Curbed SF gives Language of the Birds the "Best Legal Public Art 2008"

The Language of Birds, originally uploaded by bothboths.

Language of the Birds from Thomas Both on Vimeo.

Language of the Birds by Brian Goggin & Dorka Keehn was part of our Grants-to-Artists Program and is being a big sucess at the corner of Broadway and Grant in San Francisco.

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/11/21/language-of-the-birds-by-brian-goggin-and-dorka-keehn/

http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-arts-brain-goggin-s-solar-powered-language-of-the-birds/

Prior posts:

http://blackrockarts.blogspot.com/search/label/Language%20of%20the%20Birds

Meet our Grantees - Language of the Birds Unveiling

The Language of the Birds dedication, a site specific sculpture by Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn was an art unveiling worth remembering. Local luminaries spoke and the artists spoke and then the Extra Action Marching Band showed up to accompany the actual defrocking of each book in the sky, and that is when it got exciting. We had skimpily clad women and heroic artist scaling the heights to remove the covers, at times to our collective breathes held to the beat of the drum, and then the Language of the Birds lit up and brightened the sky.

To see more photos by Steve Rhodes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/sets/72157610035643833/
video: http://www.youtube.com/user/Monatov

Previous posts:
http://blackrockarts.blogspot.com/2008/11/meet-our-grantees-language-of-birds_14.html

http://blackrockarts.blogspot.com/2008/11/meet-our-grantees-language-of-birds.html

Meet our Grantees - Language of the Birds Dedication

I told you that Language of the Birds by Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn was coming to the NW corner of Broadway where Grant and Columbus Streets intersect in San Francisco.

I am writing to let you know that the Dedication will be:

November 23 at Dusk
Is that the same as sunset (4:54)? The SF Weekly lists the dedication time as 4pm. (Watch the sky, not the time.)

Hope to see you there.

http://www.7x7sf.com/arts_entertainment/art/33493914.html
http://www.sfweekly.com/events/language-of-the-birds-1241058/

digital illustration Brian Goggin

Meet our Grantees - 'Language of the Birds' Brian Goggin with Dorka Keehn

Installation Site photo Anna FitchBrian and Dorka photo Anna Fitch

Digital Illustration of completed installation by Brian Goggin

I was in a car a couple of days ago, and guess what I saw, Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn in a boom lift installing 'Language of the Birds'.

Language of the Birds is one of BRAF's 2007 Grants-to-Artists recipients. It is a permanent site-specific public art installation on the threshold of North Beach and Chinatown in San Francisco, at a new public plaza where the NW corner of Broadway, Grant and Columbus Streets intersect.

'Language of the Birds’ is a sculpted, illuminated flock of twenty-three translucent, suspended open books positioned to give the impression of birds in flight. Phrases, taken from books written by neighborhood authors or written about the local communities, are scattered and embedded in the pavement as if the words had fallen from the books as they took flight. These suspended bird-books blink light patterns are modulated to interpret music gathered from the community. The lights are also intended to evoke flight, giving the flock the appearance of being in constant motion.

The Black Rock Arts Foundation is pleased to join the City of San Francisco, artists and local patrons in supporting this permanent art installation designed to unite area neighborhoods and impart some magic in ‘a language of birds’ (sometimes considered in antiquity to be the secret key to perfect knowledge) to all who encounter it.

Look for your updates to the project right here!!

Here is some of the buzz about the installation:

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=26229

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=20057

http://www.thebaumfoundation.org/birds.html