Susan's City Scene

ILLUMINATE SF FESTIVAL OF LIGHT SHINES ON A NEW YEAR. Now in its fourth year, Illuminate S.F. Festival of Light shines a light on 35 dramatic, eco-friendly light art installations accessible by public transport and free for all. Art lovers are invited to embrace the power of light and tour San Francisco’s art installations by a diverse range of local and world renowned light artists. These are in addition to the city’s crown jewel, Leo Villareal’s The Bay Lights, now permanent and dazzling and best viewed when the sun sets. The light art can be found in neighborhoods along the waterfront, in North Beach, Civic Center, Central Market, the Inner Sunset, SoMa, Potrero, Mission Bay, Bayview, Golden Gate Park, the Mission District and even flying in or out of San Francisco International Airport.

Permanent light art installations at San Francisco International Airport include:

• Ceiling Flood*, Keith Sonnier (1999), International Terminal, Boarding Area G, Level 2, Post-Security

• Four Sculptural Light Reflectors*, James Carpenter (2000), International Terminal, Main Hall, Level 3, Pre-Security

• Light Beams for the Sky of a Transfer Corridor*, Vito Acconci (2000), International Terminal, A-G, Level 2, Pre-Security

• Wind Portal*, Ned Kahn (2000),International Terminal between BART Station and AirTrain

• Spirogyrate*, Eric Staller (2014), Terminal 3, Boarding Area E, Level 2, Post-Security

• Sky*, Merge Conceptual Design (2014), Terminal 3, Boarding Area E, Level 2, Post-Security

Permanent light artworks in San Francisco include:

• Constellation*, Nayland W. Blake (1996), San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin St., Civic Center

• Three Gems, James Turrell (2005), de Young Museum, Barbro Osher Sculpture Garden, Golden Gate Park

• Anima, Jim Sanborn (2006), Alexandria Real Estate Equities, 1700 Owens St., Mission Bay

• Skygarden, James Turrell (2007), 90 Seventh St. facing Mission St., Central Market

• Language of the Birds*, Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn (2008), Broadway and Columbus Avenue, North Beach

• Yud, Daniel Libeskind (2008), 736 Mission St., Contemporary Jewish Museum, SOMA

• PaRDes, Daniel Libeskind (2008), 736 Mission St., Contemporary Jewish Museum, SOMA

• Firefly*, Ned Kahn (2012), 525 Golden Gate Ave. at Polk Street, Civic Center

• The Bay Lights, Leo Villareal (2013), San Francisco Bay Bridge West Span, Waterfront

• Model Art Map, Lisa Gemmiti (2013), W SF Hotel, 181 Third St., SOMA

• Lumina, MADLAB (2013),181 Third St., W San Francisco Hotel, SOMA

• Handsignals*, Matthew Passmore/MoreLab (2014) McCoppin at Valencia Street, SOMA

• Archipelago*, Anna Valentina Murch (2014), 1001 Potrero Ave., San Francisco General Hospital, Potrero

• Lamp of the Covenant, Dave Lane (2015), Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St., SOMA

• Spiral of Gratitude*, Shimon Attie and Vale Bruck (2015), 1245 Third St., Mission Bay

• Monarch, Cliff Garten (2015), Kaiser Permanente Medical Offices, 1600 Owens St., Mission Bay

Temporary light art installations in San Francisco include:

• Buckyball, Leo Villareal (2012), Embarcadero Pier 14 at Mission Street through February 26, 2017

• Murmur Wall, Future Cities Lab (2014), 701 Mission St., YBCA through May 31, 2017

• Bayview Rise, Haddad-Drugan(2014), Pier 92 near Third Street and Cargo Way through 2019

• Coalescence, Olivia Ting and Annette Jannotta (2016), 401 Van Ness, Suite 126, SFAC Main Gallery through March 4, 2017, Civic Center

• Trillan & Dodi, Hybocozo: Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu (2016), Patricia’s Green, between Hayes and Fell Street on Octavia Blvd. through Nov. 8, 2017

For details on the artists and installations celebrated in Illuminate S.F., along with a downloadable map, visit www.illuminatesf.com.

Susan Cohn is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com.