San Francisco’s plan to paint the entire city with a 1 percent art fee for large-scale construction projects is back on the table after it was modified due to concerns from developers.Wary of additional costs, developers had met in recent weeks with Mayor Ed Lee and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu to discuss the legislation, which would expand an existing fee that has been in place for 25 years. Read More
A treasured piece of San Francisco history faces daily threats to its well-being, according to a group of neighbors who want voters to approve a new upkeep policy at Coit Tower.The Protect Coit Tower Committee submitted more than 16,000 signatures Monday seeking a ballot measure to encourage The City to “prioritize” money raised at the landmark for maintenance of the building, its murals and the surrounding Pioneer Park. Read More
Amid public outcry, the Arts Commission terminated a $750,000 Central Subway art contract with controversial dog-killing artist Tom Otterness on Tuesday.
Otterness was selected by the Arts Commission earlier this year to install 59 bronze sculptures in the Moscone station of the proposed Central Subway project, but that was before The San Francisco Examiner reported Otterness’ past work in which he shot a dog for a film he claimed was a piece of art. Read More
Brooklyn sculpture artist Tom Otterness shot and killed a dog on film and called it art in 1977 when he was 25 years old. But that act, which he has apologized for throughout years, continues to haunt his successful career and ignites debates whenever he is selected for public art commissions. Read More
A Brooklyn artist who once shot and killed a dog and called it art has landed a coveted $750,000 city art contract for the Central Subway.
As if the $1.6 billion railway weren’t controversial enough, artist Tom Otterness’ commission can be expected to generate criticism from dog lovers and animal rights groups. Read More
The San Francisco Arts Commission unveiled the first restoration of its ArtCare initiative this morning outside of The City’s Hall of Justice building.Located at the corner of Seventh and Bryant streets, the 30-foot sculpture titled “Hall of Justice” by late San Francisco artist Peter Voulkos had “aged and weathered its fair share of vandalism,” said Interim Arts Director JD Beltran. Read More
The San Francisco Arts Commission voted unanimously on a new interim director Monday, officials from the Mayor’s Office announced.The agency named JD Beltran, the current vice president, to act as director while they recruit a new permanent director of cultural affairs. Read More
Arts Commission Executive Director Luis Cancel is expected to hand in his resignation as the head of the department tasked with providing money to artists, cultural centers and the San Francisco Symphony. Cancel has notified commissioners of his resignation, though he has yet to tell Mayor Ed Lee. He says he is quitting so that he can move back to New York, but he has also come under increasing fire from arts commissioners about spending too much time in Rio de Janeiro. Read More
Long time no see.A piece of art worth $75,000 has resurfaced after it was stolen more than a decade ago from the Moscone Convention Center. After serving a search warrant at a San Francisco home Wednesday, police arrested a woman for possessing one of the three panels to a tapestry by the late Mark Adams. Read More
Posters depicting key moments in San Francisco history will be decorating bus shelters on Market Street beginning today.Each of six posters in the 2011 Art on Market Street Poster Series — titled “Once Upon a Time” — focuses on a phase of San Francisco history and includes a map of the Market Street area that shows the sites of lost landmarks, according to the San Francisco Arts Commission.The images were created by San Francisco-based artist Elishvea Biernoff. Read More
