Tag: Public Art
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The Fire Next Time II
Joseph P. Lee Rec Center 1395 Mendell Backside Bayview Fire Next Time II Excerpt from San Francisco Bay Area Murals by Timothy W. Drescher regarding the original mural: Crumpler depicted three aspects of black people’s lives in the United States: education, religion, and culture. The contemporary figures, a teacher and student, athletes and dancers, are…
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Solar Plumes on a Painted Steel Fence
Sunnyside Playground 200 Melrose Twin Peaks These painted steel panels were commissioned in 2008 for $23,600 by the San Francisco Art Commission to Deborah Kennedy. According to Kennedy’s website the curvilinear patterns cut into water-jet cut stainless steel were abstracted from patterns found in NASA’s TRACE close-up satellite photos of the solar surface. These photos…
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SFGH Healing Garden
1001 Potrero San Francisco General Hospital The artist designed this small garden, in 1993, as an extension to an existing hospital memorial garden and as a place to provide seating sheltered from the wind. A red gravel walkway, edged in white granite city-surplus curbstones, forms a double helix, which is symbolic of life. The seating…
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Open Book at the Library
960 4th Street Mission Bay This piece, by Vince Koloski, is in the Mission Bay Branch Library. The artwork is an illuminated book sculpture with quotes about reading and text from a variety of ancient and contemporary cultures. Vince Koloski was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1953. In 1977 he attended New College in Sarasota, Florida…
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Precita Eyes covers McDonald’s in Paint
2801 Mission Street Mission District This mural, titled Culture of the Crossroads, was done in 1998 by Precita Eyes. It covers the 24th Street side of the McDonalds Restaurant. * * * * * Precita Eyes is a multipurpose community based arts organization that has played an integral role in the city’s cultural heritage and arts education.…
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Globe by Topher Delaney
299 2nd Street Courtyard Marriott Hotel – 1st Floor SOMA – Financial District Globe by Topher Delaney – Bronze This piece is a result of the 1% for Art and POPOS programs in San Francisco. It is available for viewing from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. – However, if you step into the Lobby you…
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Time to Dream
Joseph P. Lee Rec Center 1395 Mendell Bayview Time to Dream by Amana Johnson The Joseph P. Lee Rec Center, like many in San Francisco is behind a locked gate and only open during very limited hours. I have relied on the artists website for a description of the piece and the photo of the…
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Journey through Books and Music
1946 Market Street Castro/Mission The Mural is on the side of 43 Buchannan Titled Joyous Discoveries: A Journey Through Books and Music, this mural, by Keith Hollander won the Public Mural Award of 2001 for the Finest Mural in the SF Bay Area. The mural is now being lost due to construction on this corner.…
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Dos Leones at SFGH
1001 Potrero San Francisco General Hospital So much of the collection paid for by the San Francisco Art Commission is not readily available to the general public. This piece is no exception. On the patio of the 3rd floor of SFGH, the doors were locked, however, you can see the sculpture through the window. Titled…
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American Bison at SFGH
1001 Potrero San Francisco General Hospital 2nd Floor – Cafeteria Patio Buffalo by Raimondo Puccinelli Raimondo Puccinelli, (1904-1986) born and raised in San Francisco, is known above all for his sculpture which has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His standing as a sculptor was confirmed early on, firstly by the interest shown…
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Empire Park
600 Block of Commercial Street at Kearny Empire Park Chinatown Empire Park (once called Grabhorn Park) is a POPOS (privately-owned public open space). It is provided and maintained by, The Empire Group, owners of 505 Montgomery Street. The spire perched atop 505 Montgomery is said to be a replica of the Empire State Building, but…
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Ed Carpenter Arches the 6th Floor Terrace at 150 California
150 California Street POPOS on the 6th Floor Terrace Open 9 am to 6 pm Ed Carpenter is an artist specializing in large-scale public installations ranging from architectural sculpture to infrastructure design. Since 1973 he has completed scores of projects for public, corporate, and ecclesiastical clients. Working internationally from his studio in Portland, Oregon, Carpenter…
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Star Maiden a relic of the Pan Pacific Exposition
1 Sansome Street POPOS Open During Business Hours Star Maiden by Stirling Calder (Alexander) Stirling Calder attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, in 1885, at the age of 16. Here he studied under Thomas Eakins. He apprenticed as a sculptor the following year, working on his father’s extensive sculpture program for Philadelphia City Hall,…
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Carnaval on 24th
3195 24th Street The Mission This badly faded mural is titled Carnaval and was done in 1983. The artist was Daniel Galves with help from Dan Fontes, James Morgan, Jay Shield and Keith Sklar. Daniel Galvez is an Oakland-based muralist. He studied at the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland (BFA in painting in…
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A Start to the Blue Greenway Art Trail
Arelious Walker and Innis Street originally at Cargo at Third Street Bayview/Hunters Point This piece is titled Red Fish by William Wareham. Wareham has several pieces around San Francisco. The piece was installed as part of San Francisco’s Blue Greenway project. The Blue Greenway is the City of…
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Zio Ziegler Paints the Mission
Bartlett and 24th Mission and Sycamore * * Zio Ziegler has several murals around San Francisco. According to his website: For me painting is balance. Within this balance there is consciousness, instinct and distraction. My work is a constant fusion of all three. Torn between the classical and the contemporary in my inspirations, but constantly…
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Anish Kapoor in San Francisco
235 2nd Street SOMA Financial District Making the World Many by Anish Kapoor – Stainless Steel Making the World Many is part of the 1% for Arts and POPOS programs of San Francisco. While viewable through the building window, the piece is available for closer viewing from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm M-F. Anish Kapoor, (born…
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Core by Charles Arnoldi
101 2nd Street SOMA – Financial District Core by Charles Arnoldi – Acrylic on Canvas Core is a result of the POPOS and 1% for Art programs of San Francisco. While viewable through the buildings glass it is available for closer viewing from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm M-F. Charles Arnoldi was born April 10, 1946…
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San Francisco County Jail
Sheriffs Star Plaza San Francisco Jail Facility 7th and Bryant SOMA This paving is the work of Vicki Scuri of VSSW. Vicki received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison She describes herself: Collaborative, integrated design is my passion. The focus of my practice is community-based design for infrastructure, with emphasis on community…
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Chinese in San Francisco
950 Washington Street Chinatown This mural sits on the wall of the Commodore Stockton School. The School has a very rich history. Formed in 1859 it was originally called the Chinese School. It was created for chinese only students as they were not allowed in the public schools. In 1885 the school was renamed the…
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A Joan Brown Obelisk at 343 Sansome Street
343 Sansome Street The Financial District Four Seasons by Joan Brown This tiled obelisk is by Joan Brown. Joan Brown was an American figurative painter who was born in San Francisco and lived and worked in Northern California. She was a notable member of the “second generation” of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. She studied at…
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Old Blueprints take on a New Look
Muni Metro East Yard Pier 80 Bayview This view, taken through a fence, is as close as one will get to the art work at the new Muni Metro East maintenance facility. * These photos I took from the Pulp Studios website. I am going to simply copy directly what they have to say about…
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The Drum Bridge at the Japanese Tea Garden
Japanese Tea Garden Golden Gate Park San Francisco’s first Japanese Tea Garden was originally developed by art-dealer George Turner Marsh as part of the 1894 Midwinter Fair, an event that brought the City by the Bay into the international limelight. Shinshichi Nakatani was selected to design and build the Drum Bridge (Taiko Bashi). He built…
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Guardians of Ping Yuen
711 Pacific Chinatown Ping Yuen Housing Originally 8 terracotta Foo dogs graced this gateway. Chinese guardian lions, known as Shishi or Imperial guardian lion, and often called “Foo Dogs” in the West, are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China. They have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government…
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Familia
Potrero del Sol Park Potrero Hill Potrero at 25th Street Familia is by Victor Reyes, who has many pieces around San Francisco. On June 9, 2011 the San Francisco Examiner ran this article about the mural: A community that came together to solve the problem of persistent graffiti at a neighborhood park celebrated the unveiling…
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SOMA Grand’s Glass Mosaic
1160 Mission Street SOMA SOMA Grand Composed of 390 panels, most about 2-by-7 feet and 1/4-inch thick, this mural is titled “Realm”. It is the biggest piece of glass art in the city. Coming in at three stories tall, it cost $800,000. The piece is part of the 1% for art program of San Francisco…
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Bufano at Westside Courts
Westside Courts Housing Project 2501 Sutter Street Lower Pacific Heights This sculpture, by well known San Francisco sculptor Beniamino Bufano, is titled Saint Francis on Horseback. Standing 8′ x 6′ and of black granite it is located in the central courtyard of the project. It was made in 1935 but not placed here until 1945. Westside…
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CCSF Mission Campus
1125 Valencia Mission District Said to be the biggest Tonalmachiotl in the world, this version of the Aztec Calendar sits at the entry way to the City College of San Francisco Mission Campus. Tonalmachiotl is called the Aztec Calendar, the Sunstone or Piedra del Sol. Scholars believe that pre-conquest Mesoamerican cultures conceived of time as circular….…
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Mission Pool and Playground Mural
Mission District Linda Street off of 19th * * This mural was done by Emmanuel C. Montoya, Sue Cervantes and Juana Alicia. It sits on the side of the Mission Pool and Playground which houses the New World Tree Mural. These three artists were joined by Raul Martinez and others to create the mural in the…