Sunset Playground Public Art Proposals

As part of an overall renovation of the playground at the Sunset Recreation Center, the Sunset Playground on Lawton Street will be re-constructed to include new artwork that will be selected by the end of the year.

The three project finalists for the artwork of the playground are artists Jefferson Mack, Bryan Tedrick and Amy Blackstone, who were selected on Sept. 14 by a panel composed by the San Francisco Arts Commission. Each of the three artists worked on their art proposals for six weeks, according to the SF Arts Commission website.

One of the artists, Bryan Tendrick, is proposing to place a sculpture near the entry of the playground, along with new artwork on the main and side gates of the playground.

"In designing this entryway sculpture for the Sunset Recreation Center, I wanted to symbolically capture the prominent natural beauty of the area," wrote Tendrick in his Sunset Playground art proposal. "The presence of the ocean, its movement of water and wind, and the dramatic western sunsets all coalesce in my sculpture made of steel."





Artist Amy Blackstone is proposing artwork for the main entry gate that "celebrates 'all the people under the sun' gathering, coming together to play and socialize and be revitalized by nature at the Sunset Playground."

"I was inspired by the soft, round shape of the sand dunes that the Sunset neighborhood is built upon as a starting point," wrote Blackstone in her art proposal for the Sunset Playground.




Lastly, artist Jefferson Mack is proposing artwork with a theme that revolves around the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child."

"My intention is to create a portal through which the community enters that place elegantly and organically - and perhaps even subliminally, it suggests to each who enters both possibility and playfulness," wrote Mack in his art proposal for the Sunset Playground.





In addition to the new artwork, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department plans to renovate the Sunset Playground's recreation center, children's play area, fields, courts, pathways, irrigation, lighting and overall landscape, according to the SF Arts Commission website.

The final art selection meeting will be held in December on a date that is yet to be determined. At the meeting, the panelists will interview the three finalists, discuss their artwork proposals and then select which proposal they will recommend to the SF Arts Commission for final approval.

The artwork proposals will be available for viewing at the Sunset Playground Recreation Facility Lobby at 2201 Lawton St. until Dec. 4. To read more information about the artwork, visit www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection.