Public Art Proposal Display

Art Proposals for Potrero Yard Modernization Public Art Project - Bus Ramp on 17th Street

Public Comment Period:

August 05, 2024 to August 19, 2024

Proposal Viewing Location

Proposals location on the fence at 17th St. at Bryant St.
Public Comment
View the Proposals

The San Francisco Arts Commission is conducting a review process to choose an artist to design a glass artwork for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Potrero Yard. The artwork will be architecturally integrated into the façade of the the bus ramp on 17th Street and measure approximately 11,000 sq. ft.

The goal of the project is to create an artwork that illuminates and celebrates the people, history, and diverse cultures of the Potrero Hill and Mission neighborhoods and adjacent American Indian and Calle 24 Cultural Districts and highlights SFMTA’s mission to promote environmental stewardship and provide reliable, safe, and affordable transportation for all. Three artist teams were chosen as finalists by a Public Art Review Panel to design proposals for this opportunity. They are: Celeste Byers & Spencer Keeton Cunningham, Precita Eyes Muralists Association, and Twin Walls Mural Company.

Propuestas artisticas para el Proyecto de Arte Publico para la Modernizacion de Potrero Yard Rampa para autobuses de la calle 17 

.Potrero Yard_Bryant Street from Franklin Square.jpg

Migration

Celeste Byers & Spencer Keeton Cunningham

Byers Cunningham Proposal Board_SM.jpgCeleste Byers and Spencer Keeton Cunningham’s conceptual artwork design celebrates movement, migration, and the passage of time. Native species of animals in the San Francisco and Bay Area historically and currently are abstracted and arranged to create a dynamic pattern of the past, present, and future interwoven into one.

The artists’ intention was to create a design that felt like it could be long lasting and historically interpreted 100 years from now. The design features transportation references, including American horses (native to the region), a traditional Ohlone canoe, and migratory birds. The abundance of birds in the Byers/Cunningham design symbolizes migration and movement, while paying homage to the Ohlone creation myth.

The shapes in the artwork design are abstracted to create a flowing pattern that moves across the glass creating a dynamic feeling of transportation. Featured are abstracted skeletons of a saber-toothed tiger and a Colombian Mammoth that used to live in the area, juxtaposed with the pattern of a living Whimbrel bird, wild American horses that are no longer found in the region, sandhill cranes, and Canada geese, which currently migrate through the area. The eagle, hummingbird, and coyote are also symbols that represent an Ohlone creation story. These symbols are further paired with a drawing of a San Francisco wind pattern to celebrate the movement and connectivity our world’s invisible forces. The upper right corner of the design includes the Chinese symbol for Byers’s family name (Lum) in honor of her grandfather and uncle who worked in this building and for Muni the entirety of their careers.

View a larger image of MIgration 

We Move This City

Precita Eyes Muralists Association

Precita Eyes Proposal Board_SM.jpgWe Move This City is dedicated to Muni workers and all those who make it possible for folks to travel around the city.

Precita Eyes’s conceptual artwork design centers on a trolley, highlighting the main character of this story—the vehicles. The trolley is driven by Nate, a recently retired veteran bus driver. The photo of Nate was provided by George, one of the driver union administrators. A Muni Map, located to the left of the center, features routes that surround the Potrero Yard. The colors of the map mimic the night sky, and the bus lines create constellations representing the interconnectedness of the different communities in San Francisco. Below the map are two Muni mechanics working in the trench which, instead of the underside of a bus, turns into the route map. To the left is a yellow Flicker, which is an important local bird whose feathers are used in Ohlone regalia past and present.

On the far left is a pre-colonial San Francisco Bay Landscape, featuring members of the Ohlone tribe with Tule boats next to a gigantic Matilija Poppy, native to Northern California. The tule boats represent the history of transportation in San Francisco. The figures in and around the boats are dressed in contemporary clothing to represent the bridging of the past and the present. Above them is a pattern inspired by the contemporary traditional basket weaving of Linda Yamane.

To the right of the center is an image of a female bus driver taken from a historical photo display located outside of the driver break room at the Potrero Yard. The artists wanted to include an image that would reflect early female bus drivers. George mentioned that early on, it was very difficult to drive the buses, since it required a lot of strength to shift gears and brake safely on the steep San Francisco hills. Next to her is a Douglas iris, native to San Francisco. To the right of the Douglas Iris is a bus shelter transitioning to the inside of a bus, featuring several figures, one being a present-day member of the Ohlone tribe wearing some regalia, highlighting their continued presence and stewardship of the land. Below them is another pattern inspired by Linda Yamane’s work, connecting the history of the Ohlone to present times.

On the far right is a cityscape with a sun setting, inspired by the Muni mechanics union logo. The sun symbol is based on the mechanics union and mixes in vibrant colors that reflect our diverse community. The sun symbol reminds us that the future includes different cultures and vibrancy that comes out of the beautiful Mission District and around the city. Various plants native to the area are featured throughout the design, reflecting the importance and beauty of the native flora. Also included are historical Muni transfers spanning different decades, which will contain a list of Legacy Drivers and other contributors to the history of the organization. Finally, the youth and adult fast passes are featured to connect the different generations that ride Muni.

View a larger image of We Move This City

MUNI in Motion

Twin Walls Mural Company

MUNI in Motion Proposal-Twin Walls MC_SM.jpgThe conceptual artwork design by Twin Walls (Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong) for the Potrero Yard bus ramp on 17th Street is an ode to the routes that raised us in our City by the Bay.

In our 7x7 universe, the city and its modes of transportation have always been reflective of cultural and political changes. Our diversity, our collective struggles and triumphs, the celebrations we share and the care we have for one another are valued in a way unlike any other part of the world. Twin Walls aims to celebrate this connectivity by illustrating a woven tapestry of people and places throughout time in San Francisco, starting at Potrero Division.

MUNI in Motion reads from right to left, beginning with an indigenous Yelamu Ramaytush Ohlone landscape and ending with native birds soaring through a clear sky, a symbol of hope for our future and respect for our past. The five crisscross pattern shapes that stretch across the mural are inspired by a pattern in an Ohlone basket woven by Linda Yemane, a descendent of the Ohlone tribe. The artists’ primary goal is to foster better stewards of this beautiful land we share as well as working on our own personal health and the healing of our communities. Connection is an important factor in creating lasting change. In many cultures weaving is an art of recognizing health and wholeness as a root and overcoming blockages of seemingly broken connections. We use lines/cables, and by extension the buses and people within them, as well as elements in the natural world as visual symbols of how our collective energy is woven into the fabric, or in this case basket, of life. 

The color palette chosen by Twin Walls consists of greens, earth tones, reds and orange hues. The greens serve to channel sustainability and healing energy. Earth tones depict the roots that provide stability and balance. The reds and oranges are a tribute to two colors most associated with our unique city and historic SF Muni.

The heart of this conceptual design is the people; showcased are connections between passengers, bus riders, drivers and pedestrians. The artists celebrate their home landscape as it shifts, highlighting local communities of today and nostalgically recalling San Francisco of the 1940s up to the present across space and time. 

Muni is not just a mode of transportation for getting from place to place. It is a portal for viewing San Francisco through different lenses. It can be a place of comfort, a place of friendship, a place to rest and reflect, or a place of entertainment. One can take a bus that begins Downtown and ends in the Marina District, having passed by some of the oldest buildings in San Francisco and meeting someone who claims to have “jammed with Santana in ‘75.” Everyone has an unforgettable Muni story, and we are all connected through these gems. Muni is inseparable from San Francisco and the paths it weaves through on its routes unite communities, art, and history. Twin Walls’s intention for their design is to capture the spirit of San Francisco, composing a visual narrative that celebrates our past, embraces our present, and beckons us towards a brighter future.

View a larger imgage of MUNI in Motion

Opportunity For Public Comment

Please take a few minutes to review these artwork proposals and provide feedback. The proposals are available online at www.sfartscommission.org/calendar/proposal-displays, or accessed by the QR Code below, where you can leave feedback in the public comment form. Comments may also be submitted via email to sfacpublicartcomment@sfgov.org by Monday, August 19, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

Public comments will be considered by the Review Panel as part of the Final Review Panel meeting where the Panel will recommend one proposal for implementation. Please note that public comments do not constitute a vote.

The Final Review Panel meeting will take place remotely during the first week of September 2024. All Artist Review Panel meetings are open to the public. An agenda for the meeting will be posted 72 hours in advance of the meeting on SFAC’s website under the Public Meeting section: www.sfartscommission.org

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December 18
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1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
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December 16
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December 11
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December 09
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