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Hard Bop

Public Art project for the Fillmore District of San Francisco. Commissioned by Sculpturesite on behalf of LARAMAR Inc for historic music district of San Francisco. Collaboration on interdisciplinary design of the new plaza space with AXIS Architect

HARD BOP is a public artwork developed in collaboration with the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, Landscape Architects and Community Consultation, with the aim of regenerating a community space in the heart of Fillmore, San Francisco. Selected by peer review, via open competition organised by Sculpturesite, in the US, Canada and UK, the project extends a key concern with the regeneration of public space using artwork through collaboration with designers and architects. The HARD BOP project is significant for its allied programme of activities (children’s workshops, local radio interviews, documentary film showing) with the communities involved to ensure their commitment to its development.

¶ Research for the work addressed the following questions: How to regenerate a rundown area and reinstate it as a community meeting place? How to create a landmark acknowledging the world-renowned Jazz heritage of Fillmore (Harlem of the West Coast) and link it to the present day? How to redefine the locale with surrounding architecture? How to involve the community in a commitment to the project? Research processes involved: testing a range of reflective materials that could be perceived as "celebratory"; Consultation (British Stainless Steel Advisory Service) on the grade and type of stainless steel to withstand the urban & saline atmosphere of San Francisco; testing different grades of polishing that will be reflective and simultaneously deliver low maintenance; devising forms that translate recognizable references to musical rhythm into sculptural form; incorporating the confluence of audible water movement with the rhythmic structure of the stainless steel reflective surfaces; using MAYA 3D design software to test how to inform viewer interpretation of the sculpture with musical instrument-based references, such as Machine Head Keys carved in granite.