residents of the Western Addition became participants in a Peace Empowerment Process. Volunteers taught a program in two elementary schools and over fifty community based organizations, focusing on tolerance, understanding, and non-violence. Participants learned ways to develop positive solutions to resolving conflicts and defusing anger. The project was developed and implemented by residents for residents—a true community endeavor. As part of their participation, people of all ages painted over 1,800 tiles on the theme of peace, to be installed on Continue Reading

Fort Mason – SEATS

Posted by Cindy on April 12, 2012

Apr 122012

Fort Mason SEATS Exhibition Solstice by Brian Martin * This is part of the SEAT installation at Fort Mason. The seat exhibit showcases work that reflects on the history of fort mason center and responds to the natural elements of the site. Each piece is meant to be gently sat on and then you can use your mobile phone to dial up a phone number that will tell you about the piece. According to the artist: This piece represents the dates and times that so many people have entered and exited into our city. Set in a specific position to Continue Reading

The Haight – Listen to this wall.

Posted by Cindy on April 11, 2012

Apr 112012

Haight and Schrader On the wall of 540 Schrader According to the Listen to This Wall website – “Listen to This Wall is an initiative to bring a creative antidote to the ever increasing visual noise that crowds our urban landscape. Working with artists and designers to produce original works that offer new ways of seeing and being inspired in our city spaces. The first of our walls is located in the historic district of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco and will feature a rotating selection of creative work. Thank you to the building owner for donating this wall to Continue Reading

The Haight – Buggin Out

Posted by Cindy on April 10, 2012

Apr 102012

RAI Care Center Haight and Shrader * * * Buggin’ Out by Fresh Paint, was inspired by the relationship between the evolution of insect species and the evolution of aerosol lettering. Both may have once originated at a single source, yet through time altered their forms when migrating and adapting to different regions and their various conditions. The mural was painted to represent a bug display case, replacing a few tiny critters with aerosol signatures from artists who’s styles are interconnected through influence. Fresh Paint has a mural on the adjacent building as well as in Chinatown.

The Haight in Murals

Posted by Cindy on April 9, 2012

Apr 092012

RAI Care Center Haight and Schrader * * * This mural in the Haight Asbury district was dedicated to the rich history of the Haight Ashbury. It focuses on the elements born from the Summer of Love, and the movement sparked in 1967 towards a more peaceful society. It is located on the corner of Haight and Shrader, just half a block from the epicenter of the Summer of Love and where shows were played in the park. The wall was rendered as 4 large psychedelic posters, the 3 to the right pay homage to the 3 big elements of Continue Reading

Lower Haight – Murals

Posted by Cindy on April 8, 2012

Apr 082012

The Lower Haight 650 Haight Street * * * * Painted by Sam Flores, these were commissioned by the eight owners of the building. They replaced murals done by small children in the same places, and while we all know it is important to encourage children in their art, I saw the originals and these are such a massive improvement to the area. A New Mexico native, Sam Flores’ mythology is populated with costumed urchins and lithe beauties swathed in flowers; he is a painter of masked child-heroes with oversized hands. Flores’ subjects convey a melancholy power, resisting the gaze Continue Reading

Hayes Valley – Picasso’s Family

Posted by Cindy on April 7, 2012

Apr 072012

Hayes Valley/Western Addition Haight and Buchanan * * This is titled Picasso’s Family and City Life. It is by Laura Campos, who is known for her work depicting aliens around San Francisco. I thought this to be especially poignant.

Hayes Valley – Ghinlon/Transcope

Posted by Cindy on April 6, 2012

Apr 062012

Hayes Valley/Western Addition Octavia Boulevard between Market and Hayes * * * Ghinlon/Transcope by Po Shu Wang 2005 Commissioned by the SF Arts Commission for the Octavia Boulevard Streetscape Project, these transcopes invite you to observe the comings and goings along Octavia Boulevard and Patricia’s Green. There are twelve of these installed along the medians and the Green. The view through them can be twisted, converted or even upside down. While this was probably a wonderful concept, it fails in execution. To look into them is awkward. While one design is set at a height that works for the handicapped Continue Reading

Union Square – Manifest Destiny

Posted by Cindy on April 5, 2012

Apr 052012

Downtown/Union Square 453 Bush Street * * Manifest Destiny by Jenny Chapman and Mark Reigelman Southern Exposure (SoEx) is a nonprofit visual arts organization that supports emerging artists. This project, the first of its kind for SoEx is a result of the support of The Graue Family Foundation. In 2009, the foundation offered Southern Exposure a major gift to support the public art initiative, SoEx Off-Site, and the creation of The Graue Award. Jenny Chapman, a San Francisco-based architect, and Mark Reigelman, a New York-based artist, created this piece. It is “a simultaneous tribute to and critique of the romantic Continue Reading

Older Entries Newer Entries