BRC Art, Global Art

10..9..8..Raygun Gothic Rocketship Landing at Pier 14 in San Francisco This Friday!

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    The countdown is on… – The [BRAF] (BRAF) and the Port of San Francisco will celebrate the opening of an iconic, large-scale sculpture created by a team of Bay Area artists lead by Sean Orlando, Nathaniel Taylor, and David Shulman. This 40-foot-tall artwork, the Raygun Gothic Rocketship, offers a retro-futuristic, highly-stylized vision of space travel circa 1930’s-1940’s science fiction and is the latest in a series of temporary public art exhibitions sponsored by BRAF with the aim of enlivening and activating public spaces.  The Rocketship was first exhibited at [BM] in 2009.

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship’s next stop is Pier 14, San Francisco!

Friday, August 6,  3pm, Pier 14

  • the gastronaughts will be providing space-themed noshes,
  • Rockabilly/punk band The Phenomenauts will be performing songs about space and technology, and
  • DJ Collective, The Space Cowboys will be performing as well as bringing their Unimog  – a militaristic-space-age vehicle with sound system.
The Rocketship, poised as if to board passengers for a typical run to a nearby stellar destination, will remain at the Pier 14 Tidal Plaza, at the base of Mission Street, on San Francisco’s Embarcadero for a 14-month temporary exhibition. The sculpture will be accompanied by a companion piece, the Rocket Stop designed by Alan Rorie, which tells the story of the Rocketship’s exploits, providing route, schedule and other information. The installation will be illuminated for nighttime viewing.

According to Port of SF Executive Director, Monique Moyers, “We at the Port are charged with creating opportunities for residents and visitors alike to connect with San Francisco’s spectacular waterfront.  As the third in a series of large-scale sculptures to be installed temporarily at Pier 14, we are confident that this compelling piece will engage people and enhance their experience of the area. Pier 14 provides a fitting and fantastic backdrop for this whimsical work of art.”

More than 70 artists and makers participated in the creation of the Raygun Gothic Rocketship under the auspices of Five Ton Crane, a collective of Bay Area artists and inventors. Lead artist Sean Orlando observed, “It’s remarkable what creative heights people can reach when they work together.  The whole idea behind Five Ton Crane is that artists working in concert can accomplish so much more than any one person could working alone. The Raygun Gothic Rocketship project is a perfect example of that idea in action.”

About the author: Affinity

Affinity

Affinity, a Burner since 2000, was legally married on the Playa in 2001, was wedding coordinator and then training coordinator at Burning Man, before becoming the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF) Social Media Coordinator and an Advisory Board Member. An attorney, she served on the Board of Directors of the Western Pension and Benefits Conference. She interned with the Human Awareness Institute for 10 years. She writes about how art is envisioned, produced, created, installed and its afterlife.

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