L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 9 H ave you ever wanted to walk the streets? For a r t s ' s a k e ? I t a l y ' s i m m e a s u r a b l e c o l l e c t i o n o f p u b l i c a r t i s a f o r g o n e conclusion. You stumble over it, walk around it, and view it from afar in just about every l o c a l e . R o m e , f o r e x a m p l e , could well be the world-wide e p i c e n t e r o f a l l p u b l i c a r t ; fountains, statues, arches, it's all there, waiting to be admired. What about Italian art on the streets of San Francisco? Are y o u s t r a i n i n g t o t h i n k o f some? Don't fret. We've just the solution. San Francisco's public spaces are the setting, the open air museum, for Bufano art. Over 30 pieces are placed around the city, free to view at one's own pace, anytime of day, or night. Born, Beniamino Bufano, in San Fele, Italy (c. 1896), he was o n e o f s i x t e e n c h i l d r e n . H i s family immigrated to New York when he was three, and, by the a g e o f s i x , h e w a s a l r e a d y c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e f a m i l y income by shining shoes and peddling newspapers. Years l a t e r h e e n t e r e d a r t s c h o o l , working as a janitor in lieu of t u i t i o n a n d l a t e r b e c a m e apprentice to sculptor James Frasier. By 1915 his artistic t a l e n t s w e r e o b v i o u s . H e i s well-known for his large-scale, m o d e r n i s t m o n u m e n t s representing peace and works that often featured smoothly r o u n d e d a n i m a l s a n d s i m p l e s h a p e s i n c e r a m i c s , s t o n e , s t a i n l e s s s t e e l , a n d m o s a i c . Bufano moved to the city by the bay in 1915 and was selected as a p a r t i c i p a t i n g a r t i s t f o r t h e Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Bufano's love of the city's n a m e s a k e , S a i n t F r a n c i s o f Assisi, is reflected in the three b e l o v e d s c u l p t u r e s o f t h e Catholic Saint. Possibly the m o s t f a m o u s o f t h e t h r e e i s S a i n t F r a n c i s o f t h e G u n s , located on the City College of San Francisco campus. It is a 9 foot tall representation of St. F r a n c i s m a d e o u t o f m e l t e d down guns and bronze. He was fired as an instructor at the San Francisco Institute of Art in 1 9 2 3 f o r b e i n g a r a d i c a l . K n o w n f o r b e i n g a pacifist, reports of the day say Bufano severed his finger and sent it to President Wilson to protest World War I. Bufano died in San Francisco on August 16, 1970. O n e o f t h e c i t y ' s m o s t photographed works is Bufano's M a d o n n a , l o c a t e d i n F o r t Mason's great meadow. The granite statue features a colorful mosaic of four children's faces b l e n d e d t o g e t h e r , w h i c h s i g n i f i e s t h e M a d o n n a ' s protection over the children of the world. His animal sculptures are also favorites including the m o t h e r b e a r a n d h e r c u b s outside of the UCSF Medical C e n t e r a n d t h e p e n g u i n o f downtown's Sidney G. Walton Square. S a d l y , i n 1 9 6 1 , B u f a n o ' s statue of St. Francis was moved from the steps of St. Francis C h u r c h o n V a l l e j o S t r e e t i n North Beach and relocated to F i s h e r m a n ' s W h a r f w h e n parishioners complained it was intrusively large for that location a n d t h e s t a t u e ' s w e i g h t w a s damaging to the church steps. It is said that, in his final years, Bufano lived rent- free at t h e P r e s s C l u b , a n d a t e f r e e meals at Moar's Cafeteria where he'd created three large mosaic murals. Now his art sits quietly i n m a n y o f S a n F r a n c i s c o ' s parks or adjacent to the city's m a n y l a n d m a r k s t r u c t u r e s . Bufano would probably agree this is as art should be, public and free to all. Clearly, one can't deny walking the streets of San Francisco for arts' sake would be a rewarding way to spend an afternoon. The Public Art and Architecture website at http://www.artandarchitecture- sf.com/tag/benny-bufano, has a listing of many of Bufano's San Francisco pieces. Would you like to explore San Francisco's urban art? You can do so by spending an artful afternoon strolling around the city's public spaces. Enjoy the public art of Beniamino Bufano at the following San Francisco locations (partial list): Northeast: • Madonna protects the children of the world, Great Meadow, Fort Mason, Bay & Laguna Streets • Saint Francis, southeast corner of Taylor & Beach Streets, Fisherman's Wharf • Seal, Animal, Frog, Maritime Museum, Aquatic Park, 900 Beach Street near Polk Street • The Penguins, Sydney G. Walton Square, Front & Jackson Streets • Saint Francis, at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street • Sun Yat-Sen, St. Mary's Square, 601 California Street • Horse and Rider, 2501 Sutter Street courtyard between Sutter & Post Streets • The Penguins, northwest corner of Pine & Powell Streets Central: • Bear and Cubs, University of California, SF, 530 Parnassus Street • Cat and other statues, Academy of Sciences, outdoor courtyard, 55 Music Concourse Drive Southwest: • Saint Francis of the Guns of 1968, City College of San Francisco, 50 Phelan Avenue • Head of St. Francis, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, main quadrangle • Penguin's Prayer, Lake Merced, 1100 Lake Merced Boulevard • Peace, 800 Brotherhood Way Bufano – The Art of Public Art CATHERINE ACCARDI 650.400.4747 AdeleDS@aol.com www.AdeleDS.com BRE# 00911740 Certied Trust, Probate and Estate Specialist Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation! SELLING HOMES THROUGHOUT THE BAY AREA Adele Della Santina "e Right Realtor makes all the difference." Beniamino Bufano at work in his North Beach, Greenwich Street studio-1955 Courtesy of the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

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