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. Click here for Arts Master Plan.

CHINATOWN STATION

Artist Yumei Hou final mural design for Chinatown Station.

Traditional Chinese paper cut artist Yumei Hou will be creating two large-scale laser-cut metal artwork installations for Chinatown Station based on the Yang Ge (Sprout Dance), a spontaneous outdoor folk dance from the Northeastern provinces of China. Yumei’s design captures the spirit of this popular dance, which typically involves groups of people of all ages, men and women, dancing vigorously in a variety of costumes to celebrate happy occasions such as Chinese New Year, birthdays and grand openings. The murals feature some of the dance’s most iconic folk heroes such as the Monkey King, the White Snake and the dragon mingled with scenes of country life. The cut metal panels will be painted a vibrant red and installed so that they stand slightly off from the wall to allow for shadow casting. The artwork at the mezzanine landing will be approximately 16’ high by 37’ wide and the artwork in the ticketing hall will be approximately 30’ high by 35’ wide.

Tomie Arai’s artwork for Chinatown Station, titled Urban Archeology, will illustrate the life and history of the area surrounding the station through large-scale images translated into architectural glass elements. Upon approaching the station, transit riders will encounter contemporary imagery of the vibrant Chinatown community on the station’s parapet façade along Stockton and Washington streets.  The artwork at the façade will be approximately 100’ in length with a height ranging from 9’ to 4’. The artwork project will continue at the platform level with historical imagery translated into glass panels covering the 25’ high walls at each end of the platform.

An artist (TBD) will be commissioned to create an integrated two-dimensional artwork for the cross cut cavern wall at the concourse level of the Central Subway Chinatown Station. This wall has dimensions of approximately 36’ wide by 18’ high and 480 square feet. Artwork imagery for this location would be translated into a durable material such as mosaic or tile for permanent installation.

Artist Erwin Redl’s proposal for Union Square/Market Street Station.

UNION SQUARE/MARKET STREET STATION
The artwork by Erwin Redl for the Union Square/Market Street Station titled “Lucy in the Sky,” is an illuminated installation comprised of hundreds of translucent 10 x 10 inch light panels, each containing an array of color LEDs.  The light panels will be suspended along the entire length of the concourse level corridor’s ceiling in a diamond-shaped pattern and will be computer programmed to slowly change color and display simple patterns and animations.

For the platform level of the Union Square/Market Street Station, the artists Jim Campbell and Werner Klotz are creating a site-specific stainless steel sculpture titled “Illuminated Scroll.” This artwork is in the form of a ribbon with dimensions of approximately 250’ in length and a width that varies from 4’ to 8’. The sculpture, which is comprised of highly polished steel disks, will be installed overhead winding its way through the struts along the length of the platform and will reflect the passengers and trains passing below.

For the station entry at Union Square, the Arts Commission will be contracting with an artist (TBD) to develop a design treatment for the integrated glass deck and the front faces of the glass elevator enclosures. The visual impact of such a treatment to the station’s exterior would shift from being subtle during the day to backlit and more vibrant at night. During the day the art glass imagery would be more legible when viewed from within the station and the deck glass could cast shadow or color within the station entry depending upon the artist’s design. The artist will only be providing a design.  The implementation of the treatment will be handled by the project’s construction contractor.

Artist Catherine Wagner’s proposal for Moscone Station.

MOSCONE/YERBA BUENA STATION
For the Moscone/Yerba Buena Station, Catherine Wagner will translate photographs she took in the late 70s documenting the construction of the George Moscone Convention Center into six large-scale photographic sculptural reliefs sandblasted and laser etched onto granite stone panels for installation on the concourse level. The granite panels will be approximately 10’ high by 12.5’ wide. For the surface level at the station entry, a photograph from this series will be translated into art glass for installation at the glass curtain wall. The art glass installation at this location will be approximately 14’ high by 23’ wide.

The Arts Commission will be purchasing a significant, museum caliber sculpture for permanent installation at the entry plaza to the Moscone Center/Yerba Buena Station. The sculpture for this site will be made of durable materials suitable to this urban outdoor location.

For a prominent wall in the ticketing hall on the concourse level of the Moscone/Yerba Buena Station, an artist will be commissioned to create an integrated two-dimensional artwork. The artwork for this location above the fare gates has dimensions of approximately 36’ wide by 15’ high and will be made of a durable material, such as glass, mosaic or tile.

4TH AND BRANNAN STREET PLATFORM STATION
Moto Ohtake is creating a wind activated kinetic sculpture titled “Microcosmic” for installation at the 4th and Brannan platform station. “Microcosmic” measures approximately 14’ high by 17’ at its widest and will be installed on the upper section of a 40’ marquee pole on the platform. The sculpture has 31 rotating points, which allows it to interact with the environment by responding to San Francisco’s variable wind conditions.  It is designed to create rotations that move in opposite direction to one another under the same wind conditions. The moving components of the sculpture will create both compound gyroscopic motions and various visual patterns within the structure, depending on the direction and fluctuation of wind patterns.