05-05-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Aztec sculpture from Mission District finds permanent home in Portola
A great winged totem representing an Aztec warrior landed in the Portola district Thursday afternoon, when it was installed as a permanent fixture guarding the Palega Recreation Center, a few blocks west of San Bruno Avenue.
The wire mesh sculpture depicts a Mesoamerican eagle warrior and was titled 'Invocation' by its creator, the late Mission District artist Pepe Ozan. It was commissioned by the Civic Art Collection in 2001 and has been in storage since 2023 when a wind-blown eucalyptus fell on it at its previous location alongside the Highway 101 overpass near Cesar Chavez Street. The piece, which stands 9 feet tall with an 8-foot wingspan and weighs 245 pounds, was bent forward and its legs buckled, requiring surgery.
'It was fully conserved and repainted,' said Grace Weiss, project manager for the Civic Art Collection. 'It probably hasn't looked this good since it was installed.'
'Invocation' replaces 'Zephyros,' a kinetic sculpture that had to be removed from the same location due to mechanical failure. A survey by the Arts Commission conducted last summer garnered 75% approval to put the dynamic steel figure at the intersection where pathways connect the two park entrances, at Felton and Silliman streets, with the ball fields and the gym structure.
It cost the Arts Commission $90,000 to renovate and re-install 'Invocation,' which arrived on site shrouded in white and wrapped in tape. It took most of a day for a crew from Atthowe Fine Art Services to get it installed atop a concrete plinth that is set in the ground and adds two feet to its height. The rebar at the base of the sculpture had to drop into holes drilled into the plinth at a precise angle, which took several tries and adjustments down to the inch.
Patiently watching the process while awaiting the unwrapping was Kelly Torres, who grew up in the Portola district and still lives there.
'This is the appropriate place for it and we've been waiting,' said Torres, who recalled 'Invocation' from driving by its old perch at Cesar Chavez and Bayshore Boulevard, where it was for nearly 20 years. 'It's exciting because it stirs emotion in people. That's what art does. It's a good thing.'
