Study for Looking at 1998 San Francisco from the Top of 1925

Study for Looking at 1998 San Francisco from the Top of 1925

세부정보

• 제목: Study for Looking at 1998 San Francisco from the Top of 1925
• 제작자: Rigo 98 (now Rigo 23)
• 제작연도: 1998
• 크기: w1676.4 x h1117.6 in (overall)
• 작품유형: drawing
• 외부 링크: SFMOMA
• 권리: © Rigo 23
• 재료: Felt-tip pen, acrylic, tape, paper, and electrostatic prints
• Subject: San Francisco, United States
• Place Part Of: United States
• More Info: More About This Artist - SFMOMA
• Credit Line: Ruth Nash Fund purchase
• About the Artist: Rigo 98, now known as Rigo 23, is best known for large, site-specific works in San Francisco’s South of Market area, which underwent radical changes during the 1990s with the construction of cultural destinations, including the Mario Botta–designed San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the proliferation of live/work loft buildings. Amid all this development, the works of Rigo became a prominent part of the shifting landscape. The Portuguese-born artist transformed walls of no particular distinction into provocative pieces that made use of the bold colors and design templates of traffic signage. In such pieces as One Tree (1994–95), Inner City Home (1994–95) and Sky/Ground (1998), the artist redirects our attention to the natural and social conditions that shape the city.

The mural-size painting Looking at 1998 San Francisco from the Top of 1925 addresses the constant state of flux in San Francisco’s South of Market area. Rigo 98, now known as Rigo 23, takes as his vantage point the top of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. (now Pacific Bell) building, a grand art deco skyscraper designed by Timothy Pflueger. As Rigo points out, its completion in 1925 offered a brand-new vista of San Francisco. The painting, made for SFMOMA's SECA Art Award exhibition, presents a panoramic view of the city that features the backside of the museum rather than its iconic face.

As a document of a locale that is constantly changing, Rigo's piece was out of date even as it was being painted. "The mural was a bit of a time trap," he later reflected, "like a situation waiting to be changed by its context." At the same time, it serves to preserve a fleeting moment in San Francisco's history, in this case, its immediate past. Like Rigo's mural One Tree, which points to a humble living thing that would not normally command interest, this project, too, seeks to slow us down and take a look at where we are, and ultimately who we are, with fresh eyes.