Childcare and Development Center
CCSF Phelan Campus
The building is now Closed
This whimsical mural is by ceramic artist Peter VandenBerge. It measures 8′ by 5′ and is made of ceramic tiles.
Vandenberge has been on this site before.
VandenBerge was part of the legendary group at University of California, Davis, during the 1960s. Working under Robert Arneson he was part of the Funk Art movement but evolved in his own direction. He is best known for his larger-than-life busts and figures, elongated beings that are roughly constructed, reminiscent of ancient tribal art, and finished with texturing, glazes, and stains. VandenBerge has said that the figures arise out of long ago memories of puppet shows he loved as a child in Indonesia, the memories blurred and mixed with the variety of experiences that have comprised his life since those days. In addition to his work as a studio artist, VandenBerge has had a long and successful career as a teacher: first at California State University, San Francisco and then for nearly 30 years at his alma mater, California State University, Sacramento where he is presently Professor Emeritus having fully retired in 2003.
This piece was originally commissioned by the SFAC, who was unable to locate an appropriate location for it. It was offered to CCSF and was displayed at the south end of the library reading room in Cloud Hall. Following construction of the Rosenberg Library, the mural was placed in storage and then installed at the Orfalea Center in 2008. The center has since closed permanently.
The mural is still there, and hopefully, it will be moved to a new location when the area is rehabbed.
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A small indication of the state of the buildings that made up the Orfalea Center, and why it is no longer in use, but whose architecture is fascinating.