I walk by this sculpture every day on the way to work. Its deep multi-layered symbolism admixes Platonic form with Cartesian Weltanschauung ..........NOT! What seemed to be such an obvious phallic symbol is especially appropriate during these tumescent times (see my February 20 post below on my visit to City Hall). I was chagrined to discover how off base my interpretation was: according to Embarcadero Center, Mistral is "a cast bronze sculpture by Elbert Weinberg that represents the warm winds that originate in Africa and sweep upwards to southern Europe." Knock me over with a feather: sometimes a sculpture is just a sculpture.
During the winter, Mistral is gaily festooned with Christmas flora. © 2004 Stephen Yuen
