A climbable octopus, a “wind phone,” and a 3D crab will soon greet visitors to San Francisco’s Great Highway as part of its transformation from four-lane divided road to oceanfront recreation space.
The volunteer nonprofit Friends of Ocean Beach Park announced Monday that by the middle of April, 11 murals and five sculptures will be installed along the two-mile stretch of road between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard that permanently closed to vehicles last week. Lucas Lux, president of the nonprofit, said the temporary artworks were selected to complement but not overwhelm the natural beauty of the coast. “Let the ocean be the star,” Lux said.
To that end, Friends of Ocean Beach Park partnered with 17 artists and local art production agency Building 180 to commission a series of temporary public works, including cityscape murals on the public restrooms at Taraval and Judah streets, a Cliff House “octopus maze” near Lawton Street, and an 8-foot “Wave Heart” sculpture at Noriega Street. Ocean motifs, from surfers to jellyfish to the endangered snowy plover recur throughout.
“We wanted to help tie together a 2-mile-long space into a cohesive park experience and offer small delights along the way,” Lux said.
Among the more striking works is Cameron Moberg’s “3D Crab,” which will be painted on the roadbed to appear as though it’s approaching the viewer with its claws out, ready to snap. The massive octopus sculpture going up near the entrance to the San Francisco Zoo will serve double duty as a climbing feature for children. Inspired by a Japanese artwork known as “My Wind Phone,” Sarah Grimm and Jamae Tasker’s “Ocean Calling” will consist of a phone booth meant to encourage people to “speak” with lost loved ones.
The 16 artworks cost approximately $400,000, which Friends of Ocean Beach funded through private donations. Keeping the environment in mind, the paint used on the murals is meant to resist the elements and wear and tear from thousands of pedestrians, skaters, and cyclists on what has already become the city’s third-most-visited park.
Once the artworks are installed — Lux estimates everything will be in place by April 12 — the park will be reminiscent of the art-lined “Golden Mile,” the car-free section of Golden Gate Park’s JFK Drive. The artworks will remain in place for one year, and San Francisco Recreation and Parks will oversee a public engagement campaign to decide on long-term changes and improvements after that.
The Great Highway’s closure stems from Proposition K, approved in November by 55% of San Francisco voters. The measure remains controversial, with a lawsuit alleging that the proposition was unlawful and should be overturned.
Some murals are in place, and one has already been vandalized. On Friday, artist Emily Fromm was verbally harassed and her cityscape mural defaced with white spray paint before she had a chance to seal it to protect against graffiti. Over the weekend, Fromm put out a call for help repainting the mural, and dozens of neighbors showed up to repair the work and prevent further damage.
Their efforts “turned a nightmare into a dream,” Fromm said in an Instagram post after the restoration was finished. Noting that she had spent more than 150 hours on the project, she added, “We have experienced a big range of emotions these past 36 hours, but after today, sad tears have turned to happy ones.”
“I’ve seen nothing but community and neighbor support to help protect these pieces,” Orlie Kapitulnik, another artist involved in the project, said Monday.
The artworks are only one element of the Great Highway’s transformation. Later this year, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will reconfigure traffic signals to improve safety while Rec and Parks begins a dune-restoration project and combs through the results of a contest to decide on the future park’s name.