FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Kate Patterson, San Francisco Arts Commission
Tel: 415-252-4638 E: Kate.Patterson@sfgov.org

Neighborhood artist Michael Bartalos transforms a fence into parade of animals and imaginary characters at the newly renovated Mission Playground.

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2012 – Today, the Recreation and Parks Department opened the newly remodeled Mission Playground featuring a new public artwork commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission. Mission-based artist Michael Bartalos transforms the park fence adjacent to the Valencia and 19th Street entrances into a parade of animals and whimsical characters.

According to Bartalos, “The artwork is a playful interpretation of the Mission District’s diverse community and creativity. The procession’s cast of historical and imaginary characters evoke the neighborhood’s past while casting a cheerful look toward the future.”

Mission Parade consists of 20 steel cut panels with 10 unique vignettes that repeat at both park entrances. Each panel features three fantastical characters. Some of the figures include a peg-legged pirate with a hook for a hand; a friendly one-eyed, one-toothed monster; an alligator with a top hat holding a flower; a fire-breathing dragon; a plant watering can following a smiling tree holding an umbrella and a gold miner complete with a pick ax and a pan. All of the figures in the panels are oriented towards the same direction so that they appear as if they are walking in a procession. The design is repeated at both park entrances. The fence was manufactured at Rocket Science in the Mission.

“This public art project is made all the more special by the fact that it was created by someone who is part of the neighborhood and uses the park on a regular basis,” said Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny. “Mission Parade is a perfect complement to the newly remodeled park because it communicates that it is a place where everyone is welcome to have fun and play.”

About the Artist
Michael Bartalos’s work includes painting, drawing, collage, installation, and sculptural artist’s book editions produced in collaboration with Xerox PARC, the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. He is the California Academy of Science’s first Affiliate Artist and the Chair of the Imprint of the San Francisco Center for the Book. His editions are in private and public collections internationally, and on view online at bartalos.com.

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