FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact:
Kate Patterson, San Francisco Arts Commission
Tel: (415) 252-4638 Email: kate.patterson@sfgov.org

Valencia Street Post by Artist Michael Arcega Embraces the Past and the Present and Provides Space for Future Collaborations

SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2010 – Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) Luis R. Cancel is pleased to announce the installation of Valencia Street Post, a new public artwork by San Francisco artist Michael Arcega located on Valencia Street between 16th and 19th streets. The installation features four 10-foot telephone poles outfitted with highly ornamental Victorian-inspired crowns and bases, which will be added later this month. The public is invited to use the unadorned midsections as a community bulletin board. “I hope that this artwork will act as a beacon or a marker for community interaction and relationships,” said Arcega. “Valencia Street Post” is inscribed with dimensional letters atop each individualized ornamental crown. The word “post” is intended by the artist to have a variety of meanings from pole, news, postering, “post” modern, etc. Crafted out of steel and aluminum and painted with a durable urethane alkyd enamel, the ornamental crowns are a combination of Victorian architectural vernacular that recall the neighborhood’s past history. Later this summer, the Department of Public Works will add a decorative paving design based on Victorian wallpaper to the sidewalk surrounding the poles. The juxtaposition of a bulletin-street-pole with classic San Franciscan architecture embraces the past and the present while providing room for future collaborations by the community.

“Michael Arcega has created a highly intelligent installation that celebrates two distinct aspects of Mission District culture—its rich history represented by the Victorian-era details and its vibrant street life as evidenced by the omnipresent postings and fliers advertising neighborhood events and happenings,” said Mr. Cancel. “His ability to blend these two important cultural aspects while providing a space for public interaction makes this artwork timeless and a wonderful new symbol of the neighborhood.”

“I am grateful and honored to participate in the Art Commission’s efforts at engaging the public while beautifying the area. As an analog chat room or Victorian technology, I hope that San Francisco and the Mission District will embrace these posts as a shared space for expressing their needs, wants, protests, and offerings,” said Mr. Arcega.

MissionLocal.org Video Footage from the Valencia Streetscape Ribbon Cutting by Juan David Rangel

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