Starting to feel like the old saying of having my ducks in a row. After many hard and long weeks of organizing tasks, it’s positive yet strange to see a finish line. Unfortunately, cannot predict the future and know if my work will be acknowledged immediately or later. However, I understand that rewards come to those that understand the principle of patience.
Last week, I submitted my Guy Place Mini Park Proposal Narrative and board for a possible public art opportunity. The board is created for the Rincon Hill neighborhood in San Francisco for view and comment. I love that the community is involved and given the opportunity to be part of the process. That makes the art the best possible to the meet the area’s needs.
A minor issue occurred while prepping the image for printing for the public display board. My favorite font in the world is Futura and the printing company didn’t have its file. It has a clean and elegant look to it. As a result, I’ve used it many times for exhibition booklets, postcards, and other marketing material. Paul Renner, a German born graphic artist and author, designed the font. One of my favorite feminist artists Barbara Kruger uses the Futura text in her images. According to The Guardian it can be found in Hewlett Packard’s logo, NASA’s plaque on the moon, Volkswagen past advertisements, the cartoon series Futurama, IKEA’s former logo and in the late film director Stanley Kubrick’s movies. Any other font just wouldn’t do and aesthetically I wanted the public board to be perfect!
Speaking of trying to make everything just right, my design was purposely broken into four parts: history, patterns, lines, and light. Rincon Hill’s history includes that it is one of the original seven hills in San Francisco and Rincón in Spanish mean corner. Patterns include vertical shapes, clean straight edges, active streets, shadows created by filtered light, and amazing sweeping views. My design’s color choice of metallic grey mimics the urban environment and columns in the park. The lines in the artwork echoes the “X” shapes throughout the Bay Bridge, the front façade of the nearby Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, the windowless PG&E substation, the trees on Guy Place, and park’s features. Finally, light and shadows are an important concept and medium in the design. The lines are condensed at the bottom to gradually open to the sky similar to the nearby trees and buildings. This will create shadows that will change throughout the day, extending the artwork beyond its two-dimensional surface.
From the font choice on the display board to the shadows in Rincon Hill, patterns emerge. Details do matter at least to me. They represent the history of my artwork, the community, its people, and our existence. The Futura font is more than just another communication tool. It’s apropos to life!
The links:
http://www.linotype.com/762/paulrenner.html
http://www2.palomar.edu/users/gkelley/PaulRenner.html
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