| April 6, 2022 | Lifestyle, Culture, Art,
If you’re looking for a local San Francisco secret that’s also a beautifully serene hike, this massive snaking sculpture is one that’s hidden, but hard to miss.
The nearby historic Lovers' Lane also in Presidio.
Tucked away within the Presidio’s quiet and lush eucalyptus grove just past the much more visited Lovers' Lane lies the Wood Line, a large natural art sculpture over 1,200 feet long with a particularly fascinating and thoughtful history.
Constructed by Scottish Artist Andy Goldsworthy in 2011, this installation was fashioned out of loose eucalyptus trunks and branches from various tree removal projects, and is the second piece in his tribute to the Presidio.
Specifically situated within the Presidio’s man-made forest, Goldsworthy intended this piece to have visitors contemplate on the beauty of natural creation and appreciate the providing earth. The forest, planted in the late 19th century by the U.S. Army, consisted of eucalyptus trees interspersed with rows of Monterey cypress. As the cypress began to dwindle and die off due to unfavorable conditions, large gaps between the remaining eucalyptus canopy accentuated the forest decay from oversight mistakes made in the late 1800s.
By placing over an immense amount of fallen wood right at the empty spot between the perfectly shaded grove, Goldsworthy’s recursive sculpture highlights not only the power of man to build and coordinate nature, but also the uncontrollable power of natural decomposition as the same soil will also one day inherit the sculpture to bring new life. As you follow along atop its winding curves, you will physically feel these cyclical ups and downs through sloped terrain and begin to blur its start and end.
“It may not last, but it’s one of my more permanent installations,” Goldsworthy describes his elegantly sinuous art. In his words, this piece, “draws the place,” blending nature with art and creating an imaginative and surreal fairytale-like oasis for both children and adults to delight in and center themselves.
Andy Goldsworthy is an extremely talented artist known for utilizing natural materials such as flower petals, stones, mud, and even icicles to create immense and thought-provoking sculptures. Not only does he emphasize establishing “connections between what we call nature and what we call man-made,” he also recognizes the beautiful ephemerality of the natural world and embodies such transitions in his work.
Andy Goldsworthy discusses the "Wood Line."
In partnership with the Presidio Trust, the Wood Line came to fruition along with support from the non-profit FOR-SITE Foundation. After one year of construction beginning in 2010, the Wood Line is an excellent addition to his collection around the Presidio, following his neighboring first sculpture “Spire,” which is a spectacular tower of salvaged wood built in 2008. The other two are “Tree Fall,” finished in 2013, and “Earth Wall' in 2014.
The "Spire," the first of Goldsworthy's series exploring the Presidio.
The Wood Line is located on Presidio Blvd, and all sculptures are ongoing and permanent, and are free and open to the public. Visit one separately or all together in a thrilling 3-mile hiking loop around the extremely bucolic and scenic Presidio.
Restrooms, food, and transportation options are available near Lovers’ Lane, which is also historically notable as the oldest footpath in the area.
See also: Do You Know This Hidden San Francisco Park With The Most Instagrammable Panoramic View?
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