By Nicole Newman
The San Francisco Arts Commission met Nov. 13 to discuss the approval of artists for an upcoming installation at the San Francisco International Airport’s Hyatt Hotel, which is currently being constructed. The proposal, Hyatt Hotel Lobby Wall Public Art Project, is committed to showcasing one artist’s work on a wall of the lobby entrance. The Arts Commission has narrowed it down to three finalist artists and one alternate: Miya Ando, Ellen Harvey, Annie Vought and Klea McKenna.
Zoë Taleporos, an art administrator based in San Francisco, delivered a PowerPoint presentation of 24 artists’ work to the Arts Commission panel.
“All art work is based on fabric and then printed onto a ceramic tile,” said Taleporos of the photo representations of the work.
The photos in the PowerPoint displayed the artwork that embodies San Francisco’s identity, which is “very funky, colorful and definitely has this San Francisco feel to it,” said San Francisco Arts Commission President JD Beltran.
An upcoming panel will be held on Feb. 20 to select the winning artist. Alyssa Torres, a program associate of the Commission, discussed the criteria for their final selection. Torres said an artist who meets the needs for the project is one whose aesthetic “compliments the design principles and needs of the hotel, and captures unique characteristics of the Bay Area.”
According to Taleporos, the work will not be installed until next year because that section of the airport will not be built until then. The piece itself will be fairly large as it will take up a large portion of the lobby and add an aesthetic to the Hyatt’s lobby.
Torres discussed how lengthy of a process it has been, but is hopeful about following their planned timeline. “We had to go through such a big process because it has to go through so many committees. Last month, we approved the finalists. We want to have the final selection panel in March. The same collection panel will choose the final artist. In early April, the final artists should be under a contract.”
Reporting with Lydia Lum 