Spirogyrate

 Posted by on March 11, 2014
Mar 112014
 

Terminal Three
SFO
Post TSA

spyrogyrate at sfo

One weekend in January 2014 the city of San Francisco and the contractors opened the new Terminal Three to the public before it went live.

I used the opportunity to capture as much public art as I could before you had to buy an airline ticket to get access to this part of the airport.

The lighting in the terminal is pretty bad.  There are big windows letting in lots of natural light, but the placement of the art made reflections, often the only thing, I was able to photograph.

This piece by Eric Staller proved to be very popular, it didn’t hurt that there was a DJ playing music for the kids to enjoy as well.

Spirogyrate by Eric Staller at SFO

Eric Staller was commissioned by the SF Arts Commission to create a children’s play area at SFO.  These are twelve, six foot diameter, spirals that seemingly propel one another like gears. The gears are laster-cut acrylic and are motorized to move both clockwise and counter-clockwise. The spirals sit under plate glass, and motion sensors activate the spirals to not only move, but change colors as people walk over them.

eric staller spirogyrate

Eric Staller was born in 1947 in Mineola, New York. His father’s avocation has been architecture, this inspired Staller to study architecture himself. In 1971 Staller completed a Bachelor Degree in Architecture at the University of Michigan.

Kids area at sfo

 

Spirogyrate was commissioned by the SF Art Commission for $304,000.

spiral at sfo

Sky

 Posted by on February 10, 2014
Feb 102014
 
Sky

San Francisco International Airport Terminal 3 Post TSA This is Sky by Merge Conceptual Design.  Merge Conceptual Design is comprised of Franka Diehnelt and Claudia Reisenberger who are both architecture graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and currently teach at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Sky is a suspended light sculpture comprised of 27 mirror-polished stainless steel spheres in varying sizes. The globes are hollow with circular openings oriented at various angles. The interior of the globes is painted an even matte blue, and illuminated by LED edge lighting that creates a soft interior glow. A computerized program Continue Reading

Shining Paths

 Posted by on January 7, 2014
Jan 072014
 
Shining Paths

SFO International Terminal Gate G level 3 Post TSA Shining Paths: San Francisco’s Sister Cities 2006 by Lewis Desoto 16 Derkson projectors, lamps and gobo light gels 68 in. in diameter. This work in its entirety consists of 16 light projections (divided between boarding areas A and G) that celebrate San Francisco’s Sister Cities around the world. The work is an extension of the artist’s On the Air project, located on the floor of the international terminal arrivals lobby. Here, each Sister City is represented by the aeronautical map for its airport, overlaid with the image of the city flower. Continue Reading

Blue Deer

 Posted by on January 6, 2014
Jan 062014
 
Blue Deer

SFO International Terminal Gate G Level 3 Post TSA Blue Deer 2006-2007 Oil and Pigmented Ink with Gesso Ground on Wood Panels Clare Rojas The plaque on this piece reads:  Inspired by American folk art, quilting and storytelling, Clare Rojas creates dreamlike images executed in tightly drawn crystalline shapes.  Rojas intends to bring a sense of warmth and comfort to the viewer and she often changes the exhibition space to better fit the feeling of her work.  Here she transforms the gate room wall into space more reminiscent of home. “Blue Deer” is based on a children’s book Rojas wrote Continue Reading

Baile

 Posted by on January 3, 2014
Jan 032014
 
Baile

SFO International Terminal Gate G Level 3 Post TSA “Baile” – Copper and Powder Coated Steel – 1999 – Carmen Lomas Garza The plaque on this piece reads: This image of Mexican Flokloric dancers is inspired by the tradition of Mexican and Chinese tissue paper cutouts and French silhouettes.  As an artist, Carmen Lomas Carza often recalls her memories of growing up in South Texas as inspiration for her imagery  Shi is known for her portrayal of popular customs and events, from tamale-making to community fiestas. Carmen Lomas Garza was born in Kingsville, Texas. At 13, she made a commitment Continue Reading

Sanctuary

 Posted by on January 2, 2014
Jan 022014
 
Sanctuary

SFO International Terminal Gate G Level 3 Post TSA The plaque on this piece reads: Arrival at SFO is the beginning of a new life for many immigrants.  Just as the surrounding wetlands prove sanctuary for shore birds during their annual migration.  the mural is painted in fresco buono an ancient technique that mixes pigment directly into wet plaster. The artists on this piece were Juana Alicia and Emmanuel Catarino Montoyo.  Both of these artists have been in this website before, you can read about both of them here. This piece was commissioned by the San Francisco Art Commission for Continue Reading

Bird Technology

 Posted by on January 1, 2014
Jan 012014
 
Bird Technology

SFO Boarding Area G Level 3 International Terminal Post TSA Bird Technology – Hand Painted Ceramic Tile – 1999 by Rupert Garcia The plaque on this piece reads: This work combines two images: a bird that symbolizes natural flight, and a geometric grid that symbolizes the technological advances that made human flight possible.  Implicit in the work is the potential for conflict between the natural world and technology. According to the Smithsonian: Rupert García came from a family active in the creation and instruction of folk arts and traditions. After completing his service in the U.S. Air Force in Indochina, Continue Reading

Thinking of Balmy Alley

 Posted by on December 31, 2013
Dec 312013
 
Thinking of Balmy Alley

SFO International Terminal Boarding Area G Level 3 Post TSA Ceramic Tile Mosaic – 1999 by Rigo 99 The plaque on this piece reads: This work, of a solitary boy totally absorbed in the act of paining, is inspired  y a mural (since destroyed) painted in 1993 by the artist and local youth in Balmy Alley, located in San Francisco’s Mission District. Rigo 99 has been in this website many times before.  This piece was commissioned by the San Francisco Art Commission for the airport.

Fly, Flight Fugit

 Posted by on December 30, 2013
Dec 302013
 
Fly, Flight Fugit

SFO International Terminal Boarding Area G – Level 3 Post TSA Fly, Flight Fugit by Squeak Carnwath Porcelain Enamel on Steel – 1999 210 in. x 210 in.; each panel is 30 in. square The plaque that accompanies the piece states: “When I’m I’m a Plane, I often think about things that fly naturally.  This work is about those things – Bees, Flags, Snow Bugs, Mercury, Rain and Flights of Fancy” Much of Cornwath’s work is about her own thoughts, reactions, and memories.  She frequently combines hand-scrawled words, visual images and color into luminous paintings that prompt the personal thoughts Continue Reading

Glass that challenges your understanding

 Posted by on December 27, 2013
Dec 272013
 
Glass that challenges your understanding

San Francisco International Terminal Terminal Two Air Over Under by Norie Sato – 2011 These two Huge panels are easier to see than to photograph.  (The above photo is courtesy of FlySFO) They are hand painted and silkscreened glass enamels on float glass and measure 16 ft. x 150 ft. each. Norie Sato’s imagery was inspired by our relationship to clouds and flight. Specifically, her work delves into some of flight’s inherent qualities: ephemeral, abstract, pictorial, natural, man-made, symmetrical and changeable. The artwork depicts the dual experience of being under or over clouds when flying in a plane. According to the Continue Reading

Flight Patterns

 Posted by on December 23, 2013
Dec 232013
 
Flight Patterns

San Francisco International Airport Terminal One Boarding Area C Flight Patterns by Larry Kirkland – 1987 Stainless steel cables, painted aluminum tubing, sheeting and screening 264 in. x 276 in. x 756 in. Born in 1950 in Port Hueneme, California, Larry Kirkland moved with his military family throughout the U.S. and abroad during his childhood. He received his undergraduate degree in environmental design in 1972 from Oregon State University and his Masters of Fine Arts degree in 1974 from the University of Kansas. Kirkland created these large, aerial sculptures that are characterized by its nearly transparent, ethereal quality. This work was Continue Reading

A Mosaic of Bay Area History

 Posted by on December 20, 2013
Dec 202013
 
A Mosaic of Bay Area History

San Francisco International Airport Terminal 1 Connector Level 2 Bay Area Victorian, Bay Area, Deco, Bay Area Funk by Joyce Kozloff – 1982 This artwork is inspired by historical decorative styles found in the Bay Area. The left panel, Bay Area Victorian, draws its sources from the ornament on old homes in the Mission District, Pacific Heights, the Western Addition and Potrero Hill.  The right panel, Bay Area Deco, references downtown Oakland in its heyday, when the Fox and Paramount theaters were built.  Both the celadon grey-green of the I. Magnin store and the cobalt blue and silver facade of Continue Reading

Thousands and Thousands of Tiles

 Posted by on December 19, 2013
Dec 192013
 
Thousands and Thousands of Tiles

San Francisco International Airport International Terminal Main Hall Gateway 2000- by Ik-Joong Kang  This artwork contains 5,400 unique 3 in. x 3 in. paintings, wood carvings, tiles and cast acrylic cubes. The artist began working in this 3 in. x 3 in. format when he was a student and commuted long distances to various part-time jobs. The 3 in. canvases were small enough for him to carry in his backpack and paint on the subway. The piece is mixed media including canvas, wood, ceramic tile and found objects, it measures 120 X 720 inches. Born in 1960, in Cheong Ju, Continue Reading

Stacking Stones

 Posted by on December 18, 2013
Dec 182013
 
Stacking Stones

San Francisco International Airport Terminal Two Level Two Stacking Stones by Seiji Kunishma – 1983 These stones were commissioned by SFAC for the airport in 1983.  They remained in the airport during the new construction. Born in Nagoya, Japan, Seiji Kunishima is an internationally renowned artist whose sculptures are characterized by a serene balance between the traditional and the modern. Stacking Stones weighs 14 tons and is created from stone quarried near Nagoya. Each section of rock was shaped to fit into the next and the outer surface was chiseled or polished to create contrasts of color, texture and depth. Continue Reading

Tapestries to take your breath away

 Posted by on December 1, 2013
Dec 012013
 
Tapestries to take your breath away

San Francisco International Airport Terminal 2 Waiting Area This is a series by Mark Adams.  They include Garden Outside Gate, Garden in Golden Gate Park, and Garden in San Andreas Valley.  They have been in storage for over 20 years at the SFAC.  They were brought out and installed as part of the complete remodel of Terminal 2 at SFO.  They are absolutely stunning, and thank goodness they have been brought out for all to enjoy. Woven in the traditional Aubusson style, these flax woven wool tapestries represent various gardens that the artist remembers from his years living in San Continue Reading

Topo in Cloth and aluminum

 Posted by on November 27, 2013
Nov 272013
 
Topo in Cloth and aluminum

San Francisco International Airport Departure Lobby Terminal 2 Kendall Buster -Powder coated steel tubing; greenhouse shade cloth- 288 in. x 288 in. x 192 in Topograph I & II Kendall Buster earned a BFA degree from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington DC and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University as well as participating in the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Studio Program in New York City. His website explains the piece: Topograph was designed and constructed for the San Francisco International Airport Terminal 2 departures area. A raised entryway forms a kind of narrow bridge above a massive Continue Reading

Welcome

 Posted by on November 26, 2013
Nov 262013
 
Welcome

San Francisco International Airport Terminal 2 Baggage Claim Level 1 Dan Snyder – Polyurethane Paint on Aluminum -1983 Titled Welcome North, Welcome South, Welcome East, Welcome West, is designed to greet visitors from around the world. According to Mr Snyder’s website: Dan was born in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in 1941. His father was a naval officer stationed there at the time. Growing up he lived largely in seaport towns in the United States. After graduating from Wesleyan University in Connecticut with a major in theater, he attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston Continue Reading

Cilindro Construito

 Posted by on November 21, 2013
Nov 212013
 
Cilindro Construito

San Francisco International Airport Terminal 2 Baggage Claim Level 1 Cilindro Construito by Arnaldo Pomodoro 1983. Cast bronze, 192 in. x 18 in Aside from the great exhibits put on by the SFO Museum, there is a considerable collection of art that is owned by the San Francisco Arts Commission at the airport.  I have often had a problem with this, as by definition of public art, this is not.  Most pieces are behind the walls of TSA, which by itself is the antitheses of Public.  However, I am aware that much of the art was placed there before we Continue Reading

Kokeshi to Kaiju

 Posted by on November 13, 2013
Nov 132013
 
Kokeshi to Kaiju

San Francisco International Airport Astro Boy (Tesuwan Atomu) When the SFO Museum began Twittering about their upcoming Japanese Toy exhibit, I knew I needed to see it. Sadly, it is behind TSA. It is in Terminal Three for all you lucky people flying in and/or out of SFO in the next 6 months. I contacted the museum, and Exhibits Curator, Nicole Mullen, was kind enough to get me past TSA to view the exhibit. I was a kid in a candy shop. I have been a fan of Astro Boy and Ultraman since I was a child. I have a Continue Reading

A Museum for the Cost of a BART Ticket

 Posted by on November 12, 2013
Nov 122013
 
A Museum for the Cost of a BART Ticket

San Francisco International Airport Addison Model 2A Radio c. 1940 Many people know that there is art at SFO, but did you know there is an actual museum?  Much of the art you see scattered around the airport as single pieces belong to the SFAC, however, the exhibits you see, carefully crafted for your enjoyment, are by an entirely different organization. The SFO Museum was established by the Airport Commission in 1980 for the purpose of humanizing the airport environment.  In 1999, SFO Museum became the first exhibitions program in an airport to receive accreditation from the American Alliance of Continue Reading

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