Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

The Tenderloin – Flores del Tehuan-derloin

Posted by Cindy on January 23, 2012

Jan 232012

The Tenderloin - Flores del Tehuan-derloin

The Tenderloin Larkin and Cedar This is “Flores del Tehuan-derloin” by Jet Martínez. The mural was commissioned by the SF Arts Commission project StreetSmARTS. It is done in the style of embroidery created by the Tehuanan women of Oaxaca, Mexico. This is what Jet said on his Facebook page about the work: A mural based on Oaxacan embroidery designs. These patterns were assimilated by the Oaxacans from Chinese silk embroidery popular with the Spanish rulers of the time. Currently, some of the most beautiful textiles of the type are being made by the “muxeres” ( Transvestite men) in Juchitan. Continue Reading

SOMA – Landmark

Posted by Cindy on January 22, 2012

Jan 222012

SOMA One Hawthorne “Landmark” consists of a large grid of colorful panels 145 ft. high and 12 ft. wide. The panels are coated with porcelain enamel using a photographic imaging process, which accurately reproduced and enlarged a detailed series of 30” x 23” color drawings created by Robert Hudson. One Hawthorne tapped Valerie Wade, gallery director at Crown Point Press, its across-the-street neighbor, to assist in concept development for the public art. The entire process took about one year, with KVO Industries, based in Santa Rosa, California, fabricating each porcelain enamel panel and overseeing the installation. As lovely as it Continue Reading

Financial District – The General Harrison

Posted by Cindy on January 21, 2012

Jan 212012

Financial District - The General Harrison

Financial District 425 Battery Street The General Harrison by Curtis Hollenback and Topher Delany The financial district of San Francisco was built on mudflats. At one time, the muddy shoreline came up to Montgomery Street. The mudflats were riddled with hulls of abandoned ships left by their crews when they headed for the gold in the California hills. These ships were often used as hotels, jails, stores, and warehouses. In 2001, one of these ships, the General Harrison, was uncovered at the corner of Clay and Battery Streets; today the Elephant & Castle Pub sits atop the remains of the hull. Continue Reading

Foundry Square – Not Out of The Woods Yet

Posted by Cindy on January 20, 2012

Jan 202012

Foundry Square - Not Out of The Woods Yet

Howard at First Street Foundry Square SOMA Not Out of the Woods Yet by Richard Deacon 2003 In 2003 Kenneth Baker of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: “Deacon’s “Not Out Of The Woods Yet” (2003) nests muscularly in a tight spot behind columns at the entrance to 500 Howard St., on the intersection’s northwest corner. The Bay Area has so far seen Deacon’s work in depth only once, in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s 1987 show “A Quiet Revolution: British Sculpture Since 1965.” Much of his sculpture turns on matters such as when an enclosure must count as Continue Reading

SOMA – Foundry Square

Posted by Cindy on January 19, 2012

Jan 192012

Howard at First Street Foundry Square SOMA Untitled by Joel Shapiro 1996-1999 In 2003 Kenneth Baker of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: “Shapiro’s renown rests on his having turned the vocabulary of minimal sculpture back toward figuration about 30 years ago. He took square wood beams, favorite forms of his older contemporary Carl Andre, and made structures of them that could be read as stick figures. Shapiro then abbreviated and exaggerated his work’s figural qualities so that they come and go depending on the viewer’s position and on his determination to see them. Built-in aspects of “bad fit”–apparent right angles Continue Reading

SOMA – Time Signature

Posted by Cindy on January 18, 2012

Jan 182012

Howard at First Street Foundry Square SOMA Time Signature Richard Deutsch *Richard Deutsch has several sculptures around San Francisco. This piece has it’s own video on Richard’s website, and I highly recommend that you go and view it. The film is a work of art unto itself, and I could not do justice to the process that you are shown, but I will try to summarize the intent of the piece. He mentions that they wanted to use a light colored metal for the reflective properties and to interact with the glass. The area that the sculpture is in is Continue Reading

Restaurant Row – Maori Column

Posted by Cindy on January 15, 2012

Jan 152012

50 Third Street Ducca Restaurant Courtyard Westin Hotel Museum Row This piece is titled Maori Column and is by Alan Shepp. It was done in 1985. Shepp, along with his artist wife, lives in Napa California. He has a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, and an MFA from the University of Washington. He is a multimedia artist who creates large scale sculpture and public art. There is not a lot of information out there, either about this artist or this piece, but his website has some really gorgeous work on it.

Isamu Noguchi on Museum Row

Posted by Cindy on January 14, 2012

Jan 142012

50 Third Street Ducca Restaurant Walkway Museum Row Fat Dancer Rain Mountain Figure Emerging These three figures are by Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi ranks up there as one of my all time favorite sculptors, but I must admit, this is not my favorite medium for him. (November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988) Isamu Noguchi was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which Continue Reading

Museum Row – Stream of Vessels

Posted by Cindy on January 13, 2012

Jan 132012

50 Third Street Ducca Restaurant Walkway Museum Row These are in the walkway between Ducca Restaurant and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. They are titled Stream of Vessels, done in 1997 by David Nash of charred oak. David Nash is a British sculptor based in Blaenau Ffestiniog. He is known for works in wood and shaping living trees. His large wood sculptures are sometimes carved or partially burned to produce blackening. His main tools for these sculptures are a chainsaw and axe to carve the wood and a blowtorch to char the wood. He attended Brighton College from 1959 to 1963, then Continue Reading

Museum Row – Les Funambules

Posted by Cindy on January 12, 2012

Jan 122012

50 Third Street Ducca Restaurant walkway Museum Row Attached to the Westin Hotel is Ducca Restaurant. They have an open walkway between 3rd street and the Jewish Museum. In that walkway is seating and dining. Throughout that area is art. This piece is “Les Funambules” by Charles Ginnever, done in Bronze in 1991. Ginnever is an American sculptor. He was born in San Mateo, California, in 1931. In 1957, he received his BA from the San Francisco Art Institute and received his MFA from Cornell University in 1959. He started working with canvas and steel scraps painted with bright patterns. The Continue Reading

S.F. Bicycle Coalition Mural

Posted by Cindy on January 11, 2012

Jan 112012

Castro/Duboce Avenue/Nob Hill Back of 2020 Market Street In 1972 BART built the Market Street subway, including Muni Metro. Along the Duboce Avenue tunnel entrance was a single eastbound lane for cars. During the 1994 closure of the street, for construction, The Bicycle Coalition worked to show that this street, which when used by both cyclists and cars was highly dangerous, was better served as a bikeway. They were successful. In 1995 Peter Tannen of the SF Bicycle Coalition obtained grant funds and Joel Pomerantz, then, co-founder of the bicycle coalition but now, leader of ThinkWalks, was recruited to Continue Reading

Yerba Buena Gardens – Urge

Posted by Cindy on January 10, 2012

Jan 102012

Yerba Buena Gardens Childrens Museum side of Howard Street Urge by Chico Macmurtrie This has always been one of my favorite sculptures in San Francisco. There is something so lifelike and yet so robotic about the figure. The sculptor works in a team that he formed in 1992, called Amorphic Robot Works. They are a group of artists, engineers and technicians. Some of their work is based on the concept of moving robotic figures, and yet other pieces are haunting and so diverse to belay any attempt to categorize it. This piece also gives credit to others – Engineer: Dave Continue Reading

Yerba Buena Gardens – Deep Gradient/Suspect Terrain

Posted by Cindy on January 9, 2012

Jan 092012

Yerba Buena Gardens - Deep Gradient/Suspect Terrain

Yerba Buena Center San Francisco Deep Gradient/Suspect Terrain (Seasons of the Sea ‘Adrift) John Roloff with NGA Industries and Wes-Co Industries 1993 * The accompanying plaque says: This glass ship is an art work that refers to the natural and geological history of California. Sediment gathered from the ocean floor four miles off the coast of San Francisco was placed inside in 1993. This sediment contains diverse mineral and organic matter extracted from the landscape by the rivers that flow to the sea through the Golden Gate. The greenhouse environment of the ship interacts subtly with these materials producing ongoing Continue Reading

Mission District – Community Thrift Store Mural

Posted by Cindy on January 8, 2012

Jan 082012

Mission District - Community Thrift Store Mural

Mission District Sycamore Street at 623 Valencia This mural goes along the top of the Community Thrift Store. The mural is actually on Sycamore Street. Done by a school group they developed a mural design that emphasized the social as opposed to the currency value of objects, settling on a clothesline motif to represent the borderland between public and private. Someone from the group blogged about the entire concept and this is what they said “The group voted to limit the parameters of design and color scheme to ensure a consistency in the final product. Continue Reading

Michael Kershnar Around Town

Posted by Cindy on January 7, 2012

Jan 072012

San Francisco Around Town * Market and 6th Street Hemlock Alley Caledonia Street, The Mission These are all by Mike Kershnar The Citrus Report did a great interview with Mike, a fun excerpt: The greatest way graffiti has changed my life is the ever-present knowledge that whatever the visual landscape is, it has the potential to be artfully altered. Like if the intersection of Haight and Ashbury is important to me because of what it represented culturally, then I can make sure there is always a visual reminder of me around. According to StudioVisit: Michael Kershnar is a 32-year old artist from Continue Reading

SOMA – 1AM

Posted by Cindy on January 6, 2012

Jan 062012

1 AM Gallery SOMA Howard and Sixth Street 1 AM Gallery always has murals done on their wall to celebrate their newest art installation inside. The installation this month is “When We Were Kids”. The background to this is lettering, but I thought the cartoon characters were worth a shout out. * Here is the overall mural taken from across the street. 1 AM Gallery has been in this website many times before. Check out their work around town. Please also note – that 1:AM uses this wall as a teaching experience so the murals change all the time.

The Tenderloin – Zombie Michael

Posted by Cindy on January 5, 2012

Jan 052012

The Tenderloin Hemlock Street at Polk Zombie Michael The artist on this is Ezra Li Eismont. It was in support of his solo exhibition at Space Gallery, “Now I Lay me down to Sleep” This is the gallery description of the exhibition. Now! I Lay Me Down To Sleep. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep Guide me through the starry night And wake me with the morning light Thank you for another Day, A chance to learn, a chance to play. Paintings exploring the darker side of media manipulation of the minds Continue Reading

Fish Mural on Langton

Posted by Cindy on January 2, 2012

Jan 022012

SOMA Langton Street Between Folsom and Howard This lovely mural was done to hopefully stop the graffiti that had been occurring on the door. The artist is Deborah Yoon and according website she is a self taught multimedia artist who considers both San Francisco and New York home. She works primarily with pen, sumi-e, paint, and has experimented with steel. Deborah received a bachelors of Fine Art and Art History at New York University. As you can see by the comments the owner of the house saw this post. I asked him for some further information and here is what he Continue Reading

Japantown – Fan

Posted by Cindy on December 30, 2011

Dec 302011

Japantown Webster Street, San Francisco There is a plaque near this fan – or Sensu – and this is what it reads: The Japantown Sensu (fan) is a modern interpretation of traditional Japanese forms blended with the unique Japanese American culture that has existed, persisted and grown in San Francisco’s Nihonmachi since 1906. Invented in Japan 1300 years ago, the sensu is a palette for artists, an instrument of dance and drama, a graceful and practical part of everyday life. It is an important link to our Japanese culture and continues to be used in the Japanese American community. Elements Continue Reading

Japantown – Landmarks Project

Posted by Cindy on December 29, 2011

Dec 292011

Japantown Post Street San Francisco This sculpture is part of the California Japantown Landmarks Project. It is made of bronze and stone, stands 9 feet high, and weighs 1000 pounds. The sculpture is by Louis Quaintance and Eugene Daub. It was installed in San Francisco’s Japantown in 2005. A 20th-century sculptor, Eugene Daub has been an instructor at the Scottsdale Artists’ School and designer of the first Philadelphia Liberty Medal, which the city of Philadelphia awards every year to a champion of world peace. He is also a former vice president of the American Medallic Sculpture Association and a Fellow of Continue Reading

Western Addition – Blue Wall

Posted by Cindy on December 28, 2011

Dec 282011

Western Addition San Francisco Geary and Fillmore Streets This is Geary Street in San Francisco. On the left is Japantown and on the right is the Western Addition. The Fillmore street overpass has stretches of blue glass on either side. This installation is titled 3 Shades of Blue by Mildred Howard. The piece is a “Tribute to the music the continues to define the Fillmore” It is 20 blue glass panes inscribed with a poem by poet laureate Quincy Troupe – Shades of Blue for a Blue Bridge for Mildred Howard, Joe Rudolph and Yori Wada. three shades of blue Continue Reading

Potrero Hill – Cars and Birds

Posted by Cindy on December 27, 2011

Dec 272011

16th and Bryant Potrero Hill, San Francisco This mural at 16th and Bryant is by Rigo and was done in 1997. Rigo has been in this website many times. was born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira. He later established himself as an artist in San Francisco, earning a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 1991 and an MFA from Stanford University in 1997. From 1984-2002, Rigo used the last two digits of the current year as part of his name, finally settling upon “23″ in 2003

Mission, Norm’s Market

Posted by Cindy on December 26, 2011

Dec 262011

Mission District 20th and Bryant San Francisco Sirron Norris Across from the Deli-up Cafe with its work by Sirron is this at Norm’s market. Here are all the photos for your enjoyment.

SOMA – Tuloy po Kayo

Posted by Cindy on December 24, 2011

Dec 242011

SOMA Filipino Education Center 824 Harrison Street Tuloy po Kayo, is Filipino for “welcome.” The mural was designed by internationally-acclaimed muralist Cece Carpio, and painted with Miguel Bounce Perez and other volunteer artists, the mural represents the Filipino community’s shared experiences, history, and culture. To prepare for this mural, Carpio led an arts workshop with Bessie Carmichael students, ( the elementary school in the neighborhood) where the children created drawings on themes of self-identity, family, and community. Using the children’s input as her guide, Carpio led a community meeting at the Bayanihan Center (neighboring Filipino Center) to gather more feedback Continue Reading

SOMA – Victor Reyes

Posted by Cindy on December 23, 2011

Dec 232011

SOMA 1420 Harrison Street This magnificent and show stopping mural is by Victor Reyes. Reyes has been painting since the early 90s, and has shown extensively around the world in cities and countries such as Bosnia, Germany, Switzerland, Taipei, Japan, and Miami. Reyes is inspired by his peers, including a community of new California artists “The Seventh Letter,” who play an integral role in the development and motivation for his body of work. Reyes, who has no formal art training, moved to San Francisco in 1998 and took a variety of jobs for rent money – he’s a freelance illustrator Continue Reading

SOMA – Youth Art Project

Posted by Cindy on December 22, 2011

Dec 222011

SOMA 501 Minna Street at 6th This set of small mosaic murals are part of the ArtSpan’s South of Market Youth and Public Art Project. Lead artist, Johanna Poethig who has been in this site numerous times is director for the Inner City Public Art Projects for Youth, a program of San Francisco’s South of Market Cultural Center and Artspan. They have completed a body of ceramic public art works installed throughout downtown San Francisco These are a result of the Stop, Look, Listen to Me program which operates on $32,000 from the city’s Neighborhood Beautification Fund, and has Continue Reading

SOMA – Mac Dre

Posted by Cindy on December 21, 2011

Dec 212011

SOMA Langton Street This Mural has been painted over (6/2012) Mac Dre was a rapper, born in Oakland, lived in Vallejo, convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery and killed by a bullet from a passing car in Kansas City. His bio on Wikipedia is really rather interesting. If you are interested in his music style this is fascinating reading as well. The artists on this mural are ICP Crew (Inner City Phame). “The first graffiti I saw when I was a kid growing up in the Mission was the Chicano writing on our walls,” says Twick, ICP veteran and original Continue Reading

SOMA – One Tree

Posted by Cindy on December 20, 2011

Dec 202011

SOMA 10th and Bryant This mural is by Rigo. This piece was done in 1996. Rigo has been in this website many times before. He was born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira. He later established himself as an artist in San Francisco, earning a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 1991 and an MFA from Stanford University in 1997. From 1984-2002, Rigo used the last two digits of the current year as part of his name, finally settling upon “23” in 2003.

SOMA’s Fun Creatures

Posted by Cindy on December 19, 2011

Dec 192011

354 5th Street This work is by Sirron Norris. Born in Cleveland, Ohio he graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, eventually settling down in San Francisco in 1997. Sirron worked as a production artist in the video game industry while he perfected his skill set as a fine artist. In 1999, Sirron quickly gained notoriety from his first showing at The Luggage Store. Sirron was the recipient of the prestigious Wattis Artist in Residence from the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 2002. It was during that residency that he coined the term “Cartoon Literalism” as a description Continue Reading

Lango on Jessie

Posted by Cindy on December 18, 2011

Dec 182011

SOMA 6th Street and Jessie This series of murals is by Lango. Lango has been in this website many times, and I am a big fan of his work. You can more of his work here. This is a rough part of town, so I am not sure how or why this wall was chosen, but they are really just gorgeous.

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