Thursday, June 29, 2017

Celebration Of Poster Art At The Haight Street Art Center

Situated in the heart of Haight at 215 Haight Street, near the corner of Laguna, the Haight Street Art Center opened its doors to the public on Saturday 1 July with a Grand Opening that included activities for kids, printing demonstrations for adults, gallery tours, and a welcoming address from Mariusz Knorowski, Chief Curator at Poster Museum at Wilanów, the oldest poster museum in the world located in Warsaw, Poland.

Festivities began at 1pm with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the iconic Bronze Bunny, gatekeeper to San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood. 

A series of galleries displayed 90 posters from the breakthrough years of 1965-67 in the opening exhibit entitled “The Art of Consciousness," while artists demonstrated the silk screen process, enabling visitors to walk out with a freshly inked poster.

Celebration of poster art

The “Big Five” of poster art, who made San Francisco the epicenter of the genre are well represented: Stanley Mouse, Wes Wilson, Alton Kelly, Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin. 

The purpose of the art center is to invigorate poster art by providing a print shop and gallery that dramatically lowers the cost of creating and selling poster art,” said Roger McNamee, the Moonalice lead singer and guitarist with a passion for poster art. “It also provides a platform so that the artists can form and manage a collective for mutual benefit."

When Moonalice started in 2007 as a ’60s-style San Francisco psychedelic roots band, one of the founding precepts was a freshly produced poster for every show. “We figured we’d play 30 or 40 shows a year,” said McNamee, adding, “And we’ve played 100 shows a year for 10 years.” There are now close to 1,000 Moonalice posters, many of which paper the walls as well as the stairwell between the floors at the art center.

Moonalice model

In the day of the Big Five, poster artists were paid around $500 for a poster plus a dozen copies. The promoter, or the band, got the copyright, which meant that if a design hit it big in the aftermarket, the income from all those concert posters sold in bookstores and record stores went to someone other than the artist.

This is in stark contrast to the Moonalice business model, which is to pay the artist more up front, plus allow the artist keeps the copyright. There are some 35 artists in the Moonalice stable, and they will be the first to benefit from the art center’s platform.

Living history museum

The building is part of a Spanish Revival complex put up by the Works Progress Administration in 1934 as San Francisco State Teachers College. It sits on a huge lot, most of which has been developed into market-rate housing by Wood Partners.


“This is like a living history museum on top of a museum,” said Peter McQuaid, executive director of the center, who will oversee a staff of four. “We want to return to the craftsmanship where the artists print the work themselves.”

The art center includes the original San Francisco State entrance on the southeast corner of Haight and Buchanan streets, and occupies the down-slope annex, its mid-block entrance marked by the Bronze Bunny sculpture by Jeremy Fish. The entry is on the gallery level, with the print shop above it fully outfitted with scanners, printers and racks of paper.

Opening exhibition

The opening exhibition, “The Art of Consciousness,” runs through September. Entrance is free. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday. 215 Haight St., S.F. https://haightstreetart.org

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Celebrate The Summer Of Love With A Psychedelic Light Show And A Surrealistic Summer Solstice Jam!!!


Flowers will power the night this summer as the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park becomes the canvas for an elegant light art installation to honor San Francisco’s city-wide celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. 

Developed in partnership with San Francisco Recreation and Parks by Illuminate, the nonprofit arts group behind The Bay Lights, and Obscura Digital, a world-renowned creative studio specializing in large scale light-based art, the installation will use gobo projectors to transform the all-white landmark with a series of exquisitely illuminated scenes inspired by the rare tropical flowers within, and the legacy of San Francisco’s flower children.

“The Summer of Love was always about an energy – a spark – bringing love and light at a time when the world needed it,” said Ben Davis, Director of Illuminate. “We are bringing that light back to where it all began in Golden Gate Park fifty years later with an electrifying, contemporary tribute.”

“Obscura has done projections on iconic buildings around the world, and we’re thrilled to be using Golden Gate Park’s architectural crown jewel as our latest canvas, here in our hometown,” added Chris Lejeune, CEO of Obscura Digital.

Davis and the Obscura team promise a nightly spectacle of spinning flower mandalas, animated butterflies, and much, much more. The free public installation will be on view nightly from sundown until midnight throughout the summer, June 21 through October 21, 2017.

Surrealistic Summer Solstice Jam

The opening night on 21 June – which coincides with the Summer Solstice – will include a musical celebration from members of the best jam bands San Francisco has to offer, featuring most of the surviving band members of the great bands of 1967.

“The Surrealistic Summer Solstice Jam will combine the music of 1967 with an epic Illuminate and Obscura Digital light show on the Conservatory of Flowers! It will be the most monumental light show the city of San Francisco has ever seen! Dan Lebowitz is music director. The house band will include members of ALO, Moonalice, and other great SF musicians. Jack Casady, Lester Chambers, David Freiberg, Linda Imperial, RonKat, Norman Greenbaum, Barry Melton, Steve Kimock, Dave Getz, Peter Albin, Darby Gould, Joli Valenti, Melvin Seals, Paula Frazer, Leslie Grant, Mark Karan, Jay Lane, Jason Crosby, Steve Adams, Grahame Lesh, Alex Jordan, Greg Loiacono, Lech & Johnny ... and many others are scheduled to perform. The concert and light show are free … no tickets are required, and it's the longest day of the year,” explained Moonalice’s Roger McNamee.

There will be three free posters for those attending, by leading poster artists Alexandra Fisher, John Mavroudis and Darrin Brenner, members of the Haight Street Art Center collective.


"We're really excited to be a part of this thing," Roger continued. "It's part of the on-going Summer of Love Festivals in San Francisco. We encourage you to attend or to watch the live stream, because it'll be fun!" How much fun? This video from the Surrealistic Superjam SF Summer Of Love 50th Anniversary Concert earlier this year gives a taste of musical treats to come on 21 June!



Logistics

Folks with mobility challenges are encouraged to either be dropped off or park near the Nancy Pelosi and Bowling Green corner - or - park in the Music Parking lot under the De Young Museum. Public transportation is HIGHLY recommended!

The following items are not allowed at the event:
No Tents, Canopies, Tables, or other structures
No Unpermitted Vendors
No Coolers larger than 9”x12”
No Barbecues or cooking equipment
No Amplified Sound Equipment
No Generators
No Glass
No Backpacks larger than 9 x 12
Please take the public transportation to the event if possible:
The closest MUNI bus is 5 Fulton bus which runs until the event ends and beyond. You can catch the bus at Fulton Street and 6th Ave, and it is also the closest bus stop to the event.
For Bus Schedule: https://511.org/…/schedules-ag…/agency/363/schedules/route/5
Or Plan Your Travel with Public Transit: www.511.org
However, if you must drive, you can park at Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse Parking Lot, entrance at Fulton Street and 10th Ave:
Parking will available at the Music Concourse Parking Lot as it will be open late until 11 pm to accommodate parking for the event.

Cars can enter at Fulton Street and 10th or at Lincoln near the Academy of Science. Please note JFK Drive will be closed from 8th to Kezar Drive staring 5AM on Wednesday, June 21st, it will be one of the closest locations for parking.
For maps how to enter – please go to: http://goldengateparking.com/. Cost is a flat $17.
Street Closures -- starting 5AM Wednesday, June 21st until 9AM Thursday, June 22nd the following streets will be closed to vehicles traffic:
JFK Drive between Kezar Drive and 8th Ave
Nancy Pelosi Drive between JFK Drive and Bowling Green Drive
Arguello Street at Fulton Street (entrance into Golden Gate Park)
Surrealistic Summer Solstice Concert and Grand Lighting!
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM (PDT)
date Outside of the Conservatory of Flowers
100 John F Kennedy Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118
Organized by Conservatory of Flowers