Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Wood Line by Andy Goldsworthy

Wood Line by Andy Goldsworthy
Presidio

 

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This is the second piece by Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio. The first is Spire.
In 2010, Goldsworthy looked to a new part of the park for inspiration – a historic eucalyptus grove near the Presidio’s oldest footpath, Lovers’ Lane. Eucalyptus were planted here by the U.S. Army more than a century ago, with lines of cypress trees occasionally weaved in among the regimented rows. Outcompeted, the cypress declined, leaving a large gap in the grove.

Goldsworthy fills this empty space with a quiet and graceful sculpture. Where Spire reaches for the stars, Wood Line flows elegantly into the valley of the Tennessee Hollow Watershed. To create the piece, Goldsworthy laid eucalyptus branches on the ground to form a sinuous line that, in his words, “draws the place.” The wood was sourced from various Presidio projects that required tree removal, including Doyle Drive reconstruction, environmental remediation, and habitat restoration.

Wood Line is located within the cypress grove near the intersection of Presidio Boulevard and West Pacific Avenue, just off Lovers’ Lane.


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8 responses to “Wood Line by Andy Goldsworthy”

  1. Paul in Powell River Avatar

    Goldsworthy is not my favourite artist by a long shot. IMO, and it isn’t worth much, he’s just messed up what looks to be a great walking spot.

  2. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    That looks very cool! Thanks for sharing!

  3. Bruce Clark (@bruceoclark) Avatar

    Love those curving lines. Very nice and thanks for sharing.

  4. Gina Avatar

    Beautiful photos, Cindy! I love curved lines too, so this is very appealing to me, but I can see how it
    might annoy some walkers.

  5. JM Avatar

    This is just amazing! What a brilliant idea and wonderful place.

  6. Lowell Avatar

    I absolutely love this! How creative. Looks like a huge snake winding through the trees.

    Re your comment on Ocala: We have many different vines in Florida. Everything here, if left alone, grows and grows and grows. Plants you’ve always known as bushes become huge trees. We had massive vines at our house in east Ocala that wrapped themselves around a fence and gate and then went up to about 20 feet tall. Impossible to deal with. If you left a house alone, it would be covered and disappear in a couple of months!

  7. Oakland Daily Photo Avatar

    An interesting concept and piece; but I can’t help but wonder if it adds anything to the setting.

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