THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2025
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Public art or public spectacle?
by Mike Ege
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco
The San Francisco Arts Commission has approved the installation of “R-Evolution,” a 32,000-pound, 45-foot-tall statue of a naked woman who appears to be posing for a compulsory posture photo, at Embarcadero Plaza, where it will remain for the next six months. The “monumental” work was erected last Tuesday.
The commission tabled a vote to change the orientation of the work — in other words, whether the naked woman would face the Ferry Building or continue to face Market Street — at an April 7 meeting; this, after voting to move the statue from Union Square to the plaza March 3, when the Union Square Alliance announced in late January that there were “engineering challenges” with placing the statue on the square above a parking garage and public transit.
Word on the street was that some stakeholders had other objections to placing the statue in Union Square. Now, workers on the city’s waterfront, as well as ferry commuters, will be blessed with a constant view of the symbolic woman’s posterior.
At the March 3 meeting, Commissioners JD Beltran and Yiying Lu voiced some concerns about the statue being of a naked woman made by a man, as well as over the artwork simultaneously being offered for sale; Commissioner Debra Walker noted that the exhibit was temporary and expressed hope that it “could be used as a learning tool “to hear the people who are objecting … that we hear that and learn from it.”
It has been said that there are only two kinds of public art: the accidentally controversial and the deliberately prosaic. Work that can claim both descriptions is truly rare.
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Top News
SOTTO VOCE
Assistant Chief of Police David Lazar stepping down; don’t cry for these Dream Keepers
Plus, Thao’s staff gets the axe, and Barbara Lee loses key endorsements.
by Susan Dyer Reynolds
Multiple sources within the San Francisco Police Department tell me that Assistant Chief David Lazar will step down on May 29. Lazar is a fourth-generation San Franciscan and became a member of the San Francisco Police Department in 1991. He was promoted from deputy chief in 2022. One source told me that Mayor Daniel Lurie told him there was “no path for him to become chief.” Whether true or not, Lazar has both supporters and detractors. It’s well known that he has aspired to be chief for many years, and that got under the skin of some rank and file as well as other top brass.
NEWS
Lurie credits new unit, technology with over 500 arrests, sharp drop in crime rate
Drones, license plate cameras “played critical role” in reducing crime
by Mike Ege
NEWS
Proposed legislation could bring more outdoor drinking areas to San Francisco
City eyes more booze-friendly zones
by Jerold Chinn
Quote of the week
“We started getting discussions going on Friday, so we pivoted very quickly and applied in time …. It’s amazing news. It helps to cry wolf, I guess.”
—Fillmore Merchants Association Director Patti Mangan on crypto kingpin Chris Larsen’s rescue of the Fillmore Jazz Festival
Nomi toon
In Case You Missed It
TRANSIT
Cell service now available in Muni Metro, keeping riders connected on the go
Staying connected just got easier for Muni Metro riders with new cell service.
by Jerold Chinn
NEWS
Fillmore Jazz Festival revived with tech investor help
Investor Larsen and others react to notice of cancellation and launch preservation fund
by Mike Ege
OPINION
Family values are Asian values
Public education: Part 1 in in a multipart series amplifying Asian voices in our city.
by Forrest Liu
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EVENTS
Out and about April 10–16, 2025
What to do this weekend
By Lynette Majer
Managing Editor, The Voice of San Francisco
It’s uncertain times, and I hope you are all hanging in there. We are fortunate to live here in so many ways, and we’ve so much to offer each other, and the upside of that is when we do it feels good. We are not alone.
So here are my picks for the week to enjoy our city’s wonderful offerings.
Thursday, April 10
The Boiling explores themes of science, identity, homeplace, and birding as it follows Korean American adoptee, Brian, a virologist from the Midwest, and a former homicide detective, Vee, a Black woman in the Pacific Northwest who partner to “trace and track” David, a white nihilist who is a carrier of the boiling, a feverish virus. Through April 20. Tickets from $35.
Friday, April 11
This weekend’s opening of We Players’ site-specific performance of Macbeth at the historic Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate, features an all-female cast and is unfortunately sold out, but I’m listing it so you can plan for another performance. I saw their last critically acclaimed production there years ago, and the audience follows the performers throughout the cold, howling windy, foggy, shadowy fortress that is a perfect backdrop for Shakespeare’s sinister tragedy. Get your tix for an upcoming performance Thursday–Sunday through May 18. Tickets: $80
Hats off to Manny’s for hosting all kinds of events that bring us together to learn and laugh or just be. Not surprisingly, tickets are going fast for a Jeffersonian-style community buffet dinner to discuss “What We Owe Each Other: The Ethics of Living in Community.” Tickets: $41 and change.
Catch the 22nd annual International Ocean Film Fest with screenings of over 30 films from around the world from shorts to feature-length works, and live-action documentaries. As you may have guessed, the films focus on all things ocean, like the plants and animals that live there, conservation, and more, all with stunning visuals. Through Monday. Tickets from $10.
Saturday, April 12
I love Japantown and its annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The area is especially alive these days and this festival is always a not to miss. Enjoy cultural programs like a tea ceremony, ikebana demonstrations, Japanese folk dancing, doll making, martial artists, traditional music, and so much more. Through Sunday this week and next weekend. Free admission.
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