Drift Painting in Zero Gravity, Image Courtesy of NASA, April 4, 1998
“A truly astonishing experience was provided to me when an opportunity to float in zero gravity and create art aboard NASA’s KC135 turbojet was manifested in collaboration with the California Space Grant Program, the Texas Space Grant Program and the San Francisco Art Instititute. It was incredible to finally realize a vision I first conceptualized and wrote about in 1974 as “drift paintings,” bringing it to life on April 4, 1998 through an inaugural zero-gravity fine arts and space science and engineering collaboration I called Research Project Number 33: Investigating the Creative Process in a Microgravity Environment.”
Arts Commission Festival of San Francisco 1984 and 1985 Directed by Frank Pietronigro
Festival Poster, David McManis, Designer, 1985
Arts Commission of San Francisco Festival Indoor Juried Exhibitions, Civic Auditorium, 1985
“I’ve always been fascinated by the evolution of concepts across the continuum of my life along with the process of authoring papers then making presentations at international conferences all as a direct result of internal growth and shadow work. While all my endeavors bring unique satisfactions, community-based collaborations like directing the Arts Commission Festival of San Francisco have consistently been the most challenging to establish, and, ultimately, the most rewarding. Working with others has its unique challenges as we all know; yet such evolution towards greater internal and external harmony seemed to be consistently reflected as the various styles of my paintings, prints, drawings and others works of fine art evolved to the tempo of my soul’s unfolding”.
Laguna Honda Satellite Exhibition Reception, Arts Commission of San Francisco Festival, 1985
“Being involved in San Francisco’s arts community has enriched my life in so many unexpected and amazing ways. I have made so many friends that love abounds in our city by the bay”
One highlight was serving as the Director of the The Arts Commission of San Francisco Festival in 1984 and 1985, which included a four day outdoor multicultural festival celebrated in Civic Center Plaza, along with indoor juried exhibition of artists from San Francisco nine Bay Area counties hosted in San Francisco’s Civic Auditorium’s Polk and Larkin Halls held in conjunction with the San Francisco Symphony’s Pops Concerts all complimented with fifteen city-wide satellite exhibitions presenting work by diverse communities whose contributions to the festival offered the audience insights into the richness of the arts in the San Francisco Bay Area.
My goal when conceiving so many different exhibitions was to ensure that the power of art selection was placed into the hands of those leaders within those local communities rather than only have art curated into the festival from above. Satellite Exhibitions where showcased at American Indian Contemporary Arts, Artists Embassy International Seniors, CNA/ART, F. J. Michaels Gallery, Fort Mason Art Center, Galeria de la Raza, the Haight Ashbury Community Center, the Recreation Center for the Handicapped, the San Francisco Art Institute, VIDA Gallery Women Artists Cooperative, the Western Addition Culture Center, Laguna Honda Hospital exhibition showcasing art by seniors sixty years or older. Other Satellite Exhibition locations included the Museo Italo Americano, Museum of Modern Mythology at the Embarcadero Center featuring Advertising Imagery, Nathan Hart Gallery featuring computer arts, the Woman’s Building, of course the Pride Center where I decided to include some of my 3D sculptures which I created using pastry-bags for painting into which I embedded found objects.
The San Francisco Art Parade originated at the Ferry Building and moved down Market Street to Civic Center Plaza as floats and marching artists were welcomed into the closing ceremonies, 1985
Sista-Boom Welcomes the Art Parade to Civic Center Plaza during the Closing Ceremony, 1985
Frank Pietronigro also conceived and produced San Francisco’s Art In The Park in 1982 and 1983 in the Music Concourse of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The successful reception of this Castro Street Fair affiliated event and its many features were so successful that the Arts Commission of San Francisco commissioned Frank Pietronigro to direct the city’s downtown arts festival in 1984 and 1985.
Art in the Park Poster, David Mc Manis, Designer 1982
The Puppet Parade at Art in the Park in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, San Francisco 1982
Pietronigro’s career is defined by a consistent, intentional, and unparalleled interdisciplinary approach, actively dissolving the boundaries between art, science, education, commerce, and social activism. His academic foundation includes a BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute (1996). His early career spanned significant roles in arts administration, including Director of “Art In The Park” (1982-1983) which was sponsored by the Castro Street Fair Corporation. He went on to become the Director of the San Francisco Arts Commission Festivals (1984-1985). He transitioned into the corporate world when working at Landor Associates aboard the Ferryboat Kalamath the world’s largest strategic design firm’s floating headquarters (1986). He also support the Discovery Channel (1988-1992), producing cause-related marketing events and helping with the conceptual development of Shark Week.
Tunnel Hum Community Performance Collaboration at Art In The Park performed in the pedestrian tunnels in the Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, 1982
This diverse background laid the groundwork for his later pioneering work in space art, his long tenure as a university professor, and his deep involvement in social justice through art. His exhibitions range from traditional venues like the Rittenhouse Square Art Annual (1975) to the Biennale Internationale Dell’Arte Contemporanea in Florence (2003), while his “Documents” series evolved from live webcasts to collaborative installations. His work is cited in academic texts on cyberculture and philosophy, further underscoring his broad intellectual engagement.
Gaetana Caldwell-Smith performs at the Fountain Stage in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse during San Francisco Art In The Park, 1982
Keith Sklar Audience Participatory Mural at Art In The Park, San Francisco 1982
Theatre of Yugen performs at Art In The Park, San Francisco 1982
I continue to work as a Professor in the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design at the Academy of Art University teaching video editing and motion graphics with a focus on Adobe After Effects, Premiere and Media Encoder. I enjoy teaching on-line and on-campus, overseeing face to face and zoom graduate and undergraduate level classes while serving on mid-point and final review committees. It is a joy to me to work with young people and I have had the pleasure of serving as Art Director for thousands of print, website design and video project while preparing and updating course outlines, lecture
notes, handouts, rubrics and exams for my fifteen-week courses titled: Motion 1: Motion Graphics and Motion and Video Production. Here is an example of a work created during the 2025 Spring Semester by my student Sydney Harmon. I hope you enjoy.
