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Media Contact:

Judy Moran, San Francisco Arts Commission

Tel: 415/252-2586 Email: judy.moran@sfgov.org

SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE CENTRAL SUBWAY PUBLIC ART COMPETITION

SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2010 – Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) Luis R. Cancel is pleased to announce that six local and national artists have been selected to create original site-specific works for the Central Subway Union Square/Market Street, Moscone and Chinatown stations, pending approval by the full Arts Commission. In conjunction with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s new Central Subway stretching from Chinatown to South of Market, the SFAC’s Public Art Program is managing the implementation of a diverse and exciting public art program that includes permanent artworks and related arts programming in adjacent neighborhoods. The selected artists worked closely with SFAC and SFMTA staff and project architects to prepare their preliminary proposals, which were placed on public view from July 9 through July 16 in the three station neighborhoods. A Central Subway Community Artist Selection Panel was assembled for each station. The panelists reviewed the proposals and selected artists for recommendation for approval from the full Arts Commission. The artists will be voted on at the full Arts Commission meeting on Monday, August 2, 2010 at 3 p.m. at City Hall in room 416. See below for a list of artists and further details about their projects.

“The winning artists for the Central Subway public art commissions are exceptional,” said Mr. Cancel. “Their projects will go a long way toward enhancing the rider experience and will more strongly identify San Francisco as a city where world-class art is a part of the fabric of everyday life.”

The two winning artists/artist teams will be commissioned to create two original works at each of the stations: a landmark and a wayfinding artwork. The landmark project will serve as the identity for the station and will be located in a prominent area such as the entryway or the large wall expanses on the concourse level. The wayfinding artwork will extend through two or three of the station levels, providing a visual thread for pedestrians to follow through the station.

At the Union Square/Market Street Station, Erwin Redl’s landmark artwork, Lucy in the Sky, will span the entire ceiling of the station’s main concourse. The ceiling’s long expanse will be covered with hundreds of proprietary, translucent 10” x 10” light pixels aligned in a diamond grid. Each pixel will be lit by RGB-LEDs that will cause the small panels to shimmer and shift in color creating an ever-changing and dazzling spectacle for transit users. The wayfinding artwork commission for the Union Square/Moscone station was awarded to the artist team of Jim Campbell and Werner Klotz. Their installation, Reflected Loop, will circumscribe sections of the concourse and platform levels to create a unifying circuit of light and ambient reflections throughout the station. Made of highly polished stainless steel discs supported from above by thin steel rods, the band will wind its way through the station in a sectional loop.

For the Chinatown Station landmark artwork, artist Yu Mei Hou’s installation, Yang Ge Dance of Northeast China, is based on traditional Chinese paper cut art depicting a popular outdoor folk dance from the Northeastern provinces of China. The folk dance is a form of storytelling, and the artist’s work includes imagery from a number of popular legends as well as scenes from everyday life. Tomie Arai’s wayfinding artwork illustrates the history of the area surrounding the subway station through architectural glass elements. As riders move through the different layers of the station, they will be able to experience this narrative in much the same way as an archeologist might sift through layers of history to uncover the past.

For the Moscone Station landmark project, local artist Catherine Wagner will transform photographs she took in the late 70s documenting the construction of the Moscone Center

into large-scale photographic drawings that are experienced as sculptural reliefs.  The images of the Moscone Center construction in process will be sandblasted and laser etched onto a grey stone or metal panel that will be set, slightly recessed, into the walls spanning the concourse level. For the wayfinding artwork, Tom Otterness will create a series of humorous sculptural vignettes featuring his signature bronze characters as transit riders, which will be placed throughout the station.

For more information and to see the winning proposals visit, www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection

About the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Public Art Program

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts in San Francisco. We believe that a creative cultural environment is essential to the City’s well-being. Established by charter in 1932, SFAC programs integrate the arts into all aspects of City life. Programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Arts & Education, Cultural Equity Grants, Public Art, SFAC Gallery, Street Artists Licensing, and the Summer in the City Concert Series. The agency’s core values are committed to the principle that all residents have equal access to arts experiences in all disciplines, that programs are provided comprehensively and evenly throughout the City, and that they are innovative and of the highest quality.

The Arts Commission’s Public Art Program was established by the City Arts Enrichment Ordinance in 1969, as one of the first of its kind in the country. The Public Art Program seeks to promote a diverse and stimulating cultural environment to enrich the lives of the city’s residents, visitors and employees. The Program encourages the creative interaction of artists, designers, city staff, officials and community members during the design of City projects in order to develop public art that is specific to the site and meaningful to the community. SFAC Public Art website: www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection
About the SFMTA

Established by voter proposition in 1999, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (www.sfmta.com), a department of the City and County of San Francisco, oversees the Municipal Railway (Muni), parking, traffic and taxis.  With five modes of transit, Muni has approximately 700,000 passenger boardings each day.  Over 35,000 extra vehicles enter San Francisco on any given business day, and rely on the SFMTA to keep the flow of cars, transit vehicles, taxis, delivery trucks, pedestrians and bicycles moving smoothly through the streets.  For more about the Central Subway, and to follow the project on Facebook and Twitter, visit www.sfmta.com/central.

Artists’ Proposals Follow

Artist: Erwin Redl

Title: Lucy in the Sky

The aim of my work is not to create a sculpture for people to look at, but an aesthetic environment the viewer finds worth exploring. To achieve this goal, the installation Lucy in the Sky spans the entire ceiling of the Union Square / Market Street station main concourse. My work will provide a moment of calmness within the intense, transitory commuter environment.

The ceiling’s long span is covered with hundreds of proprietary, translucent 10 x 10 inch “light pixels” aligned in a diamond grid. The distance between the light pixels is about six feet measured along the diagonal grid lines. Each light pixel consists of a framed, clear, ½ inch acrylic panel. Each acrylic panel has an 8 by 8 grid of surface holes on both sides. The holes are lit up by RGB-LEDs embedded in the metal frame.

The individual light units are computer-controlled and display simple patterns and animations. A vexing scenario unfolds throughout the space’s volume while individual light pixels slowly change color in synch, rendering space a palpable experience. Individual pixels, transparent or lit up, aligned behind each other or seen individually, offer an ever-changing and dazzling spectacle for the viewers.

The title is derived from the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

Statement

My work reflects upon the condition of art making after the “digital experience.” The formal and structural approach to various media I employ, such as installation, drawings, CD ROM, Internet and sound, engages in binary logic, because I assemble the material according to a narrow set of self-imposed rules which often incorporate complex algorithms, controlled randomness and other methods inspired by computer code.

Since 1997, I have investigated the process of “reverse engineering” by (re-)translating the abstract aesthetic language of virtual reality and 3D computer modeling back into an architectural environment by means of large scale light installations. In this body of work, space is experienced as a second skin, our social skin, which is transformed through my artistic intervention. Due to the very nature of its architectural dimension, participating by simply being “present” is an integral part of the installations. Visual perception works in conjunction with corporeal motion, and the subsequent passage of time.

The formal aspect of the works is easily accessible. An interpretation and understanding of this characteristic is dependent upon the viewer’s subjective references. Equally, the various individual’s interactions within the context of the installation re-shape each viewer’s subjective references and reveal a complex social phenomenon.

The medium of light refers directly to the aesthetic of virtual reality. The ephemeral nature of this particular medium is the ideal representation of the pure structural logic which underlies my work. At the same time, the active light in my installations transforms structural logic directly into an intense corporeal sensation without traditional media’s, e.g., painting and sculpture, detour through objecthood and reflected light.

Artists: Jim Campbell and Werner Klotz

Title: Reflected Loop

Reflected Loop is a site-specific installation that circumscribes the entire concourse and platform levels above the pedestrian walkways, creating a unifying circuit of light and ambient reflections throughout the station. The band winds its way down one escalator shaft, spans the entire platform level, winds its way back up through the opposing escalator shaft, and then runs the entire concourse level to reconnect with itself. The installation is a loop that has no beginning or end.

Detailed Physical Description:

The overall structure of the artwork is made up of highly polished stainless steel discs supported from above by thin steel rods. The area created by the discs is a virtual surface as the discs are not attached to each other. By modulating the height of each individual disc a terrain in the surface is created. This terrain contains both text and low resolution image reliefs. The mirror-like stainless steel relief reflects both the pedestrians and the architecture of the station. This reflection process magnifies the visibility of the relief since discs at different heights reflect their surroundings differently.

Progression:

The band of reflection varies as it progresses through the station. The width of the band varies from one foot to six feet and the height of the band also varies from eleven feet to fifteen feet. The size of the discs vary also, such that at times the surface feels solid (3” diameter discs with 3” spacing) and other times the discs disappear almost completely (1/2” diameter discs with 3” spacing) leaving just the volume of the supporting rods. The rods that support the discs are painted different colors based on their height, such that the relief is felt through the entire volume. This is particularly intriguing from the perspective of coming down the escalator, where the volume created by the suspension rods is seen from the sides and the negative space of the discs is seen from above. In this case, from the escalator, the terrain is felt more as a volume than as a surface.

Artist: Yumei Hou

Title: Yang Ge Dance of Northeast China

This is a rendition of Yang Ge (Sprout Dance – a spontaneous outdoor folk dance) in the Northeastern provinces of China. This form of Yang Ge Dance usually is a group dance, involving people of all ages, both men and women. The costumes are varied and colorful, the movement vigorous and lively. People dance to celebrate happy occasions such as Chinese New Year, graduation, elderly birthdays, grand opening of businesses, etc. Participants will join the formation voluntarily.

Yang Ge is very popular in China; from countryside to countryside, they all have their different forms and story lines. Besides having everyone join in, there are times that the dance involves two people, or an individual telling a story through the pantomime dance steps.

The mural on the arch wall depicts some of the more popular dances, such as the well known folk tale of the Monkey King, the tale of the White Snake, the story of the four monsters, and pictures of daily life such as a couple’s harmony, wife visiting her family, dancing crowns, young and elderly ladies. The arch trimming in red tells the tale of Manchurians driving evils out, and the part in green tells of the celebration of one’s 60th birthday.

Artist: Tomie Arai

Title: Urban Archeology

As one of three artists invited to design ‘wayfinding’ artwork for the Chinatown Subway Station, I am proposing designs for the elevators that span the Platform and Ticketing Hall Levels. The medium for this artwork will be architectural glass. A third visual marker will be made from architectural float glass and installed on the Surface Level to welcome passengers who enter the station.  Over the years, I have created projects that explore the complex relationship between history and art within public spaces. My goal for the Central Subway Project will be to find a way to tell a story about San Francisco’s Chinatown.

In this urban narrative, passengers will be presented with a visual timeline that begins with contemporary images of the Chinatown community at the subway entrance and ends on the Platform Level with life before the city was founded. Moving from level to level, passengers will be invited to experience the artwork in much the same way as archeologists sift through layers of history to discover clues about the past.

Starting from the lower level, passengers who disembark from the trains will encounter two 40’ glass elevator towers visible from both ends of the platform. The story begins at the base of these towers with images of the life buried deep beneath the city streets that may include indigenous flora and fauna, fossils from prehistoric times and cultural artifacts from the indigenous people that first inhabited the Bay Area.

Ascending to the Concourse Level, the artwork will gradually shift from past to present. Following a layered timeline, the design will encompass images from the early settlement of San Francisco, the great San Francisco earthquake and the arrival of pioneers and immigrants from China and Asia. Actual artifacts collected from the community in the form of photographs, coaching books, letters, etc. may be embedded in the glass. (Image 1 – Ticketing Hall) Passengers will be encouraged to engage in a playful form of ‘time travel’ as the elevators move up and down.

From the Concourse Level to the Surface Level, images of present day Chinatown will represent the vibrant community found at the busy juncture of Stockton and Washington Streets. Reverse this passage and the traveler who descends into the station will journey back in time as the history of the Chinatown community and the city of San Francisco are revealed.

Artist: Catherine Wagner

Title: Arc Cycle (working title)

In the late 1970s I photographed the beginning of the construction of the Moscone Center. My interest was not in the convention center as it stands today, rather it was the process of construction that speaks to the idea of change, a common denominator in all of our lives. For the new Moscone Central Subway Station, I propose to transform images from the series George Moscone Site into large-scale photographic drawings that are seen as sculptural reliefs. These would span the concourse wall from the turnstiles to the elevator shaft (concourse end, concourse side wall). The images of the Moscone Center construction in process would be sandblasted and laser etched onto a grey stone or metal panel that would be set, slightly recessed, into the wall. Having the opportunity to transcribe this imagery onto the subterranean façade, close to the site of their creation would highlight the cyclical nature of dynamic urban change.

When I began photographing, this site was considered the edge of the city. Now, Moscone Center has become a geographic and cultural center of San Francisco. I was and am still fascinated by the multiple ways of viewing and reading these photographs. At the time, I was working with the idea of “archaeology in reverse,” an idea which reverberates with the building of this new subterranean space. The processes of sandblasting and laser etching these photographs onto stone or metal transforms the images into monumental drawings that seem to emerge from the walls. The ability to realize these immense photographic wall drawings brings the element of archeology in this work to a new level. Archeology is the study of culture through the examination of materials and environment. I believe these images are important markers of place and time that encourage viewers to consider both the area’s past and its future.

The sculptural photographic reliefs of the immense rebar arches will emanate from the gray stone or metal panels. The materials and the iconic forms together create a formal beauty. Users of the Moscone Station will discover these images sited rhythmically along the concourse wall as they descend into the station or ascend from the platform. Spanning almost the full length of the concourse wall, the landmark artwork will enliven the space. The artwork givies visual interest to the journey to and from the elevators and invites those passing by to pause in their otherwise quotidian travels.

The construction of the Moscone Center was a huge signal of change for the surrounding area and for the city as a whole; this similar sense of momentous change is echoed in the building of the Central Subway. In this proposed project I aim to join past and present in both visual and conceptual ways that will encourage visitors to reflect upon the future.

Artist: Tom Otterness

Title: (Untitled)

My initial ideas show the movement of life from above ground to the track level – using figures and buildings that are a cross between early constructivist abstraction and simple children’s building blocks. People are represented by four essential geometric forms: the sphere, the cone, the cube and the cylinder. These abstract concepts can symbolize differences in race, class, culture and gender. The project will demonstrate the intermingling of all these different people on the platform of the subway, commuting to work, shopping with their families, carrying things here and there, and tourists with cameras on the way to museums. Like the city, the subway is a place where all types are welcome, where everyone converges and everyone is on equal footing.

I would like to focus my proposal on three areas of the station: the ticketing hall portals and possibly the beam at the concourse level, the concourse end wall near the escalators and the benches at the platform level. All of the free standing and relief architectural elements will be in cast concrete. The figures, birds, trucks, trains and all remaining elements will be in cast silicone bronze. There will be approximately 40 bronze figures/elements, ranging in size from 24, 12 and 6 inches tall.

The materials I am proposing are durable and require minimal maintenance. The bronze sun clock shown in the relief on the end wall at the concourse level will be a working clock, designed so that the station crew can easily open the clock face for any necessary maintenance work. I have worked with The Verdin Company, a clock manufacturing company to produce clocks for an outdoor installation at the Hilton Times Square Hotel in NYC.

With respect to safety, I have extensive experience in meeting ADA and safety guidelines for placing bronzes in the subway. In the past, I have worked closely with architects to reach solutions that are practical and did not affect the construction schedule. I am very confident about my ability to solve any concerns that may arise.