September 11, 2011

amazing evening in San Francisco


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Friday evening I attended the opening of Julie Michelle and Silvi Alcivar's exhibition--"City, Speak to Me"; a unique mixture of Silvi's insightful words and Julie's powerful images.

So, after loading up on inspiration I wandered up into nearby Chinatown for some night-shooting but was rather disappointed to find that the "real" Chinatown on Stockton Street had rolled-down their doors. The only option was Grant Street which caters more to tourists than the local population.

Undaunted, I walked over to NorthBeach. Along the way I looked over my shoulder and spotted the moon and fog clouds putting on a rather amazing show behind the TransAmerica Building.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

But that wasn't the end of it. Ahead of me I could see that Coit Tower had been lit up with red, white, and blue lights. Being a true patriot of our country's highest ideals, I thought I needed to get a closer look.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

And of course I had to peek in the windows at the base of Coit Tower to spy on the fabulous WPA art from the 1930's that graces the tower's lobby.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

In the 1930's, San Francisco wasn't quite ready for socially oriented art. When the doors opened some San Franciscans were outraged at Socialist art that had been created with government funds. Some parts of the frescos were censored, while some San Francisco "fat-cats" wanted the entire display eradicated. Championing the needs and displaying the conditions of the "working class" was seen as a threat, but the "subversive" art remains to this day.

CLICK to see more Coit Tower murals on what I call my "big" site.



CLICK for what I call my BIG site.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

love that night shot of TransAmerica and coit

Tomate Farcie said...

Beautiful shots, as usual. The Transamerica shot is priceless! Sorry I missed you both, I completely forgot, even though I had it in my calendar. Another time :)

 
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