Bay Bridge World's Largest Light Sculpture

The artist, Leo Villareal perfecting the lighting design on a Mac (Photo: Lucas Saugen)

Artist Leo Villareal's latest masterpiece is spectacular. No longer the ugly duckling it shimmers with more lights than the Eiffel Tower at its brightest. Finally the Bay Bridge's utilitarian strength is no longer over shadowed by its sister's Golden Beauty.  It finally has the respect and admiration it deserves.

The Bay Lights, is the world's largest light sculpture and an impressive feat of digital design. The shimmering display is made up of 25,000 LED lights. Use of a 1.8 mile long fiber optic cable allows each light to be turned on/off at a rate of 60 times per second, allowing for the unique and ever-changing patterns to glide across the bridge. Every LED is individually controlled by a group of Mac Minis, each running the same program created by Villareal which ensures no pattern will ever repeat itself in the two years the light show is slated to run.

Villareal's vision has brought new life to a Bay Area landmark. The bridge is now a monumental public art display. Infrastructure becomes art. As the artist said, "It is a work of public art, funded without taxpayer dollars, a "gift of light."

San Francisco Murals

Butta Fly Mural by Maxx Moses, 2012 (corner of Shipley & 5th St, SoMa)

I love San Francisco.

One of many, many reasons I love this town is the art. We have many acclaimed museums and galleries featuring established and emerging artists from around the world. There is an exhibition to suit everyone's cultural palate.

However, the art I love most is free, outdoors and available to everyone.

San Francisco's city walls are quickly becoming an extensive outdoor art gallery. Visible from highways, busy streets and tiny hidden alleys, murals are popping up everywhere. San Francisco has had a long relationship with street art, some murals date back to the early 1930s when the Mexican mural movement brought prominence to murals as social and political tools. As such, these works often depict powerful commentary on current events. A walking tour will provide a visual history lesson of the bay area's past, from California's farm labor disputes to Mexican immigrant solidarity.

Murals are more than a window into the past. They have been embraced by graffiti artists as a medium to showcase their work. Once viewed as an act of vandalism, graffiti has gained popularity and legitimization and is now viewed as avant garde by the art world. Many works by well-known graffiti artists such as Banksy can be seen throughout the city.  

There are over 600 murals in San Francisco. Each with a message and style all its own. They beautify our city, offering insightful artwork to those who don't or can't visit museums and galleries. They unify communities and inspire dialogue. The mural movement is alive and well and I hope it continues to thrive. 

Style Scale

KiKi's Old Skin (ball python's shed, 2012)

Kiki, my pet snake, recently molted and I couldn't help noticing how beautiful her shed skin is. I'm not alone in my admiration. Fashion and interior designers have long found inspiration in the range of texture and pattern found in snake skins, from smooth elongated hexagons to rough diamond shaped scales that converge into beautiful geometric patterns, ranging from soft neutrals to stunning colors. 

The idea of owning a snake may be frightening for many people.  I know this from first hand experience. But while some would prefer to keep them at bay, snakeskin's growing popularity proves most of us want to incorporate their patterns into our lives. Fashion designers feature it in jewelry, clothing, handbags, shoes and belts. Interior designers showcase it picture frames, upholstery, decorative pillows and furniture. It's clear snakeskin is now a design classic.

As  Alexander McQueen said, "There is no better designer than nature."

Retro Alien Art

 Post-It Space Invader Office Art, 2012

It started with a PacMan and a few smiley faces.  The next time I spun around in my office chair to check the weather, the herd had grown to include cupcakes and Aliens.  So began the Post-It wars.  Soon several floors and three buildings were blasting creative strikes.  Then just as suddenly as it began, the windows went dark. 

Hot Haute Hot!

Haute couture, 2010-11. Jean Paul Gaultier

It's been over a month since I went to this exhibit and I still can't stop drooling over this gorge masterpiece. I would wear this to my wedding. I would wear this to the gym.  I would.  Lady Gaga, I now get it.