Presented by the International Center for the Arts at San Francisco State University, in association with the San Francisco Arts Commission, the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, and the de Young Museum
Five Outdoor Sculpture Installations
on display Oct. 7 - Nov. 7, 2005
in celebration of the reopening of the de Young Museum
Ann Chamberlain
Lewis deSoto
Mildred Howard
Wang Po Shu
John Roloff
by Ann Chamberlain
Ann Chamberlain is creating a pattern in new sod placed in the dell area across from the Rose Garden near the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.
The pattern is derived from a Native American basket in the Museum's collection. It is anticipated that the selected basked will be on exhibit
at the de Young during the opening celebrations, thus providing a physical/historical/visual link between the artifact and nature,
as well as between the museum's past and present.
by Lewis deSoto Lewis deSoto has stripped and transformed a car into a new, fictitious model: the 1965 De Soto Conquest, tracing his surname through its many curious manifestations. Most alarming is the connection to the ruthless 16th century explorer who served as the short-lived car manufacturer's namesake. "The de Soto was marketed to women in the 1950s; it was well known that (Hernando) de Soto would commmonly enslave and rape the women of tribes he encountered."
The "De Soto" includes redesigned instruments, wheel covers, roof design, monikers, upholstery color schemes and mechanical characteristics, yet is fully operational as a vehicle. It measures: 18.5" long, 6.5" wide and 4.5" tall. The car will have two window stickers with information about the project.
For the duration of the show, it will be on display at the Cars Dawydiak, at Franklin and Bush St.
by Mildred Howard
Mildred Howard has built a contemplative structure in the shape of a basic shed lined with mirrors. The structure refers to African American identity and experience, and the passage of time and memory. In this work, the shed provides protection and privacy, yet simultaneously functions as a communal/public space. Howard conceives the house as a container of information, whose mirrored reflections suggest stories that have been told and untold. The windows in the mirrors allow the viewer to peek inside, and in so doing, inadvertently to assume the role of voyeur. Once inside, the viewer becomes the subject of public attention. His/her image is multiplied into infinity and merges with the outside world, creating a sense of vulnerability and of privacy interrupted.
Surround the structure is a second work, "Memory Garden, Phase II 1991-2005". This artwork consists of wine bottles that are buried into the earth, leaving the flat ends of the bottles exposed. The ends are etched with text taken from an African American writer.
by Wang Po Shu
Wang Po Shu has cast a bell tuned to the tonal center pitch of City Hall. The public will be able to sample the exact musical tone of City Hall by striking the bell with its attached clapper. The artist has determined that the building?s fundamental free oscillation frequency is approximately 2.3 to 2.6 hertz.
The artist?s premise is that in areas of the country that contain fault lines, such as California, future public buildings, or buildings undergoing seismic retrofits, will have their free oscillation frequencies studied by structural engineers in order to avoid destructive resonant harmonics with natural forces such as earthquakes and/or strong winds. Harmonic resonance is a major physiological influence of all underlying dynamic interacting forces that occur in various types of situations. A well-known example of this phenomenon is when an opera singer hits the same pitch as the fundamental free oscillation frequency of a wine glass, and inadvertently shatters it. The bell will allow the public to hear the actual free oscillation frequency in City Hall.
by John Roloff
Also reflecting upon San Francisco's position in the world, John Roloff creates solid identity from our ever-shifting geology in a series of 24 flags in Civic Center Plaza. They illustrate the geology of San Francisco, focusing on the main rock units of the Franciscan Formation, which include meta-graywacke, radiolarian chert, serpentine and meta-basites as well as a Holocene architectural material of the built environment, perforated copper, referring to the facade of the new de Young Museum.
Drawings in the windows of the old Arts Commission Gallery (155 Grove Street) help explain the flags? iconography to the public.
Fine Arts Gallery
Room 238, Fine Arts Building
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
415.338.6535
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday, 12-4 pm
Open Wednesdays Until 6 pm
Free Admission