The San Francisco BatKid Story Should Move Your Money As Well as Your Heart.

If you haven't yet heard the amazing story of the city of San Francisco pulling together to make the dream of 5 year old cancer-stricken Miles Scott come true, you simply must read about it here.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation transformed the "City By The Bay" into Gotham City, providing the 5 year old leukemia patient with a Batmobile, a nemesis and a damsel in distress. In addition to a specially printed newspaper front page and the cheering support of hundreds of locals, he even received a key to the city.

If the #SFBatKid story is warming your heart (and if it's not, there's something wrong with you), here's your chance to do something about it. Donate to Make-A-Wish Foundation here so you can help make someone else's dream come true.

You can view live updates here and follow him on twitter at @SFBatKid

Light The Way For The 49ers With This Candlestick Park Prayer Candle

The San Francisco Heritage Preservation Society cordially invites you to partake in its inaugural celebratory offering. Upper Playground and Botanica Yoruba present for the first time in 49er franchise history, the Candlestick Park Prayer Candle.




The candle commemorates one of the oldest and most notorious stadiums in NFL history and the home to 5 Super Bowl rings and counting.


above: Candlestick Park

Kick off each game with the ultimate omen. Light the candle and summon 49er greatness. Santa Clara, Shmanta Clara, the history and tradition will forever burn at Candlestick. 49er football is a ritual and Candlestick is a tradition.




The candle includes a special prayer on the back in English/ Spanish courtesy of Botanica Yoruba, the oldest most historic botanica in town:


Botanica Yoruba specializes in prayer candles, magic soap, ointments and other spiritual effects to help bring guidance and peace to your life. All are welcome, no matter your affiliation, denomination, ailment, or woe. Since 1978, it has been a staple in the Mission District and the home for city dwellers spiritual accoutrements.

Botanica Yoruba is located at 3423 19th Street in San Francisco's Mission District.

$12 Buy the Candlestick Park Prayer Candle here

2012 Reviewed in An Animated Infographic by Yiying Lu for Visual.ly

Artist Yiying Lu created this fun animated infographic for the San Francisco based data visualization company Visual.ly

Included after the infographic are some of her good 'old school' hand drawn ink sketches for the project.








Visual.ly
Yiying Lu

Manifest Destiny! A Rustic Cabin Is Mounted On The Side Of A Downtown San Francisco Highrise.

Manifest Destiny! is a temporary rustic cabin occupying one of the last remaining unclaimed spaces of downtown San Francisco --- above and between other properties.



The project is a commentary/critique on the unwavering perseverance of San Francisco’s early settlers. During the mid 19th century, as the eastern United States became over-crowded and expensive, the West offered limitless possibilities for those willing and able to make the journey. The drive to seek new possibilities and establish a better life at any cost is the conceptual motivation for this project.





The tiny cabin can be seen affixed to the side of the Hotel des Arts, floating above the restaurant Le Central like an anomalous outgrowth of the contemporary streetscape.



Using a nineteenth-century architectural style and vintage building materials, the structure is both homage to the romantic spirit of the Western Myth and a commentary on the arrogance of Westward expansion.

The Building of the Cabin and Installation:









The interior space of the house can be seen day and night through the curtained windows, a lonely beacon in the city's dense landscape, and an incongruous, haunting vision from below.




The installation will remain in place and be slowly transformed by the elements through October 2012.



Manifest Destiny! is a temporary site specific installation in San Francisco, California by artists Mark Reigelman and Jenny Chapman with Structural engineering by Paul Endres. The project was commissioned by Southern Exposure and funded by the Graue Family Foundation. It is on view through October 28th, 2012.

images and information courtesy of artists Mark Reigelman and Jenny Chapman

Hugo Kobayashi's Nothing For Something. Paintings Of Crushed Lottery Tix

Los Angeles born, but San Fransisco based artist Hugo Kobayashi, whose painting studio is in Oakland, has a new show opening at the Hang Art gallery today.

In his third solo exhibition with HANG ART, Hugo Kobayashi continues to materialize his observations of societal obsessions through meticulous rendering. He carefully explores how drastically the perception of gambling or chance has changed over the years and how its pervasive nature now causes fun to overshadow risk. Shown together, the body begs one to wonder how the scratchers’ owners were affected. Rather than implying a specific story, shown together the body leaves the viewer to wonder how the scratchers came to be.

The show, called Nothing For Something, features hyper realistic oil paintings of crumpled lottery tickets and scratchers. Each painting measures by 16" x 32" and I love every single one of them.

Nothing For Something:

Easy Go:

Losing My Cool:

Spinout:

Uneasy:

Red Ink and Blue:

In The Red:


The show runs from May 1 through May 15th. The Opening Reception will take place Thursday at the gallery May 6, from 6-8pm.

HANG ART
567 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA 94102


Paintings can also be purchased online here.

About the artist:


 Hugo Kobayashi's vertical canvases are filmic, skillfully rendered, and often autobiographical. A native of Southern California, he spent four years as a comic strip writer for LA View, which gave him a strong grasp of the narrative potential of visual images. He draws inspiration from comics and films, and the tall, narrow format of his work invites the viewer to read his images from top to bottom like unreeling filmstrips.

Kobayashi's goal is to combine the graphic techniques of cartooning and design with a painterly brushstroke and representational approach, crafting powerful, unified paintings that can both tell personal stories and comment on the world at large.

Born in Los Angeles in 1962 and reared in Orange County, Kobayashi has been making images since he was five. He earned his bachelor's degree in studio art from the University of California at Berkeley in 1983 and his master's degree from Hunter College in New York in 1986. Hugo has participated in exhibitions at the Berkeley Art Center, the Keyson Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the Falkirk Cultural Center in San Rafael.

See all of his work at his site.