Childrens art – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Spirogyrate

Posted by Cindy on March 11, 2014

Mar 112014

Terminal Three
SFO
Post TSA

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.

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 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.

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

Western Addition – World Walls for Peace

Posted by Cindy on April 13, 2012

Apr 132012

Western Addition

Page and Buchanan Street

In 1999, with consultation and training from the organization, World Walls for Peace, residents of the Western Addition became participants in a Peace Empowerment Process. Volunteers taught a program in two elementary schools and over fifty community based organizations, focusing on tolerance, understanding, and non-violence. Participants learned ways to develop positive solutions to resolving conflicts and defusing anger. The project was developed and implemented by residents for residents—a true community endeavor.

As part of their participation, people of all ages painted over 1,800 tiles on the theme of peace, to be installed on a retaining wall that encircles Daniel Koshland Park on Page and Buchanan Streets in San Francisco.

By May 2007, all the tiles were painted, fired, organized, labeled, and photographed; the SF Arts Commission had approved the project; the retaining wall had been resurfaced and repaired in preparation for tiling. This is a photograph of the long side of the park as well as the interior stairwell.

Justine Tatarsky was the lead artist on the project, her work is really quite beautiful, you will recognize hers not only for the refinement but also the initials TOT on her work.

There is a brass plaque on the wall that reads:

This Peace Wall celebrates our community’s commitment to PEACE, and is dedicated to families that have lost children to violence in the Western Addition.

This Peace Wall stands to remind us that we have the power to be creative and heal ourselves and our community. We are all artists. May we find inspiration and strength in these messages of love.