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via Steve Rhodes
The San Francisco Arts Commission’s The Language of the Birds Recognized as One of America’s Best Public Artworks at the 2009 Americans for the Arts Convention in Seattle.
San Francisco, CA, June 26, 2009– Luis R. Cancel, director of cultural affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission, is pleased to announce that The Language of the Birds, a permanent site-specific sculpture by San Francisco artists Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn located at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus avenues, was selected as one of the best public artworks in the United States at the 2009 Americans for the Arts convention held in Seattle from June 18–20. During the annual Public Art Year in Review session, two independent art experts, artists Janet Echelman and Mildred Howard, presented 40 of their top choices for the most innovative permanent or temporary public artworks created or debuted in 2008. The Language of the Birds was chosen from more than 300 entries from across the country.
“Since its dedication in November, The Language of the Birds has brought excitement and poetry to a dense urban streetscape, transforming one of the City’s busiest intersections into a destination. The artwork also set a new precedent as the first solar power-offset public artwork in California,” stated Luis R. Cancel. “We are proud to receive this honor as it brings national attention to San Francisco’s community of pioneering local artists and exemplary Public Art Program, which is deeply committed to enriching our City by commissioning new artworks of the highest standards.”
In addition to Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn, San Francisco-artists JD Beltran and Scott Minneman’s recent project Downtown Mirror located in downtown San Jose and Teresa Camozzi’s Now Becomes Memories, Tomorrow Becomes Now at the Haggard Library in Plano, Texas also received recognition at the Public Art Year in Review session.
According to Supervisor David Chiu, “The Language of the Birds has become an iconic landmark for District 3 where locals and tourists alike stop to marvel at the installation. I congratulate Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn along with the other San Francisco-based artists on achieving such an honor. Their work has helped distinguish this City as a world-class destination for arts and culture.”
For nine years the Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America, has recognized public artworks. The artists and commissioning organizations involved in creating and citing the recognized public artworks will receive letters of recognition and congratulations from Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch.
For more information about The Language of the Birds, visit the “Press Release” section at www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection or contact Kate Patterson at kate.patterson@sfgov.org.
ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION AND THE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM
Established by charter in 1932, the San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts in San Francisco. Led by the belief that a creative cultural environment is essential to the City’s well-being, the Arts Commission programs permeate all aspects of City life. Programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Arts & Education, Cultural Equity Grants, Public Art, SFAC Gallery, Street Artist Licensing, and summer in the City Concert Series.
The Arts Commission’s Public Art Program was established by the City Arts Enrichment Ordinance in 1969, as one of the first of its kind in the country. The Public Art Program seeks to promote a diverse and stimulating cultural environment to enrich the lives of the city’s residents, visitors and employees. The Program encourages the creative interaction of artists, designers, city staff, officials and community members during the design of City projects in order to develop public art that is specific to the site and meaningful to the community.
