A to Z – 2023 – V is for Valencia Street where you will find the Handsignals

It is fortunate for me that San Francisco has streets with names that start with “V” so I can use them in my A to Z Challenge!

As you can imagine almost every street corner in the city has traffic signals. If you are wondering whether to stop or go, these symbols are not going to help with that. Instead, the Handsignals represent the themes in the Mission District’s culture. I can identify the people, the knife and fork, the sun, the bike and the mustache down at the bottom. The third one looks like a mask and the fourth one looks like a bird. I’m not sure what those are supposed to represent. Designed by Matthew Passmore/MoreLab in 2014, the signpost marks the entrance to McCoppin Hub Plaza.

The plaza itself was closed when I went by but the signals blink on and off in an irregular pattern both day and night. On the other side, McCoppin is spelled out in black letters on a yellow background.

Unfortunately I couldn’t cut down the palm tree and there was no other vantage point available for me to get the whole thing. It also appears that the sun does not shine at the moment LOL.

Sorry about the video. I can't make it smaller on Blogger when it comes over in this format from WP. 

Best Viewing: Stand on Valencia Street sidewalk to get a close up of the artwork. If you get there early enough, you can walk up the terraced steps of the multi-level McCoppin Hub Plaza to get a higher view of the neighborhood.

There are four more letters to go. I think the Illuminate SF installations I have for them are some of the best of the series so hang with me!

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/26/a-to-z-2023-v-is-for-valencia-street-where-you-will-find-the-handsignals/

A to Z – 2023 – U is for Untitled

I am really glad that they didn’t come up with a name for this installation in the Illuminate SF gallery otherwise I might have had a problem finding an exhibit for the letter “U.”

When I was driving my son to work in SF every day a couple years ago we drove up Van Ness Avenue and they were doing some major construction. This is part of what they were working on. It is called Untitled and it was designed by Jorge Pardo in 2022.

There are two sets of sculptures with 13 lighted spheres soaring as high as 21 feet at the highest point. They are located between Geary and O’Farrell Streets at the Muni stop. To me they look like giant lollipops.

Best Viewing: After dark on Van Ness Avenue between Geary and O’Farrell. The lights go on 20 minutes before sunset and go off 20 minutes before sunrise.

Sort of short today. See you tomorrow with “V.”

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/25/a-to-z-2023-u-is-for-untitled/

A to Z – 2023 – T is for Traxon Technologies who created the lighting sequence for the Coding

I have been attempting to show some of the interesting light shows in the Illuminate SF project for my A to Z this year. There are some that are inside San Francisco International Airport but you have to be flying somewhere to get past security to see them. I miss the old days when you could just meet someone at their gate or even just wander through the airport to see the different art displays they have. Oh well.

One of the installations is very visible and it’s right around the corner from where I live so it was not too hard to get the shots I needed. This is called Coding and it was designed by Johanna Grawunder in 2019. During the day it looks like this. The yellow tags point to North, East, West and South. The square and rectangle windows apparently spell out San Francisco in Morse code.

At night it looks like this. The undercarriages of the elevator shafts change color ever so slightly. It takes 24 hours to change so I only have this example. You can see some subtle differences.

This is at the long term parking facility and it definitely wasn’t busy when I was there. We had to go through the gate so I could get close enough to take the pictures but we weren’t there long enough to get charged thank goodness.

Best Viewing – SFO Long-Term Parking Garage, anytime after dusk.

And that’s that. See you tomorrow!

Side note: I don’t know about others but this year I am getting a lot of spam comments. Fortunately they are being caught by my spam finder but it is frustrating to think that there’s a creep on the A to Z!

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/24/a-to-z-2023-t-is-for-traxon-technologies-who-created-the-lighting-sequence-for-the-coding/

A to Z – 2023 – S is for The Seed

Today is Saturday and for our last letter this week in the A to Z Challenge we have the letter “S.” Fortunately, Illuminate SF has The Seed that I can use.

I got a picture of The Seed in 2021 when I went through the Castro for that year’s A to Z but it was in the daytime. While that looks nice, it is a bit more interesting after dark.

The Seed was designed by Aphidoidea in 2017. It is a collection of six dandelions (only 3 were working when I was there) that are 13 feet tall. They are meant to represent the idea that a single wish blown away can inspire a movement.

I couldn’t do much about the guy sitting in front of the statue. It is true that this is one of the busiest intersections in the city. I was lucky to be able to pull into a gas station across the street.

Sorry about the size of the video. I can't seem to change it.

If I had been paying better attention, right on the other corner from this installation is the Hope Will Never Be Silent saying. Instead, I parked and got these pictures/video and then went around the block and parked again. Typical tourist, no?

We finished another week! One more to go. I have a few coming up that are pretty interesting I think. Hope you are enjoying this trip through the streets of San Francisco. Have a great rest of your weekend.

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/22/a-to-z-2023-s-is-for-the-seed/

A to Z – 2023 – R is for Reading the Language of the Birds

Of all the creative license I have been using to cover my A to Z Challenge letters, this one is by far the biggest stretch. The letter “R” is not actually anywhere in the description of installation or its designer’s name. However, what seem to be flying birds are actually supposed to be books and books are usually Read so…

On the corner of Columbus and Broadway in the pedestrian plaza that links Chinatown and North Beach you will find this scene of “books” positioned in such a way to look like birds in motion. The artwork on the side of the building is representative of the North Beach scene.

Language of the Birds, as it is called, was designed by Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn in 2008. It is the first solar power-offset public artwork in California. The artists teamed with scientist David Shearer and Lawrence Ferlinghetti (owner of City Lights bookstore which is right around the corner) to provide solar power to the city’s grid to offset the energy used by the artwork. You can hear the busy street sounds in the background. This was the night my husband and I had dinner at the Stinking Rose which is just up the street.

A shorter one from just a little up the street. This one really makes it look like birds flying I think.

And now as I am writing this, I am re-Reading the description on the Illuminate SF website and it says that if you look at the ground under the flock you will see pages that look like they have fallen out of the books. Of course I was looking UP so didn’t look DOWN to see that and have no pictures. From the designer’s web:

“Passing under the flock, pedestrians notice words and phrases embedded in the plaza floor that appear to have fallen from the pages. On closer inspection the fallen words are in English, Italian and Chinese and were selected from the neighborhood’s rich literary history, ranging from the Beats, to SF Renaissance poets and Chinese writers, over 90 authors are represented including Armistead Maupin, Gary Snyder, William T. Vollman, and Jade Snow Wong.

The artists created the design of the plaza floor in Atrium of the SFMOMA. Retaining their original font, individual words from chosen phrases were cast from the third floor gallery of the museum. Words fluttered down 60 feet landing on a paper replica of the plaza thus determining their resting place in the final artwork. Influenced by practices like reading tea-leaves and Japanese gardening techniques. The words intersect in ways that allow for new unique interpretations and meanings.”

Doesn’t that sound cool?

Best Viewing: After dark stand across the street on Columbus Avenue to get the full effect and then walk over to the plaza to get a close up view. Don’t forget to look down to see the words on the ground.

I think we need to go back to the Stinking Rose for dinner so I can get a picture of the words on the sidewalk and also take a peek in City Lights bookstore, don’t you? (I wrote about City Lights in my last SF A to Z.) One more letter this week and then we have a rest day.

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/21/a-to-z-2023-r-is-for-reading-the-language-of-the-birds/

A to Z – 2023 – Q is for Quotes on Anima

In the A to Z Challenge, the letter “Q” can be a difficult one but luckily I was able to find some quotes!

Anima is a cylinder of curved metal that is lit from inside to cast shadowy bits of poetry and ancient text in a halo across the plaza in front of Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

The illuminated words are in different languages and include pieces from the Human Genome Project, Dr. Leslie Taylor, Louis Pasteur, Greek physician Claudius Galen, Roman historian Pliny and a quote from Qi Bo, physician to the Chinese Emperor.

It was designed by Jim Sanborn in 2006 and is located at 1700 Owens Street in front of the Alexandria Real Estate Equities building. There is a plaque that details the quotes but I couldn’t get a good picture of it. I also couldn’t really read any of them because most were in a different language. I did manage to find the Qi Bo section, so that counts as my “Q” right?

Best Viewing: Anytime after dusk. I will say that this was very easy to get to and is in a quiet place so you can park and walk around to read it all.

“R” you ready for tomorrow?

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/20/a-to-z-2023-q-is-for-quotes-on-anima/

A to Z – 2023 – P is for Point Cloud

Continuing to work our way through the alphabet for the A to Z Challenge this year, we are at the letter “P.” As you know I am wandering around the streets of San Francisco looking for the interesting light installations that are part of the “Illuminate SF” project.

Today we have Point Cloud which was designed by Leo Villarreal and opened in 2019. It is a 100-foot pedestrian bridge that crosses Howard Street, connecting the two sides of Moscone Center (named for George Moscone, the Mayor of San Francisco who was assassinated with Harvey Milk).

I was able to pull over to the side of the road and get this short video to give you an idea of the light show. See if you can spot the little friend I found in the building.

There are 858 steel rods suspended from the roof with 28,288 LED lights which are individually programmed and change 30 times PER SECOND into shades of blue, yellow, orange, pink and lavender.

Best Viewing: Nighttime from the corner of Howard and Third streets. That’s just about where I was parked.

Pretty cool, huh? See you tomorrow for “Q.”

from WordPress https://scr4pl80.com/2023/04/19/a-to-z-2023-p-is-for-point-cloud/