Phase 1: Site
I selected the site of San Francisco since I was so amazed by the amount of various art found all throughout the city. I have been on a road trip with my family over the summer, but of the several locations visited, including different states, I decided to write about the works of SF as the city itself is so rich in history of artists. The city in the bay balances cultural value in visual art, music, movies, and wildlife. All of which were reflected in the pieces I studied.
Phase 2: Field Work
Chamber of Secrets Door
I unexpectedly stumbled upon these artworks while on my way to visit the winding road of San Francisco’s Lombard Street. These doors can be found at 2645 Leavenworth Street and Bay Street. The two are crafted by sculptor Steve Penetti, and stand alongside one another, slightly separated by a garage door in between them. The left door is in reference to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets found in the Harry Potter franchise. The artist’s version is very close to the film’s, only in my opinion, even more elaborate and decorative. The bold circular golden plate makes the seven serpents far more eye-catching, with the snakes’ pointed metallic scales much more defined than the film’s.
Both doors, however, are equally embellished with detailed builds of gold, silver, and bronze colored sheet metal, bolts, thin pipes, red and yellow paint for the dragon’s eyes, and tiny red beads or jewels used for the seven serpents door. These metal works protrude from its door base, formed into intricate shapes; jaggedly curled, twisted, scaled, bubbled, and etched, fusing together to create recognizable reptilian structures of dragons and snakes.
The two pieces are the front doors to private homes but can be viewed outside the residents from the sidewalk/street. According to Secret San Francisco staff writer Jamie Ferrell, the artist Penetti created the Harry Potter seven serpents door within only a week and a half. I am not familiar with the Harry Potter films so did not know what the Chamber of Secrets door was until my family explained it. Nonetheless, I was the one who spotted and drew our group’s attention to the two doors and was able to enjoy the art for its craftsmanship alone. The door with the giant lone dragon does not appear to be making a specific reference to the Harry Potter franchise or other pop culture works. Based on the information I gathered from my family and research for this blog post, the dragon just seems to be a nod to the mythical creature itself. The two works very well had the interests of “Potterheads” in mind during its conception, though they both simply stand to represent the craftsmanship and artistic values the city holds, with intricate pieces like this scattered playfully around the area.
Guardians of the Gate
I noticed this statue at the entrance of Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, where I headed over to spot the real groups of sea lions found at its docks. The statue is made of bronze with light and dark patina varying all over the sculpture. It depicts a family of three sea lions in simple shapes with a mother, bigger father, and small baby sea lion all huddled together in the same fashion of the real life sea lions that are found at the docks of Pier 39. The trio of sea lions are casted atop a large bronze base that mimics rocks, with what I think to be real pebbles embedded in small areas of the rocky terrain base. The sea lion family was made in 1991 by artist Miles Metzger. With the sculpture at ground level and placed in a high foot traffic area, numerous people pass by everyday and many, including me, touch the artwork. Small kids were even seen climbing over the seal family statue. There are also the factors of the constant sun and salty air from the ocean that impacts this piece over time. What drew my attention to the piece was its simplicity in shape, its chunkiness, and its overall cute appearance with the three rounded seals all together as a family. Guardians of the Gate represents the colony of sea lions who have rested at the docks for decades. It serves to reflect the creatures’ social bonds and family unit found in wildlife.
Crab Topiary
Crab Topiary (2003) by Jeff Brees is another sculpture I found at the entrance to Pier 39. This sculpture, unlike Guardians of the Gate, cannot be so easily reached for tactile appreciation, though it is just as visible to the public as Metzger’s piece is. The crab structure is boosted up on a small platform and is located within a garden/hedge area. Its claws, legs, and eyes are made of metal and incorporate real plants to comprise the crustacean’s main body.
Due to the streaking drips of greenish teal that can be seen all over the crab, which at first thought to be seagull droppings, leads me to think this sculpture is made of bronze like Metzger’s work, but my research on Crab Topiary did not yield any results on the exact medium. The piece of course is in reference to the sea life that thrives beneath the docks and also perhaps the seafood that is plentifully served above them.
Sunshine the Volkswagen Hippie Bus
Commanding the attention of a crowded parking lot was this loud and bright 1977 Volkswagen Bus adorned in classic flower power tie dye tones and symbols. The vehicle is part of the company San Francisco Love Tours, who offer their patrons guided views of the city’s most famous spots, traveling in their psychedelic themed VW Buses. The one I saw is endearingly named “Sunshine”, and is just one of four decorated hippie vans, with artist Madison Tomsic painting the company’s entire fleet of VW buses.
Seen in my photo on the driver’s side of the bus, is a painting of the Golden Gate Bridge, connecting San Francisco and Marin County. The two land areas are distinguished by the famous bridge, as well as its simple city building structures on one end, and large green mountains at the other. I interpreted the small island in the middle of the blue painted sea at first to symbolize Alcatraz Island. However after viewing a map, I discovered there stands Lime Point Historic Lighthouse, a small historical landmark tucked to the side of the Golden Gate Bridge, off of Marin County. Based on images of Lime Point viewed during my research, the landmark does not seem to have a similar silhouette to Tomsic’s imagery and instead reflects more to the structure of Alcatraz Prison, with its own lighthouse visibly jutting out above the rest of the building. What led to my confusion however was its distance from the Golden Gate and angle which Tomsic chose to replicate. Though this work may just be a result of her artistic reference to the famous prison rather than geographical accuracy.
The bus represents the psychedelic movement/community. It depicts famous musicians of the genre and era, like Janis Joplin, seen directly under the driver side window. Her image in hues of purple, recognizable by her hair, glasses, and beaded necklaces. Behind Joplin are double auras, one, a misty rainbow, and in the background of that a giant white mandala among a starry space scenery. The works vehicular canvas and entire use of vivid colors are a direct callback to the Summer of Love counterculture that took place in SF.
Phase 3: Critical Analysis
The pattern I noticed while viewing public art in this city was that there really was no definite pattern. Several artworks I selected highlighted the wildlife of the bay, but others looked to pay homage to pop culture or historical movements in music. With such a rich and populated community of those from so many different backgrounds, there was representation for all. What I noticed in the pieces I selected was that the content of the artwork united people past specific cultural knowledge or identity, rather the artworks I saw were admired by many others, including tourists from around the world since they referenced universal concepts that people could get behind like fascination for wildlife, interest in movies, and passion for music. Artworks like Guardians of the Gate were created as a commission from Pier 39’s owner at the time and currently administered by Pier 39 Limited Partnership Beach Street and the Embarcadero Center. However, the majority of the other works I examined were private artworks made for either the artists personal interests or company works.
Phase 4: Proposal
There is some much variety in the art found in San Francisco, but an idea had come to mind that I would think gets traction for both tourists and locals alike. The city is famous for its historic cable cars which are painted in the traditional style they would have been seen in at its peak. While I would not want to disrupt the set color system the cable cars have on its exterior, I think it would be a great program to invite artists to paint artworks inside the cars. This does not have to involve all cable cars either, even just allowing for a small amount of these cars to be painted would encourage a fresh artistic impact while still maintaining and respecting their historical value. The interior paintings could change from year to year, keeping both the artists and passengers actively engaged in working on and spotting the changing featured works. Since these cars are rode by both residents and visitors, this installment of moving murals would add even more attraction to the city.
Citations:
Cindy. (2013, August 28). Guardians of the gate – public art and architecture from around the world [Review of Guardians of the gate – public art and architecture from around the world]. Artandarchitecture-Sf.Com. https://artandarchitecture-sf.com/guardians-of-the-gate.html
City and County of San Francisco. (2015). Art at the port | SF port [Review of Art at the port | SF port]. Sfport.Com. https://www.sfport.com/visit/art-port
Fe
rrel Ferrell, J. (2021, May 19). The chamber of Secrets has been opened… and it’s in San Francisco. Secret San Francisco. https://secretsanfrancisco.com/chamber-of-secrets-harry-potter-sf/
Gua Guardians of the Gate. (2026). Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/guardians_of_the_gate
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ranci San Francisco Love Tours. (2018, October 25). San Francisco tour bus hippie buses [Review of San Francisco tour bus hippie buses]. SAN Francisco LOVE Tours. https://sanfranciscolovetours.com/san-francisco-tour-bus-hippie-buses/
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