Transbay Terminal
Second and Folsom
The largest piece of art in the Transbay Terminal is Jenny Holzer’s digital work “White Light,” which encircles the main atrium with 16-foot-high excerpts from historical and literary texts. All related to the Bay Area, they are spelled out in animated, pulsing LED configurations.
Some of these texts are on view for no more than 20 seconds; others run as long as 90 minutes. The longest excerpt thus far, taken from a work by poet Edith Arnstein Jenkins, had to be broken into shorter elements — its full length is five hours and 20 minutes.
The artist told a press tour that the current content total of some 30 hours eventually will double or triple. Holzer said that her piece will give waiting travelers “something to keep them company and to occupy their minds.”
In the daytime, from below, letters are decipherable with some difficulty; from the second floor, one can watch through strips of LED lights, but they are unreadable close-up It is impossible to make out sentences across the way as they circle around. For this reason, I felt this piece was a complete fail. The works are not readable, but they do make for an interesting spinning group of letters to keep you occupied should you need to let your mind wander.
Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950, Gallipolis, Ohio) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick Falls, New York. The main focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces.
Holzer’s studies included general art courses at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina (1968–1970), and then painting, printmaking and drawing at the University of Chicago before completing her BFA at Ohio University, Athens.
The Transbay Joint Power Authority (TJPA) committed $4.75 million to fund the acquisition of artwork for the program. The TJPA’s commitment is in the spirit of the city and county of San Francisco’s “Percent for Art Ordinance,” which allocates two percent of construction costs for the inclusion of public art in the civic structures and facilities, and is consistent with policies established by the Federal Transportation Authority encouraging the inclusion of art in transportation facilities.
TJPA engaged the San Francisco Arts Commission to manage and oversee the planning and development of the public art program.
The budget for White Lite was $1,340,000.
