Cue music.

No really, it doesn’t work unless you cue some music by opening a new window and then coming back here. 

Now, click to expand:

See?

The whole exhibit is all set up and ready to go this weekend. Take a sneak peek here, courtesy of Damion Mathews of SFLuxe.

This thing is going to be huge.

Well it’s on over at the Asian Art Museum. The fantastic new show is Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul.

Now it’s got its fair share of bling, more than enough to hold you until King Tut hits town in 2009, but all these golden treasures come with a story. Read all about it over at the National Geographic and look at some high resolution photos here. And see what San Francisco Art Examiner Marisa Nakasone thinks about it here.

Click to expand:

Pair of pendants depicting the “Dragon Master” (Tillya Tepe, Tomb II). 100 BCE–100 CE (or 100 BC-100 AD, if you swing that way). Gold, turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and pearl, National Museum of Afghanistan, ©Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

There’s a whole series of related programs and events, including An Evening of Poetry and Music tomorrow and a showing of The Kite Runner movie in November.

And don’t forget about Target First Free Sundays at the Asian. It could be a good way for you to spend a rainy day weekend?

See you there!

It looks beter in person. Check it out.

The whole thing runs through January 25,  2009. 

$12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for youth 13–17, and free for children under 12. Thursday evenings after 5 pm admission is just $5 for all visitors except those under 12 and members, always free.

The museum is in the Civic Center area: 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

It’s open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with extended hours until 9:00 pm every Thursday.

Comes now the famous Maya Lin, who asks the question:

“What would happen if you took a hill inside?”

It might look something like what she’s standing on, which is called 2 x 4 Landscape. You can check out this installation and the rest of Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park until January 18th, 2009. 

Official photos are here.

This wire grid depicts an underwater “landscape” we can’t otherwise see:

The affable Ms. Lin with Presenting Curator Karin Breuer and Fiona Chan:

Maya gave a short talk under the shimmering perforated copper walls of the new de Young: 

This is yet another big show from Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Director John Buchanan and Board President Diane B. “Dede” Wilsey. Brace yourselves, more blockbusters are on the way:

Travis Kiyota, PG&E’s government and public affairs director for the Bay Area, said a few words about his employer being the presenting sponsor for this exhibit:

And wouldn’t you like a limited edition Maya Lin to put up your wall as a talking piece? There’s special pricing until December 1, 2008 - $12,500 for non-museum members:

“This new limited-edition sculpture by Maya Lin, created on the occasion of her exhibition at the de Young continues the artist’s exploration of the contours of natural forms. Its thin, sinuous shape traces the path of the Tuolumne River through the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Cast from the reclaimed silver of photo etchings, the work is mounted with pins that fix to the wall. The edition is presented in an elegant, hot-stamped portfolio box.”

Now according to 7×7 Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, this representation is meant to show the Tuolomne River before the Hetch Hetchy dam, but it sure looks like you can see both the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the New San Pedro Reservoir in there. It’s certainly possible to think that Maya meant to depict the dammed river as it appears these days. 

More details after the jump. See you there!

(more…)

The Mother of All Museum Exhibitions is coming to Golden Gate Park’s de Young Museum in June 2009. It’s Tutankhamun! It’s on! That’s right, the King of Bling is coming back to San Francisco for the first time in 30 years.

Well, maybe not King Tut himself:

“Tutankhamun’s mummy and the inner sarcophagus are still located in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The outer sarcophagi and shrines are at the Cairo Museum. Neither the mummy nor any of the sarcophagi have ever traveled.”

But this show, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, is going to be way better than The Treasures of Tutankhamun, which is what what people were able to see the last go around three decades ago.

Check out this gorgeous gorget. Wouldn’t you like to hang it on your chest?  Bling bling, baby. Click to expand:

Pectoral with Solar/Lunar Emblem and Scarab. Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun (1332-1322 BC). Gold, silver, electrum, semiprecious stones. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Carter 267d. Photo: Kenneth Garrett © 2008/National Geographic.

O.K., people, now brace yourselves. Tut is going to cost you some coin. Yes, even if you’re already a member. But this show might be what it takes for you to join the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (800 777-9996) As they say, membership has its privileges and you might appreciate that when all the madding crowds surround you.  

Here’s what you need to know now. The exhibition opens on June 27, 2009 and runs through March 28, 2010. And the ‘zeum will be open until 9:00 PM every day for months just to accomodate all the expected people. So, you’re going to need to get your tickets early for best results. They’ll be available sometime near the begining of 2009.  

If you want to know the moment tickets go on sale, then sign up for the e-newsletter why don’t you?

More details here at the mainstream media’s SFGate, where they (remarkably) cite Wikipedia as a source of information.

See you there in 2009!

Full details after the jump.

(more…)

Well, it was huge. Most of all those people eventually made it into our fabulous new California Academy of Sciences museum-type thing over the weekend.

This is what it looked like.

The mise-en-scene, as seen from the de Young Museum. Click to expand:

Saturday’s opening was a crowning achievement for Executive Director Dr. Greg Farrington.

Released monarch butterflies briefly filled the skies above Golden Gate Park:

And then they went to the roof of the CAS to warm up and make more butterflies:

Mayor Gavin Newsom was there to promote the CAS. He didn’t get “roundly booed”, unlike the time he showed up to promote the Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio a few months back:

Speaking of politicians, there were lots there, including Eric Mar, Melanie Nutter and Aaron Peskin:

San Francisco Chief of Protocol Charlotte Schultz under the rainforest:

And of course, you could let your kid play with snakes while waiting to get in:

That’s all for now. Congratulations, CAS!

Oh my. Today’s gala opening of our fabulous new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park attracted an enormous number of people.

On and on the line stretched. From Concourse Drive to JFK to Middle Drive East to South Drive to Ninth Avenue to Lincoln Way - that’s almost 1.5 miles (the long way) to the start of one of the Penguin Trails at Ninth Avenue and Irving in the Inner Sunset.

Click to expand:

Happily, they’re not making you wait in line all day. It’s all alphabetized based upon how early you showed up. Some got there at 5:30 AM. What’s your Entry Group name?

Dinosaur? Gorilla? Iguana? Yawn. What’s wrong with Darwin, Gaia, or Intelligent Design?

But what does the New York Times have to say about all of this?

The academy building is the last in a series of ambitious projects to be conceived in and around the park’s Music Concourse since the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Herzog & de Meuron’s mesmerizing de Young Museum, enclosed in perforated copper, opened three years ago. Scaffolding is to come down at the concourse’s neo-Classical band shell this week after a loving restoration.

You see? It’s all coming together.

This special day will go on until 9:00 PM tonight. See you there!

Here’s the thing. Our fabulous new California Academy of Sciences is finally ready - the Opening Weekend Celebration starts tomorrow, Saturday, the 27th of September, 2008. Admission is going to be free for the whole day from 9:30 AM to 9:00 PM, after an 8:30 AM Opening Ceremony that will feature:

Executive Director Greg Farrington, Board Chair Bill Patterson, Architect Renzo Piano, Mayor Gavin Newsom,  a Native American blessing, a butterfly release, and more.

So fine, get up early, follow the Penguin Trail from the N-Judah or the 5-Fulton bus and check out the spectacle tomorrow morning.

The already-famous living roof, a science experiment in itself. What flora and fauna will appear over the months and years?  The similarity to Teletubbyland could attract Tinky Winky and his friends. An artist’s conception, click to expand:

But you’re not going to be able to see the CAS the way it’s meant to be seen. What you’re going to see is a whole bunch of other people, just like yourself. And that’s fine, there’ll be a lot of stuff to see outside of the CAS. (Plus there’s the nearby de young Museum to check out, but it will be busy too.)

Plan on coming back another day if you want a chance to see and explore the CAS itself in a more relaxed environment. Is admission (they’re going to start charging people starting this Sunday) worth the $25? Heck yeah. Take my word on that.

What’s that? You got a family and all these tickets add up to big bucks? Well then get a membership for a year. Try it out. Even the $99 Individual Membership seems like a good deal since you can always bring a friend along for free.  

If that’s too much money anyway, then there’s always the Free Days. The third Wednesday of the month will generally be reserved for free Wachovia Wednesdays. And there will be Free Days customised just for your zip code.

The people at the California Academy of Sciences have bent over backwards to provide you with opportunities to check things out for free. That’s all they can do.

See you there!

You people love you some penguins. And the California Academy of Sciences knows that, so what better way to guide you to this fabulous new mega museum than to put down footprints from the Richmond and Sunset districts.

“If you’re arriving by public transit, follow the webbed footprints of the Penguin Path from 9th and Irving, or 8th and Fulton, right to the front of the Academy. It’s only a ten minute walk.”

Ay! Trayectoria del Pingüino! (or sendero pingüino? No se.) Once you see this, you’ll soon see all the footprints on the sidewalks leading to where you want to go.

Most people will probably arrive from the 5 Fulton or the N Judah. If you can see the tower of the de Young Museum, you can also use that as a guide to get to the general area.

Conveniently, the CAS also has instructions for those arriving by bike, car, tour buses and, of course, spacecraft:

“The Academy is located on planet Earth, approximately 93.1 million miles (or one Astronomical Unit) from the G2 star known as the Sun…”

Once you arrive you can meet the penguins: 

These little critters should be a major draw for the CAS.

See you there on Opening Day, September 27th, 2008.

Here’s the problem our Presidio Trust faces - they’re caught between two factions:

1. The where’s our fabulous museum already? crowd; and 

2. The normal assortment of obstructionists who crop up whenever anybody tries to do anything in this town.

Primarily. There’s other folks as well of course, like those who object to a lodge in a national park and those who have ownership interests in nearby movie theatres and therefore want the historic Main Post Theatre to remain closed. It’s a real furball.

Anywho all this fussing takes time, so you the public will get another shot. The long version is below. Read the short version here, courtesty of reliable Marisa Lagos at SFGate.

Is this a craps table or a model of a possible future greened-up Main Post? The Presidio Trust’s Chandler McCoy shows a tour group from the American Institute of Architects San Francisco how he’ll Save the Presidio from the obstructionists. Click to roll the bones:

As promised, here’s the latest. The big thing is yet another public comment opportunity on October 14th, 2008 at 6:30 PM. It will be at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in the Marina, so you’ll have no fear of getting ticketed by the Park Police.

See you there!
 

“Presidio of San Francisco (September 2, 2008) — The community has another month to share their comments on proposals to revitalize the Presidio’s Main Post as a center for history, art, and culture and as a place that welcomes the public. The Presidio Trust announced today that it has extended the comment period on its Draft Main Post Update and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) to October 20. The extra time gives the Trust, other historic preservation organizations, and the community an additional opportunity to consider how the birthplace of San Francisco can be commemorated alongside new amenities for visitors to the national park.
 
“People care passionately about the Presidio. We’ve already received approximately 1,000 comments, and 1,500 people attended our Main Post walking tours this summer,” said Craig Middleton, executive director of the PresidioTrust, the federal agency charged with preserving and protecting the military post turned national park. “We’re fortunate to haveproposals on the table that would be the envy of many communities, but there are issues we need to resolve. We are excited about what the future of the Presidio’s most historic area could be and we hope to build enthusiasm in the community as well.”
 
“In June, the Presidio Trust released its draft updated plan for the Main Post and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, outlining ideas for sharing the Presidio’s history and establishing new ways to use and enjoy the center of the park. The Main Post encompasses 120 acres and more than 1.28 million square feet of building space. Cornerstone ideas include: establishing a Heritage and Archaeology Center in the Officers’ Club at the site of the original fort; creating the park’s first lodge; and rehabilitating and expanding the long-closed Presidio Theatre. The proposal that has received the most attention is for a contemporary art museum housing Donald and Doris Fisher’s renowned collection of works from the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum would be a new cultural anchor for the national park. A proposal to transform the Main Parade Ground, a 7-acre parking lot, into a new public open space was decided last summer.
 
“The Trust is exploring the challenging historic preservation issues with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the National Park Service, including how new construction and additions to historic buildings could successfully be carried out on the Main Post. Issues to be considered include the design and location of the proposed museum. This process, governed by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, was also followed when the Letterman Digital Arts Center was being considered to replace the decommissioned Letterman Hospital in 2001. The Section 106 consultation meetings began last November and will continue later this month. Other organizations participating in the consultation are:

•        National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP)
•        Presidio Historical Association (PHA)
•        Sierra Club (SC)
•        Descendents of the Portola and Anza Expedition (DAPE)
•        National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
•        San Francisco Architectural Heritage (SFAH)
•        People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area (PGGNRA)
•        Neighborhood Associations for Planning at the Presidio (NAPP)
•        Cow Hollow Association (CHA)
•        Laurel Heights Improvement Association (LHIA)
 
“The proponents for the three major projects (the contemporary art museum, the lodge, and the Presidio Theater) will also participate in the consultation. 
 
“The Presidio Trust has scheduled a second public board of directors meeting to take comments on the proposals. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 14, at 6:30 pm, at the Palace of Fine Arts theatre, 3301 Lyon Street. More than 700 people attended the first public hearing held on July 14.
 
“Input received during the public comment period and the feedback from the Section 106 historic preservation process will be used by the Trust board to make its final decision, expected towards the end of the year.
 
“The Presidio Trust is also hosting three workshops to provide additional opportunities to the public to discuss the Draft Main Post Plan and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. The workshops will also provide a forum to discuss further the kinds of activities that the public would like to see in the Main Post in the future.
Thursday, September 25, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue
Sunday, September 28, 2 to 4 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue
Thursday, October 2, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop

“The draft plan, Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and other documents are available at www.presidio.gov.

“Comments are welcomed through October 20 at mainpost@presidiotrust.gov.

___________________________

Leave out the fiction, Nimbies
The fact is, your friction
Will only be worn by persistence.
Leave out conditions,
Courageous convictions
Will drag the dream into existence.

As of today, the countdown timer at the California Academy of Sciences website shows that there are just 32 days left until the Grand Opening in Golden Gate Park on September 27th.

As the cutaway view here shows, the Morrison Planetarium is on the left. Click to expand:

Check it. It’s all digital. They’re still working out all the bugs as they’re installing the new equipment. But, like the rest of the CAS, it’s going to be mega.

A family portrait of El Sol and Gaia, Mother Earth on the high-def screens of the new Morrison:

See you there on September 27th! (Listen to a few MP3s if you want, in the meantime.)