FOR-SITE and the Presidio Trust Announce 'Tree Fall'

​​​​​Presidio of San Francisco (October 2, 2013) — The FO​R-SITE Foundation, in partnership with the Presidio Trust, is pleased to announce the opening of Tree Fall — a new work by artist Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio of San Francisco — on Saturday, October 19, 2013. Installed inside the historic Powder Magazine in the Presidio’s Main Post, Tree Fall is constructed out of a eucalyptus tree removed as part the reconstruction of Doyle Drive (the Presidio Parkway project) and clay sourced from surrounding land. The imposing and architectural installation serves as a powerful reminder of the relationship between the Presidio’s natural and built environments.

Tree Fall is a natural progression of Goldsworthy’s ongoing work celebrating the Presidio’s landmark forest. The organically evolving projects include two earlier site-specific installations: the monumental yet ephemeral Spire, completed in 2008, and the sinuous Wood Line (2011). All three installations were created using trees felled as part of the park’s reforestation and park-making efforts. While Spire articulates the space into which trees grow, and Wood Line investigates the evolving relationship a tree has with the ground, Tree Fall is an exploration of that which occurs below ground. As with many of Goldsworthy’s site-specific works, the materials used in Spire and Wood Line will decompose and return to the earth over time.

“FOR-SITE and the Presidio Trust have been working with Andy Goldsworthy to illuminate elements of the remarkable forest here since 2008,” said Cheryl Haines, FOR-SITE executive director. “With Tree Fall, Andy has suspended earth fantastically above the viewer, offering an unexpected and sublime glimpse beneath the surface of the forest. This installation adds another dimension to Goldsworthy’s representation of the forest’s verticality in Spire and the procession of time in Wood Line.”

“The Presidio is honored to host three works by Andy Goldsworthy,” said Craig Middleton, Presidio Trust executive director. “We are particularly enthusiastic about Goldsworthy’s approach to creating art that is derived from and is about the Presidio.  We believe that art is a medium through which to experience the Presidio in new ways; it enriches the experience.  We are grateful to Andy Goldsworthy and the FOR-SITE Foundation for bringing Tree Fall to the Presidio.”

​Installing a large tree branch structure within the Powder Magazine, a Civil War-era building that just celebrated its 150th birthday, posed unique challenges. In order to protect the building’s structure and historical fabric, FOR-SITE worked with Presidio Trust historic architects and contracted with structural engineers and custom fabricators to build an architectural substructure on which Tree Fall was installed. Preparation of the clay materials was completed with the help of more than 40 community volunteers.

The Presidio is located at the Golden Gate, where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay. The land was in constant use as a military post for two centuries, first for Spain, then for a newly independent Mexico, and finally for the United States. Today, it is both a distinctive national park site within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the world’s largest urban national park, and a National Historic Landmark District. The 300 acre historic forest was planted by the United States Army more than a century ago and today endures as the largest contributing feature to the Presidio’s Historic Landmark District. The Presidio Trust recently completed the first decade in a 60-year reforestation program aimed at preserving the forest in perpetuity. This regeneration effort, and the forest itself as a manmade construct of the park, were of immediate interest to Goldsworthy during his first visit to the park in 2006 and continue to serve as inspiration for his ongoing work.

Spire

Goldsworthy’s towering sculpture Spire (2008) was constructed from the trunks of 37 Monterey cypress trees felled as part of the Presidio’s reforestation effort. Inspired by the form of church bell towers but rooted in the earth, the artwork evokes the layering of natural and human history in the Presidio’s forest, which was planted by the US military in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

From its 15-foot diameter, Spire rises more than 90 feet into the air. The height of the sculpture and its placement presented particular challenges. Architects, structural engineers, and preservationists were all brought into the process. To ensure stability, the keystone tree was lifted by a 350-ton crane, anchored into a metal sleeve within a 12-foot-deep hole, and surrounded by poured concrete.

Wood Line

Goldsworthy’s Wood Line (2011) is made from eucalyptus branches laid out in a sloping, sinuous curve through a standing eucalyptus grove near Lovers Lane, the Presidio’s oldest footpath. Goldsworthy has described the movement of the piece through the landscape as “drawing the place.”

Installation of the sculpture required a delicate touch, sited as it is directly underneath a section of the Presidio’s federally designated historic forest. In order not to disturb the trunks or root systems of the venerable, towering eucalyptus trees that surround the path, the logs were transported and placed using the utmost care.

About the Artist