taraneh hemami at Yerba buena center, san francisco

San Francisco-based artist Taraneh Hemami’s striking window design was selected as the winner of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ public art project competition. The new art commission, which was funded by the Yerba Buena Community District, has been installed on the expansive front window of YBCA’s Forum building and overlooks Yerba Buena Gardens.

In light of the Arab Spring and ongoing censorship in the arts in the United States, despite its declaration of being “the land of the free,” Hemami uses YBCA’s setting in the center of downtown San Francisco as a public platform to celebrate the open spirit of the city, while echoing the call for freedom that has risen across the globe. A neon sign with the word "free"—in both English and Arabic—repeated in a circle, acting as a chant or incantation, is the centerpiece of the design. The two intricate layered geometric patterns that surround the neon are inspired by Islamic decorative art, which itself refuses to adhere strictly to the rules of geometry. The relative freedom in the complex shapes echoes the circular call for liberty.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Grand Lobby
701 Misssion St.
San Francisco, CA

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