FOR-SITE Foundation
  • Share
  • Search
  • Contact
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff, Board, Partners
    • Press Room
    • Contact
    • Website Credits
  • Projects
    • Overview
    • On View
    • Past
    • Virtual Tour: Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio
    • Artist Programs
  • Places
    • Alcatraz Island
    • Fort Mason
    • Fort Winfield Scott
    • Fort Point
    • The Presidio
    • Nevada City Residency
  • Events
  • Field Notes
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donor Events
    • Supporters
    • Visionaries
  • Shop
Spire (installation view)
Goldsworthy in the Presidio

Spire

Andy Goldsworthy’s towering sculpture Spire (2008) is 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 unique 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.

Goldsworthy continued his work in the Presidio with Wood Line (2011) and Tree Fall (2013).

  • Video: Spire
  • Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo courtesy the artist
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines
    Installation Views
  • In the Press
Andy Goldsworthy
Andy GoldsworthyBritish, born 1956

Andy Goldsworthy draws his inspiration from a specific place and creates art from the materials he finds close at hand, such as twigs, leaves, stones, or snow. Working in locations as diverse as the Yorkshire Dales and the Australian Outback, the artist strives, in his words, “to make connections between what we call nature and what we call man-made.” Goldsworthy is known to many through the 2001 film Rivers and Tides. In addition to his installations in the Presidio, his works in the Bay Area include Stone River at Stanford University and Drawn Stone at the de Young Museum.

Top: Andy Goldsworthy, Spire, 2008; photo: Monique Deschaines

Projects

  • Overview
  • On View
    • Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly Film
    • Goldsworthy in the Presidio
      • Tree Fall
      • Spire
      • Wood Line
  • Past
  • Virtual Tour: Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio

Visit

Goldsworthy in the Presidio

On view: Ongoing

Hours:

Wood Line: Open to the public.

Spire: Open to the public.

Tree Fall and Earth Wall are closed until further notice.

Admission: Free

At: Presidio of San Francisco

Plan a Visit

Field Notes

  • Alfredo Jaar

    Black Lives Matter

  • AWW_HRW

    Ai Weiwei + Human Rights Watch

  • Allison Smith, Pendleton blanket

    Web Shop Highlight: Allison Smith

Artist Editions

  • Syjuco DSC_2956a copy
  • alfarrowmultiple
  • michelepredmultipleopen
  • trevorpaglen-challenge-coin_rdh_001

Facebook

For-Site Foundation

Twitter

  • The Year of the Ox starts on Feb 12! Facing restrictions due to the pandemic, San Francisco's annual Lunar New Year… https://t.co/EuKFDsWqDz
  • We are thrilled to share with @FirstRun that Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly is now available for Video on Demand in North A… https://t.co/g2FFNB4YIw

Instagram

Subscribe

Enter your email address for updates

Field Notes

  • Ai Weiwei Yours Truly Facebook Banner

    “Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly” Virtual Cinema Release

  • Alfredo Jaar

    Black Lives Matter

Virtual Tour

Donate

Support innovative art about place.
Learn more or donate now!

Donate Online
PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!

©2019 FOR-SITE Foundation - Credits + Colophon

Join our mailing list to stay up to date.