It is time for this blog to grow up.

I have moved to a new home - I do hope you continue to follow me at

WWW.ArtandArchitecture-SF.com

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during this transition.

Ciao

La Principessa

P.S. - Don't forget to Bookmark my new location

SOMA, San Francisco, June 25, 2012

SOMA

870 Harrison Street

Zio Ziegler is a Mill Valley, California native and a graduate of both Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design.  He has a clothing line Arte Sempre.  He is a prolific painter and you can view more of his work on his blog here.

870 Harrison

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I am sharing on Monday Murals

Market Street, San Francisco, June 24, 2012

Market Street

The Ferry Building to Castro Street

Known as the Path of Gold due to their golden hue which emanates from yellow sodium vapor lamps the 33-foot high lampposts along Market Street were designated historic landmarks in 1991. 

The 327 Path of Gold standards are a legacy from the City Beautiful movement of the early 20th century, which also gave San Francisco the Civic Center. Their distinctive color and pattern of light identify Market Street from distant viewpoints.

The Winning of the West bases by sculptor Arthur Putnam (who has been in this blog before here) feature three bands of historical subjects: covered wagons, mountain lions, and alternating prospectors and Indians.

Willis Polk designed the base and pole in 1908 for United Railways' trolley poles with street lights. The City required the company to provide highly ornamental poles, with lamps and electricity, as the price of permitting the much opposed overhead trolley wires.

The tops were designed in 1916 by sculptor Leo Lentelli and engineer Walter D'Arcy Ryan, whose lighting designs for the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 had inspired emulation on the City's principal thoroughfare.

This project was linked to graft payments to Mayor Schmitz, political boss Abe Ruef, and seventeen of the eighteen members of the Board of Supervisors.

A timeline to help simplify things:

1916: The original installation, from the Ferry Building to Seventh Street, was a cooperative effort by private companies including Pacific Gas & Electric. To service the tall poles, PG&E invented an ancestor to the cherry picker.

1920s: Path of Gold tops were added to the Winning of the West bases from Seventh Street to Valencia Street.

1972: As a component of the Market Street Beautification program which followed BART construction, all the poles and ornaments were replaced with replicas and fitted with new high pressure sodium vapor lamps.

1980s: The original Path of Gold standards were used to extend the system out Market Street to just beyond Castro.

Lentelli was born in Bologna, Italy.  He studied in both Bologna and Rome and worked as a sculptor in Italy.  Immigrating to the United States in 1903 at the age of 24, Lentelli initially assisted in the studios of several established sculptors. In 1911 he entered the Architectural League exhibition and won the Avery Prize. The following year he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Chosen to provide sculptural ornament for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, Lentelli moved to San Francisco in 1914.

I'm sharing on Sunday's in My City

Financial District, San Francisco, June 23, 2012

Fire Station #13

Financial District

530 Sansome Street

Untitled by Henri Marie-Rose 1969

Henri Marie-Rose (1922-2010) born in François, Martinique, the son of Appien Constance Raymonde and Quentin Joseph Marie-Rose Dite Cétoute, Henri Marie-Rose Dite Cétoute, who later simply went by Henri Marie-Rose (without actually changing his name), was a San Francisco resident for 58 years, living initially in North Beach before settling on Potrero Hill.

He attended the École des Arts et Métiers and the École des Arts Appliqués in Martinique. He had three one man shows in 1940, 1942 and 1943 and was appointed Attaché Culturel au Projet d'Urbanisme,

Shortly thereafter, he was awarded a scholarship by the French Government to study at the École National Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, but got only as far as North Africa when the Second World War broke out. There, he studied ceramics with Lamaly, Master of Safi.

Eventually Henri studied at "Beaux Arts" for over eight years. During this period, he met an art student, Marjorie Raitt, who was attending the Sorbonne and the Académie Julian, having recently graduated from Stanford. The couple married in 1952 and traveled by freighter to San Francisco the following year, settling in North Beach.

This piece is copper and is part of the San Francisco Civic Art Collection.

I am sharing on Weekly Top Shot.

Western Addition, San Francisco, June 22, 2012

Western Addition

Steiner and Post Streets

Hamilton Rec Center

Athletics by Mary Erkenbrack - Ceramic Tile 1955

This glazed ceramic tile mural is of male figures engaged in athletic activities. It sits between the two music murals shown in this blog earlier here, and here. This tile mural has been on the walls of the rec center since it opened. 

Mary Erkenbrack was born in Seattle, Washington on Nov. 30, 1910, Erckenbrack was raised in Rio De Janeiro, London, and Paris as her father, a shipping commissioner, moved about. While in France she studied art in Le Havre at Pension Jeanne d'Arc. 

During 1933-35 her married name was Hennessy.   In 1935 she settled in San Francisco and became active in the North Beach art scene.  She soon established Mary E's Mud Shop and was kept busy fulfilling ceramic orders for Gump's, Marshall Fields and others.

Western Addition, San Francisco, June 21, 2012

Western Addition

Turk and Fillmore Streets

Northern Police Station

This cast concrete panel by Horace Washington depicts the cultural diversity of the Western Addition and its architectural history.  The panel also features the likeness of police officers of the past.  The piece is part of the San Francisco Arts Commission collection and was produced in 1987.  It is 3 feet high by 8 feet long.

Horace Washington (who has been in this blog before) studied at Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio before moving to California to study sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute and then completed his graduate studies at Cal State University, Sacramento. He is a San Francisco sculptor and muralist whose works include numerous projects in a variety of materials for public facilities in northern California including the International Longshoremen’s & Warehousmen’s Union mural/ scultpure, the Northern Police Station sculpture, the Martin Luther King Swimming Pool Tile Murals, and the Plaza East ceramic tile and painted mural. He exhibits his work in San Francisco and has been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, Cal State Sacramento, and for the San Francisco Unified School District. He has also taught developmentally disabled adults at the Creativity Explored Art Center. He lives and works in San Francisco.

SOMA. San Francisco, June 20, 2012

SOMA/The Mission

69 Duboce

Between Valencia and Mission

Few and Far - Part III

The last of this three part post from Few and Far is by Amanda Lynn. Amanda has been in this blog before.  

 Amandalynn takes her expertise in art and painting into an array of applications. She studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and received a Bachelor’s of Fine Art with an Illustration major.

Check out this gorgeous video about Amanda and Mags.

  

Flora & Fauna | Alynn & Mags from Lea Bruno on Vimeo.

SOMA, San Francisco, June 19, 2012

SOMA/The Mission

69 Duboce 

Between Valencia and Mission

 Continuing with the Few and Far Crews work at 69 Duboce.

 Meagan Spendlove - Meagan has been in this blog before here. 

Agana is from Oakland. From Few and Far's Website:  Agana is not only a bad ass DJ but she is an art teacher, muralist, jewelry maker, loving/giving friend, always down to paint no matter what!! Agana also films and edits her own videos.. Oooh yes, don’t let me forget to mention… she always has her nails on point every time!

Tatiana Suarez is from Miami and New York.  According to Tati's website: Tatiana Suarez (b. 1983) is a Brooklyn-based Miami native. Her charming style is distinctive -- first, the trademark eyes that draw the viewer into a beautiful and surreal world. Suarez takes full advantage of the oil paint's ability to create creamy, soft images on canvas. Rich with symbols that stem from her Brazilian and El Salvadorian heritage, subjects appear as if they are under water, frozen in lovely stillness. The doe-eyed figures look childlike, but also exude sexual overtones, ornamented with plants, insects and other unsettling accompaniments. Beauty is presented concurrently with exotic -- even creepy -- creatures to create enchanted narratives.

SOMA, San Francisco, June 18

SOMA/The Mission
69 Duboce
Between Valencia and Mission

In my wanderings one beautiful Sunday I tripped across Amanda Lynn working on a new piece.  Amanda has been in this blog before, and I ensure you her work will be here in the future, but this was different.  This is an empty lot that was taken over (with permission) by Few and Far.  Few and Far is a woman's street art group and this is what they say about themselves on their blog:

Few and Far is a movement that brings together talented women who are involved in graffiti, Skateboarding and street art from all over the world. Few and Far connects women by creating social and artistic exchange, by showcasing art on the streets, on walls and in other high profile venues.   Few and Far fosters and celebrates the power and expression of female street artists. Importantly, Few and Far consists of a team of open minded, highly creative, cutting edge and dedicated every day females.  We seek to expand this movement with the involvement more around the globe, and hope to highlight their commitment to their craft. Also Building life long friendships.

The group is made up of a quite a number of women and I am going to introduce you to them over the next couple of days.

 Lady Mags is from Oakland.  

 Hops is from Seattle.  (From Few and Far's Blog) Few & Far’s Hops is such a dope person on many levels. She is very motived, fast and clean painting, often finished before any of us have our final outlines up. She paints anything she gets her hands on!

Dime is from Oakland.

Mission District, San Francisco, June 17, 2012

Mission District

18th and Harrison

P.G.& E. Service Yard

Carnaval by Joshua Sarantiti - 1995

33 X 100 feet

Joshua, a Minnesota resident, is a truly prolific muralist.  According to his website Joshua Sarantitis has been creating monumental professional work in public spaces for over 20 years. His 40 commissioned works include glass installations and mosaic murals located regionally and abroad including San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Tucson. His ability to collaborate successfully with design professionals, arts administrators and community is rooted in a desire to find common language between our everyday lives and the arts. Joshua embraces using technology as a tool to aid in mastering media including slumped and fused glass, mosaic, plasma-cut steel, concrete, glass frit, ceramic toner on glass, ceramic tile and paint and fiber. He combines the desire for learning with the skilled execution of an accomplished technician.

This was one of Joshua's first murals.  It was done in conjunction with Precita Eyes.  It was funded by P.G.&E., The Neighborhood Beautification Fund, and the Graffiti Clean Up Fund.

The San Francisco Mission District has been hosting a Carnaval Festival since 1978. I have attended on a couple of occasions and it is always a lot of fun.  After the parade, streets are blocked off and food and entertainment can be enjoyed to ones hearts' content.

P.G.&E. (Pacific Gas and Electric Company) supplies Gas and Electricity to most of Northern California.  This would explain the workers in the last panels.