The Raygun Gothic Rocketship – Ready for Blast Off
The time has finally come for The Raygun Gothic Rocketship to land at San Francisco’s Embarcadero!
The unveiling of the The Raygun Gothic Rocketship will be tomorrow, Friday, August 6th at 3pm. The iconic, large-scale sculpture will be located at Pier 14 on San Francisco’s waterfront until October 2011. The rocketship art installation is the result of the collaboration between the nonprofit organization, The Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF) , and artists Sean Orlando, Nathaniel Taylor, David Shulman, and their talented crew, Five Ton Crane. Degenkolb is an in-kind sponsor of the project, providing structural engineering services for the installation. The latest in a series of temporary public art exhibitions sponsored by BRAF, the 40-foot-tall art piece is a mix of retro and futuristic aesthetics, with a highly-stylized and nostalgic nod to the wonder and enthusiasm for space travel in early science fiction.
As part of the ongoing relationship between Degenkolb’s New Technologies Group Principal, Mark Sinclair, and the Black Rock Arts Foundation, Mark provided engineering services and advice for the artists from early on in the project. Mark guided the team as to where the rocket superstructure could be strengthened and designed the concept for the base support frame. Mark also put the artists in touch get in touch with people who helped them obtain welding certification. Degenkolb’s John Leuenberger, Associate Principal, and Insung Kim, Designer, worked on all the structural anchorage design for the installation. Thankfully, the project went through structural permit with the Port Authority without a hitch!
The Black Rock Arts Foundation is still fundraising to cover the cost of the installation. Only half of the required funds have been raised so far. To find out more information or to make a donation to support temporary public art installations, click here.
Check out a video of the project below.
