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Cupid’s Span – by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

 Installed: November 2002

 Location: Rincon Park, San Francisco, California

 Description: Stainless steel, structural carbon steel, fiber-reinforced plastic,
cast epoxy, polyvinyl chloride foam; painted with polyester gelcoat.

 Dimension: 64 ft. x 143 ft. 9 in. x 17 ft. 3/8 in.

 Commissioned by D&DF Foundation [Doris and Donald Fisher Foundation], San Francisco.

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My very first impressions of San Francisco was this huge imposing colorful pop-art sculpture “Cupid’s Span” on the Embarcadero along San Francisco Bay. It is inspired by San Francisco’s reputation as the home port of Eros. “Bow-as-boat seems to be tacking on its course toward the white tower of the city’s Ferry Building”.  It’s said to be tribute to Tony Bennett’s song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”.

I have some confusion here as to who commissioned it. At one place I read that this was given as a gift to the city from Doris and Donald Fisher Foundation [D&DF Foundation]. Some other places, it’s written that it’s part of the city’s Percent-for-Art program.

On the embarcadero I also saw this cast bronze sculpture of what looked like the skull of one of the creatures that grazed this land- once upon a time! Seems like the embarcadero has a whole lot of public art installed, which I was not aware of. There will be next time!

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I found out this is California state fossil sabre-tooth cat (Smilodon californicus) common in California 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago. Overall, Smilodon was more robustly built than any modern cat, with particularly well-developed forelimbs and exceptionally long upper canines. Many fossil bones of the sabre-tooth have been found in the tar pits of Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles. Big Cats such as the Sabre-tooth and the American lion (Panthera Atrox) were once widespread throughout the Americas, becoming extinct about 10,000 years ago.

 

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Related Links:
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