Outside Event #2 - Walking Tour of SF
on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 4:19 PM.
I am not sure how much of an event this counts as but my History of Design class had us do a walking tour of SF that shows off some of the great historical architecture of San Francisco and highlights the multicultural character of our vibrant city. The tour took about 2 or 3 hours.
At the corner of Post and Mason is a building housing the Academy of Art. This Neoclassical building used to be a church, you have to look walk around it a bit to find a sign in the side of the building to discover this.
Along the way I passed by this museum, it was a pretty small looking thing but I nonetheless had no idea it was there. I would love to visit it to see what they have in there.
Is a piece that was next to the entrance of the Craft + Design museum. I'm a bit confused. I figure Design = Functional and remember Craft best as = no extra decoration from what I've learned about the Arts and Crafts movement in History of Design. This piece just looks like an art piece rather than a piece of Craft + Deisgn and I am curious as to why they chose to put this one next to the entrance of this museum.
Continue up Mason until you reach Sutter. Make a right (go east) for a block and a half until you get to 450 Sutter, a fabulous art deco high-rise completed in 1929. Check out the amazing lobby, fashioned after a Mayan tomb. I took so many pictures
(the elevator guy kind of stared at me but didn't stop me) because when I walked in I was amazed.
The garage door, I couldn't get a decent picture of the elevator doors but rest assured they were pretty much about as awesome as this one.
The low-relief sculpture above the door kind of reminds me of Pre-Hispanic art that Diego Rivera took inspiration from in some of his murals. Namely the one in... I think it was Detroit? (I am probably wrong, Judith Bettelheim would have a fit at me) The theme was industrialization and there was a giant robot which took cues from a pre-hispanic sculpture. It also vaguely reminds of Cubism art like Picasso and Afro-Cuban Wilfredo Lam.
The forms are very much art deco, while they're not “machines” exactly they are still very geometric. They are abstract shapes but it is symmetrical on both sides. Elegant, glamorous, definitely a use of sumptuous materials as the whole of it is gold.
Another fabulous green-and-black art deco Bush Market at 820 Bush St. At the corner of Bush and Mason who's picture which I appear to have woefully misplaced.
At the corner of Mason and California is the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel. Where my high school senior prom was held. Apparently if you stand at the street corner (the Southeast corner, just in front of the Mark Hopkins Hotel) with your back to Hotel, just a few steps to the right of the stop light. Look to your right (east) and look into the distance you might be able to see the outlines of a famous NY landmark. It's a little hard to see, I couldn't see it until I walked a little further down and entered the Top of the Mark
which is a sky-bar, where visitors can choose from their famous 100-martini menu. Better yet, there is an free, amazing view of SF from the lookout window to the side of the elevators.
Hello, Transamerica Pyramid. Yes, I can see you very well.
Also the outline of that famous NY landmark, I think:
I asked a lot of people at the hotel to help me find the land mark. One of them finally pointed to the island and said, "Oooh! I think that's it!" It was the best guess out of all of them.
From my walking tour:
Not to far from that was the Grace Cathedral, the largest Episcopal Church on the West Coast.
The original church was somewhat smaller and was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The façade (front) of the church was inspired by the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
I walked one of the labyrinths (mazes on the ground that you walk through to reach the middle) outside of the current French gothic-style cathedral (built from 1928-1964).
An awesome mural at the Le Beau Nob Hill Market on the corner of Clay.
As you walk down Nob Hill the character of the neighborhood seems to change. Less swanky and formal. More colorful and cultural. The buildings aren't as stuffy as a giant cathedral or huge masions like the Flood Mansion. It's not as upscale and uptight and is a bit more fun looking. It is also much quieter as the streets are mostly apartment buildings and there aren't nearly as many people walking around and passing by.
For one thing there are graffiti murals such as the on the corner of Clay and Polk St which is hilarious because it has an angry Spongebob Squarepants-like character.
Polk St. is a really unique neighborhood. Most of the original buildings on this street were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, but new buildings were built on top of the old ruins. There are dozens of ethnic restaurants here as well as old standbys.
I really like Polk St. a lot. It's not all high fashion and upscale shopping like around the Westfield mall/Powell-ish area, nor is it terribly full of tourists like the major buildings around Nob's Hill. In general it's not as... busy? I suppose? That is not to say there aren't plenty of people walking around, I think they just seem to be in less of a busy city rush.
At the same time it's not like a certain area just down past Westfield, one minute you're surrounded by classy stores like Bloomingdales and the Gap and Forever 21 and then the next you're in the ghetto with all the adult stores and sortof kind of thrift stores that sell tacky Rolex watches and cameras and junk with no rhyme or reason to it and dirty, weird people that make you walk faster.
While Polk St. doesn't really have huge skyrise malls and department stores and I did pass by an adult store and even a Good Vibrations (I went in, it was very clean and organized! And not scary at all. Well, some of the stuff in there was a little scary but you know). It's not a place I feel nervous walking in even though it's obviously not the safe “rich” metropolitan-y part of SF. It is indeed very ethnic. There are restaurants for just about everything from Italian to Japanese to Mexican to good old fashioned donuts. I suppose the best word I can think of to describe it is very neighborhood-y.
The store that I am standing in front of, Brownies Hardware, the people inside were ridiculously friendly and helpful even going so far as to mention that a store further down the street had a cheaper priced water filter that I was looking at. I get the impression that they genuinely want to help people who come in.
Anyway, phew. That was a lot of walking, I was terribly tired at the end of it all.
0 Comments
At the corner of Post and Mason is a building housing the Academy of Art. This Neoclassical building used to be a church, you have to look walk around it a bit to find a sign in the side of the building to discover this.
Along the way I passed by this museum, it was a pretty small looking thing but I nonetheless had no idea it was there. I would love to visit it to see what they have in there.
Is a piece that was next to the entrance of the Craft + Design museum. I'm a bit confused. I figure Design = Functional and remember Craft best as = no extra decoration from what I've learned about the Arts and Crafts movement in History of Design. This piece just looks like an art piece rather than a piece of Craft + Deisgn and I am curious as to why they chose to put this one next to the entrance of this museum.
Continue up Mason until you reach Sutter. Make a right (go east) for a block and a half until you get to 450 Sutter, a fabulous art deco high-rise completed in 1929. Check out the amazing lobby, fashioned after a Mayan tomb. I took so many pictures
(the elevator guy kind of stared at me but didn't stop me) because when I walked in I was amazed.
The garage door, I couldn't get a decent picture of the elevator doors but rest assured they were pretty much about as awesome as this one.
The low-relief sculpture above the door kind of reminds me of Pre-Hispanic art that Diego Rivera took inspiration from in some of his murals. Namely the one in... I think it was Detroit? (I am probably wrong, Judith Bettelheim would have a fit at me) The theme was industrialization and there was a giant robot which took cues from a pre-hispanic sculpture. It also vaguely reminds of Cubism art like Picasso and Afro-Cuban Wilfredo Lam.
The forms are very much art deco, while they're not “machines” exactly they are still very geometric. They are abstract shapes but it is symmetrical on both sides. Elegant, glamorous, definitely a use of sumptuous materials as the whole of it is gold.
Another fabulous green-and-black art deco Bush Market at 820 Bush St. At the corner of Bush and Mason who's picture which I appear to have woefully misplaced.
At the corner of Mason and California is the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel. Where my high school senior prom was held. Apparently if you stand at the street corner (the Southeast corner, just in front of the Mark Hopkins Hotel) with your back to Hotel, just a few steps to the right of the stop light. Look to your right (east) and look into the distance you might be able to see the outlines of a famous NY landmark. It's a little hard to see, I couldn't see it until I walked a little further down and entered the Top of the Mark
which is a sky-bar, where visitors can choose from their famous 100-martini menu. Better yet, there is an free, amazing view of SF from the lookout window to the side of the elevators.
Hello, Transamerica Pyramid. Yes, I can see you very well.
Also the outline of that famous NY landmark, I think:
I asked a lot of people at the hotel to help me find the land mark. One of them finally pointed to the island and said, "Oooh! I think that's it!" It was the best guess out of all of them.
From my walking tour:
"This area is Nob Hill, a swanky neighborhood which was once home to wealthy railroad barons and businessmen (and yes, in those days they were men,) who built their mansions here. For example, that big brown mansion at the corner of California and Mason is called Flood Mansion, built in 1885-86 by James C. Flood, a millionaire who made his fortune with profitable silver mines in Nevada and by investing in railroads. Mr. Flood was worth about $30 million in 1880’s dollars, or about $20 billion in today’s dollars. Flood Mansion was one of the few buildings on Nob Hill to survive the 1906 earthquake."
Not to far from that was the Grace Cathedral, the largest Episcopal Church on the West Coast.
The original church was somewhat smaller and was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The façade (front) of the church was inspired by the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
I walked one of the labyrinths (mazes on the ground that you walk through to reach the middle) outside of the current French gothic-style cathedral (built from 1928-1964).
An awesome mural at the Le Beau Nob Hill Market on the corner of Clay.
As you walk down Nob Hill the character of the neighborhood seems to change. Less swanky and formal. More colorful and cultural. The buildings aren't as stuffy as a giant cathedral or huge masions like the Flood Mansion. It's not as upscale and uptight and is a bit more fun looking. It is also much quieter as the streets are mostly apartment buildings and there aren't nearly as many people walking around and passing by.
For one thing there are graffiti murals such as the on the corner of Clay and Polk St which is hilarious because it has an angry Spongebob Squarepants-like character.
Polk St. is a really unique neighborhood. Most of the original buildings on this street were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, but new buildings were built on top of the old ruins. There are dozens of ethnic restaurants here as well as old standbys.
I really like Polk St. a lot. It's not all high fashion and upscale shopping like around the Westfield mall/Powell-ish area, nor is it terribly full of tourists like the major buildings around Nob's Hill. In general it's not as... busy? I suppose? That is not to say there aren't plenty of people walking around, I think they just seem to be in less of a busy city rush.
At the same time it's not like a certain area just down past Westfield, one minute you're surrounded by classy stores like Bloomingdales and the Gap and Forever 21 and then the next you're in the ghetto with all the adult stores and sortof kind of thrift stores that sell tacky Rolex watches and cameras and junk with no rhyme or reason to it and dirty, weird people that make you walk faster.
While Polk St. doesn't really have huge skyrise malls and department stores and I did pass by an adult store and even a Good Vibrations (I went in, it was very clean and organized! And not scary at all. Well, some of the stuff in there was a little scary but you know). It's not a place I feel nervous walking in even though it's obviously not the safe “rich” metropolitan-y part of SF. It is indeed very ethnic. There are restaurants for just about everything from Italian to Japanese to Mexican to good old fashioned donuts. I suppose the best word I can think of to describe it is very neighborhood-y.
The store that I am standing in front of, Brownies Hardware, the people inside were ridiculously friendly and helpful even going so far as to mention that a store further down the street had a cheaper priced water filter that I was looking at. I get the impression that they genuinely want to help people who come in.
Anyway, phew. That was a lot of walking, I was terribly tired at the end of it all.
WRITTEN PROPOSAL
on at 3:17 PM.
WRITTEN PROPOSAL
Synopsis
Monuments not in use. Empty spaces of negative form monuments refer to historical breaks and losses. The responsibility of remembering should fall on the visitor and if the visitor doesn't have that there is no monument. Memories can be extinguished, places renamed, books altered, and new songs and symbols established. Monuments can go up but they can also be taken back down. How do you create a monument for things that should not be forgotten without gloryfing the Holocaust/Communism/War/etc?
Background
I was very intrigued by the monument video shown in class on contemporary monuments in Germany. I think the “disappearance” of monuments is great way to illustrate how while monuments do commemorate historical connections they are nothing without the public and individual responsibility to remember.
I really liked the alternative monuments. Horst Hoheisel's monument for “Aschrott's Fountain” where you could barely see the actual monument construction because it was upside down in the ground and the visitor was the monument. and Jochen Gerz/Esther Shalev-Gerz's “Disappearing Monument”.
Obsolete monuments such as the Joseph Stalin monument that was in Prague for 7 years that was torn down with the failure of communism.
Project Description
what the monument looks like
A bench made out of organic materials such as a wooden log that will decay over time. If someone happens pick it up and turn it into paper that's fine too.
what it is made of
Natural organic materials that will deteriorate over time such as grass, leaves, wood, etc. To differentiate it from being more than just a fallen log the backs of old chairs can be recycled by attaching them into the bench to give additional comfort.
where it is located and why you have chosen this particular location
The choice of a location was a bit of a difficult one but the inspiration to do a bench came from one of the Holocaust signs in the Bavarian Quarter that made it illegal for Jews to sit on any other benches but their specially designated benches.
what it looks like, how people view it or interact with it within the space you have chosen
I did not choose to create a huge monument because I wanted to keep with the low-scale idea that it doesn't matter how bi monuments are. People will be able to interact with it by sitting on the bench, if they hate it they could take an axe to it and chop it into pieces, if the Nazis somehow suddenly rise to power again they can burn it down to fertilizer for the park, it can become something useful, people can and will probably forget it about it year later (whether 10 or 10,000) when it is gone.
how it challenges 'traditional' monuments
It challenges 'traditional' monuments by not really being a monument. Whether or not it is in use does not really matter in the end when nature and time take it back. It is the idea that there was a monument there at one point in time, people might remember or they might remember that there was a monument there but not why or what it was for or they might remember it in different ways.
Benefits – who is the audience and what do people gain from your proposed monument? Why is it important?
The audience is everyone! Everyone has their own thoughts and remembers the Holocaust (and in general) differently and those are monumental. It is important because people can commemorate in their own way and thoughts even when the monument is gone, thus serving the purpose of the piece. Some people may not appreciate the monument as much because it's not a huge sculpture and is easily overlooked.
Bibliography
Faculty of Creative Arts, School of Art and Design. "DIMINUMENTS: Memories of Obsolete Monuments in Prague An installation by Lisa Moren." University of Wollongong . 10 Dec 2008 < http://www.uow.edu.au/crearts/sad/long/UOW034147.html >.
""Monument... counter-monument" Argyropoulos Epameinondas." 10 Dec 2008 < http://courses.arch.ntua.gr/120299.html >.
Young, James E.. "Germany's vanishing Holocaust monuments." B-Net. 10 Dec 2008 < http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0411/is_n4_v43/ai_16481905/pg_2 >.
"Counter-Monuments - Criticising Traditional Monuments." Goethe-Institut. 10 Dec 2008 < http://www.goethe.de/kue/arc/dos/dos/zdk/en204638.htm >.
0 Comments
Synopsis
Monuments not in use. Empty spaces of negative form monuments refer to historical breaks and losses. The responsibility of remembering should fall on the visitor and if the visitor doesn't have that there is no monument. Memories can be extinguished, places renamed, books altered, and new songs and symbols established. Monuments can go up but they can also be taken back down. How do you create a monument for things that should not be forgotten without gloryfing the Holocaust/Communism/War/etc?
Background
I was very intrigued by the monument video shown in class on contemporary monuments in Germany. I think the “disappearance” of monuments is great way to illustrate how while monuments do commemorate historical connections they are nothing without the public and individual responsibility to remember.
I really liked the alternative monuments. Horst Hoheisel's monument for “Aschrott's Fountain” where you could barely see the actual monument construction because it was upside down in the ground and the visitor was the monument. and Jochen Gerz/Esther Shalev-Gerz's “Disappearing Monument”.
Obsolete monuments such as the Joseph Stalin monument that was in Prague for 7 years that was torn down with the failure of communism.
Project Description
what the monument looks like
A bench made out of organic materials such as a wooden log that will decay over time. If someone happens pick it up and turn it into paper that's fine too.
what it is made of
Natural organic materials that will deteriorate over time such as grass, leaves, wood, etc. To differentiate it from being more than just a fallen log the backs of old chairs can be recycled by attaching them into the bench to give additional comfort.
where it is located and why you have chosen this particular location
The choice of a location was a bit of a difficult one but the inspiration to do a bench came from one of the Holocaust signs in the Bavarian Quarter that made it illegal for Jews to sit on any other benches but their specially designated benches.
what it looks like, how people view it or interact with it within the space you have chosen
I did not choose to create a huge monument because I wanted to keep with the low-scale idea that it doesn't matter how bi monuments are. People will be able to interact with it by sitting on the bench, if they hate it they could take an axe to it and chop it into pieces, if the Nazis somehow suddenly rise to power again they can burn it down to fertilizer for the park, it can become something useful, people can and will probably forget it about it year later (whether 10 or 10,000) when it is gone.
how it challenges 'traditional' monuments
It challenges 'traditional' monuments by not really being a monument. Whether or not it is in use does not really matter in the end when nature and time take it back. It is the idea that there was a monument there at one point in time, people might remember or they might remember that there was a monument there but not why or what it was for or they might remember it in different ways.
Benefits – who is the audience and what do people gain from your proposed monument? Why is it important?
The audience is everyone! Everyone has their own thoughts and remembers the Holocaust (and in general) differently and those are monumental. It is important because people can commemorate in their own way and thoughts even when the monument is gone, thus serving the purpose of the piece. Some people may not appreciate the monument as much because it's not a huge sculpture and is easily overlooked.
Bibliography
Faculty of Creative Arts, School of Art and Design. "DIMINUMENTS: Memories of Obsolete Monuments in Prague An installation by Lisa Moren." University of Wollongong . 10 Dec 2008 < http://www.uow.edu.au/crearts/sad/long/UOW034147.html >.
""Monument... counter-monument" Argyropoulos Epameinondas." 10 Dec 2008 < http://courses.arch.ntua.gr/120299.html >.
Young, James E.. "Germany's vanishing Holocaust monuments." B-Net. 10 Dec 2008 < http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0411/is_n4_v43/ai_16481905/pg_2 >.
"Counter-Monuments - Criticising Traditional Monuments." Goethe-Institut. 10 Dec 2008 < http://www.goethe.de/kue/arc/dos/dos/zdk/en204638.htm >.
Outside Event #1 - Asian Art Museum
on at 2:57 PM.
“Ritual Vessel (zun or gui) In The Shape of a Rhinoceros” as seen via poor cellphone camera lenses on the first Sunday of the month (otherwise known as free admission day sponsored by Target) at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.
Didactics say:
Probably late 1100s – 1050 BCE
China; reportedly Shouchang, Shandong Province
Shang Dynasty (approx. 1000 – 1050 BCE)
Bronze
The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B1+
During the latter part of the Shang dynasty, Shang power focused on the city of Anyang. The majority of ceremonial vessels cast there come from a standard set of shapes. These sets of shapes usually have richly decorated surfaces and short inscriptions.
What is interesting about the rhinoceros vessel is that it is a natural form that is not adorned with any decorations. In addition to that, the inscription inside of it is lengthy and detailed in comparison.
One of the reasons why this piece was compelling to me was because it was a rhino. I was taking the museum's Acoustictour which involved the information desk handing you a giant walkie-talkie remote kind of thing. You'd start from the top most floor and there are pieces through out the museum with a picture of headphones and a number next to them. You'd punch in the number on the remote and put it up to you ear and there would be a little information recording for you to listen to, following the numbered pieces results in a tour of the spread of Buddhism in Asia. So I'm walking through the tour and most of the pieces are statues and sculptures of various gods and figures of Buddhism, then all of the sudden right in between all these figures is... a rhino. Yeah.
Unfortunately you can barely make it out thanks to my awesome (not) cellphone camera. But basically it refers to a successful military campaign waged by the last king of the Shang dynasty and a sacrificial ceremony performed in an ancestral shrine. Cowry shells, money at the time, were given in gratitude by the king to an official who assisted in the victory. The official used the cowry shell money to have the vessel made to pay homage to the gods.
I would like to end on the note to be wary of the free Sundays at the Asian Art Museum! It was much, much more crowded than usual. I couldn't even get into one of the Afghanistan exhibits because it was so full, bummer!
Monument Ideas
on Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 4:22 AM.
I think I might like to do a monument like that. Plant it in the middle of a city people walking by will see. But the thing is I wonder if it won't lose it's meaning if it is something that you walk by every day on your way to work. It's not very monumental if it loses what it is supposed to stand for. Then again this is a project for an unconventional monument so maybe that would work?
I also toyed with a monument that was not in use. You know. Like a monument in the middle of no where that no one ever goes to. The difference would be how it functions in public space. I think most of my ideas have to do with how monuments function in public space.
A monument to creativity, uniqueness, or something. You know. This would be a pretty easy monument to execute. However, someone might paint over it so it'd match. That'd be pretty uncool. Or people might come by and they'd paint another brick a different colors until all the bricks were different colors. Then the message might change to one about diversity. Or maybe that's the same thing.
A monument to love! I'm not sure what the shape would be of. Maybe the same monument but one in Washington and one in Florida. Maybe something cheesey like a heart. Or a man and a woman.
Oh, and for my personal reference...
on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 10:34 PM.
Veggie Fhang -> Laura
Adamo Burner -> Adam
Anastasiala Pobieski -> Jo Seph
Craig2187 Parx -> Bernadette
Daedalus Ashborne -> Josh
Lemontoe Xue -> Doug (Second Life Tutor Guy)
alee Luminos -> Paula
Conceptual Swashbuckler -> Gwynneth
MaximusDrunkus Turbo -> Chris
mildred Braveheart -> MC
jaegow Swashbuckler -> Jason
Miah Wirefly -> Jeremiah
MNEMOTH Bookmite -> Marcus
SerendipitousRex Snoodle -> Lauren
0 Comments
Adamo Burner -> Adam
Anastasiala Pobieski -> Jo Seph
Craig2187 Parx -> Bernadette
Daedalus Ashborne -> Josh
Lemontoe Xue -> Doug (Second Life Tutor Guy)
alee Luminos -> Paula
Conceptual Swashbuckler -> Gwynneth
MaximusDrunkus Turbo -> Chris
mildred Braveheart -> MC
jaegow Swashbuckler -> Jason
Miah Wirefly -> Jeremiah
MNEMOTH Bookmite -> Marcus
SerendipitousRex Snoodle -> Lauren
