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British artist Andy Goldsworthy celebrates the Presidio’s landmark forest in this ongoing, organically evolving project. Goldsworthy has created three site-specific installations, all making use of trees felled as part of the Presidio’s reforestation and park management efforts: the monumental yet ephemeral Spire (2008), the sinuous Wood Line (2011), and the imposing, architectural Tree Fall (2013). While Spire articulates the space into which trees grow, and Wood Line investigates the evolving relationship a tree has with the ground, Tree Fall explores what occurs below ground.
Over time, the natural materials used in Spire and Wood Line will decay and return to the earth. During their lifespan, all three of Goldsworthy’s installations will stand as reminders of the history of the Presidio’s forest — planted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the US military — and as meditations on the relationship between the natural and the built environment.
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Andy Goldsworthy creates ephemeral sculptures and permanent installations using natural materials such as stones, clay, and leaves to draw out the inherent character of a site. His works have been exhibited and collected by important international institutions, including Storm King Art Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the Tate.