Contact: Nina Dunbar: 415-252-3215

Local Artist Completes Two New Artworks for the Renovation of North Beach Pool and Clubhouse

“Nuotatori” (left) and “Locus” (right) by Vicki Saulls

The San Francisco Arts Commission is pleased to announce the completion of two new public artworks produced in conjunction with the renovation of the North Beach Pool and Clubhouse located at Lombard and Mason Streets. Artist Vicki Saulls was selected for the site-specific commissions through the Arts Commission’s Public Art Program which, by city ordinance, allocates 2% of the construction cost of civic buildings, new parks and other capital projects for public art. Both projects will be dedicated in grand opening celebration for the pool and clubhouse on Saturday, May 21, 2005. For more information about the event, contact the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department at 415-831-2782.

“Nuotatori,” Saulls’ sculptural mural for the pool’s natatorium, features the cast faces of 23 swimmers from the North Beach pool community. Aligned at various heights along a white band inserted into a section of the pool’s blue, green and white glass tiled wall, the faces all wear swim caps and goggles. Despite this commonality, the personalities and physical diversity of the individuals become more apparent. Saulls interviewed over 50 volunteers before she selected the final group to participate in the hour-long casting sessions in her studio. Because the casts were made over 4 years ago, many of the youngest volunteers’ faces have changed significantly. A plaque on the natatorium wall lists each volunteer in their order of appearance. The installation can be viewed during the pool’s normal operating hours. For a schedule, call the Recreation and Park Department’s Aquatics Program at 415-831-2747.

“Locus,” the second part of Saulls’ work, is a sliding sculptural door on the eastern side of the clubhouse adjoining the pool building. The surface of the metallic gray door depicts a stylized topographical map of the North Beach neighborhood. Although no locations are identified on the map, viewers can orient themselves by the familiar waterfront pier formations along the upper right edge of the design. North Beach Pool and Clubhouse are located near the center of the work. The sculpture was fabricated in cold-cast aluminum to the artist’s specifications by Kreysler & Associates, a Bay Area fabricator.

Vicki Saulls has been producing art in the Bay Area for over 25 years and lives in North Beach. “Nuotatori””and “Locus” are her first public art commissions. During the course of her career, Saulls has served as a senior sculptor and designer for internationally-recognized cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Museo del Ninos Papalote of Mexico City, Yosemite National Park, and the Taiwan National Museum of Natural History. She recently completed a ceramic tile series for the renovation of Union Square focusing on native plants. She is currently the project artist for two San Francisco Recreation and Park Department improvement projects administered through the San Francisco Arts Commission: Eureka Valley Recreation Center and the Koret Children’s Playground in Golden Gate Park.