The great prophylactic pyramid of SF

[n2doc]

Artist Jay Critchley works on his model of the Transamerica Pyramid, which he made out of Old Glory Condom boxes. Chronicle photo by Kat Wade


A PYRAMID OF SAFETY
Artist re-creates S.F. icon with condom boxes, much to Transamerica's dismay
Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer

Jay Critchley knows how to draw attention to his condoms.
Critchley, a Massachusetts artist best known for the national stir he caused in the early 1990s after he designed a logo of an American flag running along a condom, has now turned his attention to San Francisco's most pointed icon, the Transamerica Pyramid.
The 60-year-old artist created a 3-foot-tall model of the Transamerica from hundreds of individual condom boxes that all bear the logo of his company, Old Glory Condom Corp. -- "Worn with pride country wide," reads the tagline. The finished piece will be unveiled today to open the Corporate Art Expo '07 at the LAB gallery in the Mission District.
"The Transamerica building is the essential San Francisco identifier," Critchley said. "It was that or the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Coit Tower. ... But neither had the corporate link like the Transamerica."
But the artistic honor was coolly received by the Transamerica Insurance & Investment Group, which has offices in the pyramid, a building that is now owned by Aegon, a Dutch-based life insurance company.
"Transamerica Corporation is not a sponsor of the exhibit, nor does it endorse the products or services of Old Glory Condom Corp. or any other vendor participating in the exhibit," read a statement released by a spokesperson. "Permission to use the Transamerica logo was never sought by or granted to Old Glory."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/30/MNG8OOUJRS1.DTL