Sure, we love our museums, but we're also lucky enough to live in a city where we don't need to pay an entrance fee to find art. Here's a list of our seven favorite public art pieces around town.
posted February 27, 2009 4:11PM
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 Photo by Lauren Jones |
Untitled by Patrick Dougherty at Civic Center Plaza A temporary environmental installation is on now through November in Civic Center Plaza, featuring willow saplings woven into the bare, winter branches of the plaza's sycamores.
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 Photo courtesy of San Francisco Arts Commission |
"Big Peace IV" by Tony Labat at Patricia's Green, Hayes Valley In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the peace sign, you can visit Labat's painted-steel, ten-foot-high interpretation of the classic symbol in Hayes Valley through June.
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 Photo by Jamil Hellu |
"Language of the Birds" by Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn, North Beach A flock of 23 illuminated, bird-like books are now flying overhead at Broadway and Columbus. The new, permanent installation is the first public artwork in California that's offset by solar power.
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 Photo courtesy of Perretti & Park Pictures |
"Where the Land Meets the Sea" by Maya Lin at the California Academy of Sciences Look closely at Maya Lin's sculpture hanging over the outdoor patio at the California Academy of Sciences; if the view looks familiar, it's because the stainless-steel tubing depicts the topography (above and below sea level) from Angel Island to the Golden Gate.
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 Photo by Lauren Jones |
"Sun Spheres" by Laurel True at Ocean and Granada avenues Mosaic artist Laurel True aimed to add a dose of sunshine to foggy Ingleside with three large sun-like spheres covered in swirls of mirrored and warm-colored tiles. The orbs, varying in diameter from 3 to 5 feet, are located on separate corners of the intersection.
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 Photo by Said Nuseibeh |
"Imagine Even More" by Jon Rubin and Jim Goldberg at the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center, Oceanview Rubin and Goldberg's mural illustrates the network of community connections to Minnie and Lovie Ward, in whose honor the recreation center, where the piece resides, is named.
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 Photo by Phil Bond |
"Swimmers' Waves" by Catherine Wagner at the Sava Pool facility, Sunset District Twenty-seven metal panels depict photographic images of waves swirling from the movement of a swimmer. The royal blue of the water complements the custom-made Heath tiles on the adjacent walls.
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