San Francisco Presidio
Main Parade Ground
Anza and Sheridan
This is the third installation of Andy Goldsworthy’s at the Presidio in San Francisco. It is titled Tree Fall. There are two other Goldsworthy’s on the Presidio Grounds that have appeared in this site before and can be seen here.
The exhibit is in the Old Stone Powder Magazine on the Main Parade Ground. The room is 20 X 17 feet with walls two feet thick. The building dates to 1863, is one of the oldest structures at the fort and has never been opened to the public. Originally a domed roof topped the structure. This was so that in the event of an explosion the blast would project upward. The tile roof was added in 1941 as the post adopted a uniform Mission style of architecture. The building was used to store blank rounds for the daily 5pm evening gun salute until 1994 when the Army departed the post.
Goldsworthy’s team was not allowed to touch the walls. They built four walls inside the four walls with ventilation holes along the bottom, they then put in a dropped ceiling and poured a cement floor.
The tree is a Eucalyptus felled during the reconstruction of Doyle Drive.
An assembly line of community volunteers were brought in to mix the clay. The primary material was dirt unearthed during excavation for the nearby officers’ club restoration. The binding agent is a combination of straw and human hair from local salons. The clay was then put on by Goldsworthy himself.
“There is a lot of love and understanding with clay that has been won over many years,” he says, “and you never know how it will turn out.”
His hope was that the clay would dry and crack into puzzle pieces, to give the art detail and intricacy. This is a concept that Goldsworthy has been refining since he first built a clay wall, at the Haines Gallery at 49 Geary St., in 1996 (shown here in a San Francisco Chronicle Photograph). The Haines Gallery is the founder of the Fore-Site Foundation, and curator of all three of Goldsworthy’s installation at the Presidio.
Please don’t get me wrong. I have been a big, big fan of Andy Goldsworthy since I first discovered his book Stone in 1994, and I do own every one of his books. I also have traveled out of my way by many miles to see an installation if there is one near where I am. However, it is time, Presidio Trust and For-Site Foundation, to give other artists space. We have so very many great artists in California, and especially the city of San Francisco, it is time we honored them with space as unique and fabulous as the public space of the Presidio.
The textures and play of light in this exhibit are a photographers dream.
*
This is the only light that enters the magazine.
The plaque reads:
OLD STONE POWDER MAGAZINE
Constructed by the U.S. Army
After the presidio was occupied
by American Forces
Built of materials salvaged from earlier
Spanish of Mexican structures
It dates back to the period of 1847-1863
Plaque presented by the Presidio Society Inc.
1958
The public can view the exhibit on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm through December 1, or on weekdays by reservation.
Well said, my dear, well said. I, too, love Andy Goldsworthy’s art, but enough is enough when there are so very many California artists who have long been overlooked.
I love him too and also have all the books. Would love to see this but agree with you that local artists deserve some space!
Wow! This is so cool — what a great tribute to trees! I love the abstract quality of some of your images here. Happy weekend!