sculpture – Page 3 – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Bayview Horn

Posted by Cindy on October 13, 2015

Oct 132015

Bayview/Hunters Point at the Shipyards
11 Innes Court

The Shipyards at Hunters Point is a new Lennar Development. Part of the project is $1million in art provided by a Federal Grant to the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission.

This piece titled Bayview Horn is by Jerry Barish and was purchased for $125,ooo.

Jerry Ross Barrish is a sculptor and fourth generation San Franciscan who works in Dog Patch. Barrish is a figurative artist whose early assemblages are made of found objects, actual plastic refuse and debris collected from his long walks along the southeastern shoreline.

Barrish received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and Master of Fine Arts Degree from the San Francisco Art Institute.

His connection with the Bayview Hunters Point Shipyard is a personal one: during World War II his mother was a civilian working for the Marine Corps while his father served in the U.S. Navy and stationed in the South Pacific arena.

This is Barrish’s first permanent public art commission.

The Band

Posted by Cindy on October 3, 2015

Oct 032015

535 Mission Street

The Band by Anton Standteiner -2014

This piece is part of the City’s art requirement for new construction.

The artwork is a sculptural composition by Anton Josef Standteiner entitled “The Band”, constructed of bronze, copper, and steel, situated at the corner of Minna Street and Shaw Alley. The piece consists of four separate sculptures representing members of a music group, with each sculpture measuring approximately 10 feet in height.

Standteiner, along with his brother and father make up Mountain Forge, a metal working shop in Tahoe, California since the 1960s.

Jaques Overhoff and Margaret Mead

Posted by Cindy on September 14, 2015

Sep 142015

150 Otis Street
Mission/South of Market

This sculpture, by Jaques Overhoff, has sat on the side of 170 Otis Street, The Social Services Building, since 1977.

The abstract sculpture is accompanied by a poem by Margaret Mead. At this time I am unable to determine whether or not this is part of Overhoff’s intent or a separate art piece all together.

Jaques Overhoff, who has been in this site many times before was born in the Netherlands. He attended the Graphics School of Design at the School of Fine Arts in Amsterdam, and the University of Oregon. He moved to San Francisco in the late 1950s and was well known for his civic sculptures in a variety of styles.

Our Silences

Posted by Cindy on September 8, 2015

Sep 082015

Harry Bridges Plaza Until October 15, 2015

The Consulate of Mexico and Rivelino are touring Nuestros Silencios (Our Silences) sculptures, to deliver a message about freedom of expression. Each sculpture has a metal plate covering its mouth as an allusion to censorship.

The artist hopes the installation will prompt reflection about the importance of speaking out. This installation toured Europe (Russia, Germany, London, Rome and Portugal) in 2009-2011. The most recent installation was in Ruocco Park at the Port of San Diego in January 2015.

“Our Silences” is made up of 10 monumental anthropomorphic sculptures, in white and ochre cast bronze weighing almost one ton each. The busts have both haut-and bas-reliefs, seeds, plants, and artists interpretation of collective expression.

The 11th piece of the installation is a cubic sculpture referred to as “Tactile Box” made of iron that explains the installation. It contains four small format pieces based upon the human figures that can be touched and were created specifically for persons with visual disabilities. (however, at the time of my visit, these pieces were missing)

Rivelino, 41, whose full name is José Rivelino Moreno Valle, is from Mexico City. He is described by the World Economic Forum as an autodidact sculptor based in Mexico City, interested in the relationship between the spectator and an artistic object in a specific social and historical context. Inspired by passion for architecture, engineering, psychology, sociology, archaeology and history. Rivilino experiments constantly with diverse materials, such as cotton, clay, steel and bronze, to correlate the unique relationship between them.

Monumento al Cimmarón

Posted by Cindy on July 31, 2015

Jul 312015

Monumento al Cimarron by Alberto Lescay

The Monumento al Cimarrón, by Alberto Lescay, or Monument to the Runaway Slave is in the Cuban town of El Cobre. El Cobre is home to the cathedral that houses Cuba’s patron Saint the Virgin on Caridad.

Lescay has said “I feel the spirit of that work in others and I think I’ve found a road, because it is a very open proposal, not at all schematic or dogmatic and those are very universal codes that are expressed in it.”

Lescay goes on to say that being a cimmarón is an attitude toward life, and will continue to exist as long as any trace or expression of slavery exist in the world, because “being free, never being fettered, is the most humane attitude there is.”

Cimmaróns were enslaved Africans who had escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together as outlaws. The term Cimarrón comes from the Taino word ‘si’maran’ meaning “the flight of an arrow”.

The sculpture requires an approximately 400 step climb after traveling for approximately 1/2 mile on a dirt road, but is well worth the visit.

Lescay has been in this site before with a piece in Santiago de Cuba.

Bruce Hasson’s Ark

Posted by Cindy on June 15, 2015

Jun 152015

Father Boeddeker Park
295 Eddy Street
The Tenderloin

The Ark – 1985 – Bronze

This piece, by Bruce Hasson, sits in Father Boeddeker Park. The statue, as well as the park have essentially been inaccessible to everyone until the parks 2014 renovation.

According to the plaque that sits with the statue “Following a 1983 trek in the Peruvian Andes, Hasson was inspired by the mysteries of Inca stone work. The Ark resembles a large geological artifact. It is symbolic of a sanctuary that protects life and a reminder of the importance of preserving endangered animals and their natural habitat.”

Hasson lives and works in San Francisco, and is responsible for other iron work around San Francisco.

Hasson was originally payed $20,400. In 2010 the Ark underwent a $21,000 renovation thanks to the Koret Foundation’s donation to the ArtCare program. The piece has the concrete base repaired, it was cleaned and then a protective coating was added.

Redding School Self Portrait

Posted by Cindy on June 8, 2015

Jun 082015

Boeddeker Park
295 Eddy Street
The Tenderloin

Redding School Self Portrait by Ruth Asawa and Children of the School

The Asawa piece is a tribute to Father Alfred Boeddeker. Boeddeker was the Franciscan priest who founded St. Anthony’s Dining Room and he is the park’s namesake. The 4- by 16.5-foot bas relief wall mural is a portrait of Boeddeker surrounded by children. Asawa was assisted by 100 schoolchildren from Redding Elementary School. The childrens’ images were initially created out of pastry dough, then coordinated into an overall design by Asawa. The piece was originally installed in 1985 and is made of glass fiber reinforced concrete.

Ruth Asawa was a favorite of this author, and she has appeared many times in this site. Asawa passed away in 2013.

The African American Monument of Savannah’s Riverfront

Posted by Cindy on May 19, 2015

May 192015

Savannah Riverfront
East Side – near the Hyatt Elevator
This monument was built in 2002, designed by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) professor Dorothy Spradley, it shows a family embracing with the chain of slavery at their feet.

Maya Angelou’s Poem

“We were stolen, sold and bought together from the African continent. We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together, sometimes died together, and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today, we are standing up together, with faith and even some joy.”

Dorothy Spradley was born in 1946. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College, 1967 and a Master of Fine Arts, from the University of Georgia, 1976.

Two Worlds Apart

Posted by Cindy on May 19, 2015

May 192015

Julliet Gordon Low Federal Building-Telfair Square
124 Broughton
Savannah, GA

Two Worlds Apart by Ned Smyth

Produced by Ned Smyth, these pieces were in conjunction with an exhibit at the Telfair Academy in 1992.

Two Worlds Apart by Ned Smyth – Fiberglass, Stone and Mosaic

A World Apart

Posted by Cindy on May 19, 2015

May 192015

The Center of River Street, on the west side of the Hyatt tunnel
Savannah, Georgia

This World War II monument is also known as “The Cracked Earth” monument. The two halves of the globe are split, representing the conflict of a world divided. Inside are the names of all who served from Chatham county, Georgia.

A World Apart

The dream of the Chatham County Veterans Council, this memorial took ten years of fundraising to accomplish.

Architect, Eric Meyerhoff, was approached by the City of Savannah to help design the memorial. “This was a World War, and I wanted that theme,” Meyerhoff said. “The world was divided. Pacific theater. European theater. And I came up with the world apart.”

Meyerhoff’s firm was instrumental in the revitalization of the riverfront.

The monument itself was created by Brandell Studios, headed by sculptor Kim Brandell.

Grasses and Wildflowers in the Tenderloin

Posted by Cindy on May 18, 2015

May 182015

Father Boeddeker Park
259 Eddy Street
The Tenderloin

Father Boedekker Park has gone through a much needed and highly anticipated refurbishment. The $9.3 million face-lift to the Tenderloins only multi-use park was long over due. The $9.3 million renovation was made possible with a $4.93 million grant from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, more than $3.3 million of private contribution from corporate business donors, and funds from The Trust of Public Land, as well as more than $1.7 million of City’s general fund, open space fund, and Parks Bond.

There was already some public art in the park that you can read about here, but the fence by local artist Amy Blackstone, is new.

Amy’s studio is in Hunters Point, and her love of flowers has shown in several pieces she has around San Francisco.

There are four 6X6 galvanized metal panels in the fence.

Germinal*

Posted by Cindy on April 22, 2015

Apr 222015

Eulises Niebla born in 1963 in Matanzas Cuba, studied at the Escuela Provincial de arte in Matanzas, Cuba from 1975-1979, He then went on to the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) Havana from 1980-1984 and then to the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA). in Havana from 1984-1989

A contemporary Cuban artist Niebla works with industrial materials to create geometric three-dimensional objects, which are then painted in bright colours. These objects have been likened to the forms in children’s playgrounds and belong to an established constructivist tradition in Latin America that pushes the boundaries of the art object and encourages the spectator to participate in the work.

The Caguayo Foundation, created in 1995 is responsible for much of the public art in Santiago de Cuba through an annual symposium. This piece was part of the 2010 symposium.

The piece was titled Germinal, however, that has no meaning. It is possible that it was a typo, as often happens in these situations, it could be titled Germinar, which means to germinate.

Outer Harmony

Posted by Cindy on April 22, 2015

Apr 222015

Armonia Exterior by Ramon Casas – 2013

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Armonía Exterior was a result of the 2013 Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project were put around Santiago de Cuba.

Ramon Casas graduated from the National School of Arts (ENA) in Havana in 1976, he then went on to study at the Higher Arts Institute (ISA) in Havana, Cuba and graduated in 1982.

Arco

Posted by Cindy on April 22, 2015

Apr 222015

Arco by Jose Villa Soberon

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Arco was a result of the 2013 Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project are put around Santiago de Cuba.

Jose Villa has two pieces in Havana that have been in this website before and that you can read about here.

Santiago de Cuba native José Ramón Villa Soberón ( September 2, 1950) is particularly known for his public sculptures around Havana. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (The National School of Art) in Havana, Cuba and the Academy of Plastic Arts in Prague. He is a professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana.

Nature

Posted by Cindy on April 22, 2015

Apr 222015

This piece, titled Nature, is by Juan Quintanilla.

In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Nature was a result of the Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project were put around Santiago de Cuba.

Juan Quintanilla studied at the School of Visual Arts in Pinar del Rio in 1965. He went on to get a graduate degree in Sculpture from the National Art School in 1967. In 1973 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Praque and spent the year of 1989 studying at Pietro Tacca Institute in Carrara, Italy.

When asked about the marble of Cuba he answered (this is a rough translation)

“In our country we have different qualities of marble. I have only worked with the Siboney Grey Isla de la Juventud, but I have also made inroads into the green and black of Pinar del Río, and the cream and pink orchid of Bayamo, both high quality marbles. There are many others, but these are the ones that I most identify with. I think it is also a way to promote Cuban marble. Many people do not know you could do these sculptures in marble and have been surprised to some to see how a piece can bring out the different qualities.”

Passage of Remembrance

Posted by Cindy on April 6, 2015

Apr 062015

Memorial Court
Civic Center

In 1932 when the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House and Veterans Building were built the project was supposed to include a memorial to veterans. The project ran out of money, and one was never made.

However, during this time the octagonal lawn in the Memorial Court has held earth from lands where Americans fought and died. This stone octagon, now encloses the earth. The Memorial has been designed so that it can be opened to accept newly consecrated earth from battlefields of the future.

In 1935 that War Memorial Complex architect Arthur Brown, Jr., recommended landscape architect Thomas D. Church be engaged to complete the Memorial Court. Church, a world renowned landscape architect, know for his gardens reflecting the Beaux-Arts tradition completed the design in 1936. His drawings reference a “future memorial” to be added in the octagonal area of the Memorial Court.

Soils from World War I battlefields were consigned there at the time of its completion. A similar ceremony depositing soils from World War II battlefields took place following the 1945 signing of the United Nations Charter in the Veterans Building. And in 1988, veterans groups held a ceremony interring battlefield soils from Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Guam, Italy, Laos, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Prior to beginning construction of the San Francisco Veterans Memorial, the soil from the center of the octagonal area of the Memorial Court was carefully removed and safeguarded.

The Young Dead Soldiers, a poem also used at the Presidio Cemetery Overlook, is a fitting poem for this spot.

The project artist was Susan Narduli of Narduli Studio. The project was completed October 2014 with $2.5 million of private donations.

Six Degrees

Posted by Cindy on March 31, 2015

Mar 312015

2825 Diamond Street
Glen Park

Six Degrees is an artwork installed in the entrance of Glen Park Branch Library done in 2007 for $36,000. The artists are Reddy Lieb and Linda Raynsford.

The circular art elements were inspired by the history and ecology of Glen Park. The circle, which the artists used as their main geometric design form, is intended to symbolize wholeness and community.

Specific references in the artwork are:

In 1889, an amusement park was built in Glen Canyon to attract potential home buyers. One of the attractions was tightrope walker Jimmy “Scarface” Williams.

Early streetcar tracks in Glen Park are silk screened on another metal circle.

An abstracted glass bat house refers to a recent mosquito abatement program that included the installation of nine bat houses near Islais Creek.
A blue painted circle represents Islais Creek.

In 1965, when there were plans to destroy the southwest portion of Glen Park to improve automobile transit, three woman—Geraldine Arkush, Zoann Nordstrom,and Joan Siebold, collectively known as the Gum Tree Girls— helped prevent that development.

The outline of a red-tailed hawk’s wings is painted on a yellow circle.
Copper cut-outs fused in glass are images of plant life in Glen Park.
A poem written by local poet Diane DiPrima for William Blake is fired into a circular glass medallion near the bottom of the artwork. The entire poem reads as follows:For Blakeby now it is too late to wonder
why we are wherever we are
(tho some peace is possible): singing on the breath
& we have had bodies of Fire and lived in the Sun
& we have had bodies of Water and lived in Venus
and bodies of Air that screeched as they tore around Jupiter all our eyes remembering Love

Reddy Lieb has a BA in art and an MFA in Glass Blowing, she lives in San Francisco. Linda Raynsford has a BFA from California College of Arts

Sprinter at the Koret

Posted by Cindy on February 2, 2015

Feb 022015

Koret Health and Recreation Center
2130 Fulton Street
Inner Richmond

This bronze sculpture sits directly to the right of the entry door to the University of San Francisco’s, Koret Health and Recreation Center.

It is an 8′ tall bronze by Edith Peres-Lethmate. According to the Smithsonian the sculpture is a large-scale version of a sculpture executed in 1976. The sculpture was commissioned by the University and was funded by the university’s Class of 1986.

According to the Koret blog ““Sprinter,” was originally created on a smaller scale in celebration of the 1984 Olympic games.”

Edith Peres-Lethmate was born 1927 in Koblentz Germany and is primarily known for her sports sculptures. Ms Peres-Lethmate still resides in Germany.

Camilo Cienfuegos

Posted by Cindy on January 29, 2015

Jan 292015

Revolution Plaza
Havana, Cuba

On the Ministry of Ministry of Communications building is another line sculpture by Enrique Avila Gonzales. This one is of a lesser known revolutionary hero, Camilo Cienfuegos, shown here with his signature cowboy hat.

The sculpture was erected in 2009. The words “Vas bien, Fidel” (You’re doing fine, Fidel) on the bottom right, refers to a reply given to Fidel at a January 8, 1959 victory rally. How am I doing? asked Castro You’re doing fine said Cienfuegos.

Camilo Cienfuegos disappeared while he was traveling in a small plane from Camagüey province that same year.

Che Guevara, Korda and Gonzales

Posted by Cindy on January 28, 2015

Jan 282015

Plaza de Revolucion
Havana, Cuba

Che Guevera in Havana, Cuba

Plaza de la Revolución “Revolution Square” is one of the 13 largest outdoor plazas in the world. The square is notable as being where many political rallies take place and Fidel Castro and other political figures address Cubans. Fidel Castro has addressed more than a million Cubans on many occasions, such as 1 May and 26 July each year.

This sculpture of Che Guevara is a single line replica of the famous Alberto Korda photograph of Che. The sculptor on this was Cuban artist Enrique Avila Gonzales. The words “Hasta la Victoria Sempre” (Onward forever to victory) are in Che’s handwriting.

“Of all the faces, the one which required the most work was that of Che. It happened to be a contest in which I participated by invitation, along with 15 other projects. My hesitation was deciding on the material, maybe ceramic, maybe concrete…

“I did many, many drawings and sketches of possible formats, until I saw my son tracing lines on a piece of paper. I was surprised by its tremendous economy and simplicity, and right away the lines came to me and I immediately saw Che’s character in them. All that remained was choosing the material, and at that point of inspiration, it couldn’t have been anything other than steel, like his mettle.

“Another thing was Korda’s photo. It is so artistically impeccable. It is perfectly suitable for any other visual art form. When I was chosen to do the project, I went right away to his house and told him: Look Korda, I’m going to do a sculpture of your photo.

“He started to laugh and we had a toast to its completion. Once it was finished and installed, in 1993, I took him to see it and said: Well, there you have your photo.”

There is almost 15 tons of steel in the piece, donated by the French government.

The Korda photo was takin on March 5, 1960, during a memorial service for victims of the Le Coubre freighter explosion. It was not until 1967 that the photo passed into iconography with Kordas blessing. Korda,originally a Cuban fashion photographer, who died in 2001 never received royalties from the photo and as a supporter of the revolution believed that spreading the image would help spread Guevara’s ideals.

John Lennon in Cuba

Posted by Cindy on January 20, 2015

Jan 202015

Lennon Park
Havana, Cuba

In the John Lennon Park at 17th and 6th, is a sculpture of the former Beatles member , sculpted by Cuban artist José Villa Soberón. On a marble tile at the foot of the bench there is an inscription: “Dirás que soy un soñador pero no soy el único” John Lennon, it is the Spanish translation of the English lyrics, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” from the song “Imagine”.

The sculpture of Lennon (like many statues with glasses around the world) doesn’t always wear he’s signature round-lens glasses, which have been stolen, or vandalized, several times. However, during the day, a delightful older gentleman often sits next to the bench, and places the glasses on the statue when he sees interested people approach.

The statue was unveiled December 8th 2000, the 20th anniversary of Lennon’s murder. There is a book about the statue by Cuban author Ernesto Juan Castellanos John Lennon en La Habana with a little help from my friends, about the ban that John Lennon and The Beatles suffered in Cuba during the 1960s and 1970s.

Why a statue in Havana after the ban of the Beatles? “I share his dreams completely. I too am a dreamer who has seen his dreams turn into reality”. –Fidel Castro. When Lennon was harassed by the US government in his later life, Cubans considered him a rebel, and therefore a victim, and therefore worthy of consideration.

John Lennon in Cuba

Benny Moré

Posted by Cindy on January 20, 2015

Jan 202015

Prado Promenade
Cienfuegos, Cuba

Benny Moré (Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, 24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), or Benny, was a Cuban singer. He is often thought of as the greatest Cuban popular singer of all time. He was musical, and had a fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity. Moré was a master of most genres of Cuban music, such as the son montuno, mambo, guaracha, and bolero. In particular, it is unusual for a singer to be equally proficient at both the fast rhythms (e.g. guaracha) and the slower rhythms, such as the bolero. Moré also formed and led the leading Cuban big band of the 1950s, until his death in 1963.

The statue was created in 2004 by cuban artist José Ramón Villa Soberón.

Siberian studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (The National School of Art) in Havana, Cuba and the Academy of Plastic Arts in Prague. He is a professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. His sculptures, paintings, engravings, drawings and designs are held by the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, and in 1996 he was one of the selected artist in the second Trienal Americana de Escultura in Argentina.

Los Lobos de Loyola

Posted by Cindy on December 10, 2014

Dec 102014

University of San Francisco
Fulton Street
In Front of Gleeson Library/Geshke Center
Inner Richmond

Commissioned by USF this piece was installed November of 2011. The 2-ton work, Los Lobos de Loyola, depicts the wolves and stewpot from the family coat of arms of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. Some say the 15th-century image is a pun on the Loyola family name (“lobos y olla,” wolves and a stewpot); others suggest the pot is a symbol of hospitality and the wolves point to the family’s reputation as warriors.

Crafted by Pancho Cardenas, the eight-foot high by sixteen foot long bronze is a second edition of Cardenas’ original work created for the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City a decade ago.

Francisco Cárdenas Martínez, also known as Pancho Cárdenas, is a Mexican artist. He was born 1956, in Iztapalapa, east of Mexico City.

He is noted for his statue of Pope John Paul II with Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, made entirely with keys donated by Mexicans to symbolize that they had given him the keys to their hearts.

Abstract Sculpture in BART

Posted by Cindy on December 2, 2014

Dec 022014

16th and Mission
24th and Mission
Bart Stations
Mission District

These abstract, cast stone, pieces can be found in both the 16th and Mission and 24th and Mission BART stations.

The works are by William George Mitchell. Mitchell (born 1925) is an English sculptor, artist and designer. He is best known for his large scale concrete murals and public works of art from the 1960s and 1970s. His work is often of an abstract or stylised nature with its roots in the traditions of craft and “buildability”. He studied at the Royal College of Art in London.

After long years of neglect, many of William Mitchell’s remaining works in the United Kingdom are now being recognised for their artistic merit and contemporary historic value, and have been granted protective, listed status.

These pieces were some of the first art pieces to be placed in BART stations as part of the ART in BART program, and were installed sometime in the 1960’s.

Mission Branch Library and Leo Lentelli

Posted by Cindy on November 25, 2014

Nov 252014

Mission Branch Library
24th Between Bartlett and Orange Alley
Mission District

Leo Lentelli was one of San Francisco’s more prolific and well known sculptors during his time. Sadly very little of his work survives inside of the city. There is a beautiful piece at the Hunter Dunlin building downtown, and this sculpture over the original entry door on 24th Street of the Mission Branch Library.

Lentelli, an immigrant from Italy spent 1914-1918 in San Francisco. During that time he did a series of equestrian statues that were part of the Court of the Universe and his sculptures of Water Sprites for the Court of Abundance for the Pan Pacific Exposition

Lentelli created “Five Symbolic Figures,” a series of five statues representing Art, Literature, Philosophy, Science and Law, that were placed between the pillars above the entrance to the Old Main Library at Larkin Street. These works, made of cast stone were installed in 1918, the year after the Library opened, and were not intended to be permanent. Sadakichi Hartmann, writing for the Architecture and Engineer in 1918, praised these works for “their sturdiness of conception and attitude, their decorative expression, and a certain swing and freedom of handling.” To my horror upon learning this, and to the detriment of all, the Asian Art Museum, when taking over and renovating the Library, found that these works had deteriorated so much that no attempt was made to retain or restore them.

From the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection SFPL

The Mission Branch Library is part of the group of libraries built in San Francisco with William Carnegie monies, this particular building was built under the design guidelines of the Carnegie Standards.

155 Sansome Street

Posted by Cindy on November 10, 2014

Nov 102014

155 Sansome Street
Financial District

The sculptures over the Sansome Street entrance to the Pacific Stock Exchange, now the City Club, were done in 1929-1930 by Ralph Stackpole.

Stackpole has been in this website many times before and you can read about him and his work here.

On January 18, 1930 Junius Cravens of the Argonaut wrote of this piece:

“As one studies Stackpole’s fine decorative sculpture group, ‘Progress,’ which overhangs the east entrance to the office building, one finds in it a symbol,whether employed consciously or not, of the aforesaid future. A huge nude male figure, in high relief, dominates the group, his outstretched hands resting upon the arc of a rainbow. Above the rainbow, to the right and left,are stylized suggestions of rain and lightning, symbolizing water and electric power. Beneath it, and flanking the main figure, are two smaller male figures in low relief which represent progressive labor. The group as a whole is beautifully balanced in design, and is executed with mastery.”

Bizim Cebish Muellim

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

Baku Boulevard
Baku, Azerbaijan

Baku Boulevard is a beautiful walking esplanade on the Caspian Sea that fronts almost the whole of Baku. There are hundreds of bronze whimsical statues along the boulevard.

This fellow is a character from the Movie “Bizim Cebish Muellim”.

I found no signatures on any of the sculptures and there is no markings anywhere to say who the sculptors were, but it is a divine way to spend the afternoon, strolling and appreciating the quality of public art that defines the boulevard.

For more information on traveling in Azerbaijan check out PassportandBaggage.com

Twelve Beauties

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

İçəri Şəhər
Old City or Inner City
Baku Azerbaijan

This sculpture by Nail Alakbarov cuts along the edges of İçəri Şəhər. The description that accompanies the sculpture far better explains the situation than I ever can…

This composition represents a sculptural image of seven armudi glasses standing on top of each other. Armudi is the name of traditional Azerbaijanian glass used for drinking tea, it can be translated as “pear-shaped” since it resembles a pear. On the other hand such shape could be associated with the contour of a female body. Thus the glasses also symbolize seven beauties from a similarly named masterpiece written by Nizami Gencevi.

The sculpture is installed in Icheri Sheher among ancient architecture. The aim of this project is to combine a national aspect with the international. As the people of the era of globalization tend to say: “Think global, act local”. In other words the artist provides contemporary art that is cosmo political by definition with a national content. Being a representative of local artistic intelligentsia, the artist is trying to express his concerns about the loss of cultural identity in the countries that have already faced globalization. Though the work is a piece of contemporary art, it still demonstrates a prevailing Eastern-centric vector.

Historical Background

In Azerbaijan, where tea-drinking is widespread, tea is regarded as a symbol of hospitality and respect to guests. Serving tea before the main course is an old tradition. It is a customary to drink tea not from porcelain cups but from special pear-shaped glasses that are called armudu. Their shape resembles a pear with slightly smaller top than the bottom distinguished by a narrow “waistline”.

There are numerous interpretations why these glasses have such an unusual form: it is easy to handle, it resembles a shape of a woman’s body, etc. As a matter of fact, the reason is quite simple: the tea in the bottom section of the glass cools down slower than in the upper one, keeping the temperature of the tea same. Determined by its functionality and beautiful shape armudu is definitely a perfection in terms of design. Every Azerbaijani city, no matter how big or small, has a tea-house. Tea houses play an important role in the social life of the citizens, people discuss news, read newspapers, make plans, play backgammon, maintain relations. Tea is also a very important aspect of the Azerbaijani engagement process. Parents of the bride show their respond to the groom by serving him a tea, if they serve it with sugar it means “yes”, if without – it means “no”.

This project was sponsored by YARAT! which was founded in 2011 by Aida Mahmudova, YARAT! is a non-commercial, private organisation dedicated to the promotion and nurturing of Azeri Contemporary art nationally and internationally.

Nail Alakbarov graduated from the A.Azimzade School of Art and continued his master’s degree at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Art.

He continued his education at the national French art school École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts and in 2012, Alakbarov received his master’s on cinematography at the Lumière University in Lyon.

For More information on travel in Baku read go to PassportandBaggage.com

The Responsibility of Raising a Child

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

5th Avenue between Yamhill and Taylor Streets
Portland, OR

Along the TriMet route you will find this 2004 bronze buy Rick Bartow. Rick Bartow weaves Native American symbols of parenting and life cycles throughout The Responsibility of Raising a Child. The sculpture started out expressing the difficult circumstances of single parents, but by placing the infant in the basket it becomes a hopeful, encouraging and optimistic work.

Rick Bartow was born in 1946 in Newport, Oregon to a Yurok and Wiyot father who relocated to Oregon for work and married Bartow’s Euro-American mother. His artwork is influenced not only by his Native American heritage, but also by the effects of a thirteen-month tour of duty in Vietnam. He graduated from Western Oregon University in 1969 with a degree in Secondary Art Education, prior to being drafted into the Army.

Bartow is highly prolific working in sculpture, print, etching, monotype, ceramics, mixed media, and painting.

Bartow is currently working on a permanent outdoor installation for the Smithsonian Institute-National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

Burls will be Burls

Posted by Cindy on October 20, 2014

Oct 202014

6th Avenue between Burnside and Ash
Portland, OR

According to the TriMet website:

Burls Will be Burls, by Bruce Conkle, is a tribute to snowmen and to the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The cast bronze figures of Burls Will be Burls represent what might happen when a snowman melts and nourishes a living tree—water is absorbed by the roots and carries the spirit of the snowman up into the tree where it manifests itself as burls.

According to Conkle’s own website:

Bruce Conkle declares an affinity for mysterious natural phenomenon such as snow, crystals, volcanos, rainbows, fire, tree burls, and meteorites. His work combines art and humor to address contemporary attitudes toward nature and the environment, including deforestation and climate change. Conkle’s work often deals with man’s place within nature, and frequently examines what he calls the “misfit quotient” at the crossroads. His work has shown around the world, including Reykjavik, Ulaanbaatar, Rio De Janeiro, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, and Portland. Recent projects include public art commissions for the Oregon Department of Transportation, TriMet/MAX Light Rail, and Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union Public Art + Residency. In 2011 Bruce received a Hallie Ford Fellowship and in 2010 and an Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship. His 2012 show Tree Clouds was awarded a project grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

Older Entries Newer Entries