Crescent
Team: Lane Rick, Vincent Calabro, Sol Condo
Photographs: Matthew Millman
Crescent is a public art installation embedded in a highrise lobby in the Financial District, facing an outdoor courtyard in downtown San Francisco. The 54 solid LED embedded cast acrylic arcs that comprise the project recall the topography of the city. Deceptively simple as they are, as the arcs are mounted in various orientations around the structure, they oscillate between readings of the hills and valleys of the city, and the surrounding swells of the waters in the Bay area. Ultimately, they bring a sense of movement and flow to the installation; no two views present the same form.
The installation’s unique placement gives it an evolving and magnetic presence for visitors and passers by. From across the adjacent plaza, the glowing arcs act as a beacon, welcoming people into its colorful aura. Within the lobby, visitors pass underneath and up around the fixture, and as they do so, the array of arcs slip in and out of alignment, framing and breaking lines and shapes. From the mezzanine balcony, it’s possible to see the installation at eye level, as it casts softly light into the nearby elevator lobby.
Light, colors and washes of saturation and brightness pass through the composition of arcs. Each day, a new color palette and pattern of movement sweep across the installation, inspired by the beautiful but capricious Bay Area weather, from sunrises to Karl the Fog to the Perseid meteor shower. Drawing from the natural pace of celestial events, the colorful palettes of the installation evolve throughout the day, a subtle nod to the different users of the building.