FOR-SITE Foundation
  • Share
  • Search
  • Contact
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff, Board, Partners
    • Press Room
    • Contact
    • Website Credits
  • Projects
    • Overview
    • On View
    • Upcoming
    • Past
    • Plan a Visit
    • Artist Programs
  • Events
  • Places
    • Alcatraz Island
    • Fort Mason
    • Fort Winfield Scott
    • The Presidio
    • Fort Point
    • Nevada City Residency
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donor Events
    • Supporters
    • Visionaries
  • Shop
  • Field Notes
  • fort-scott-battery-godfrey
  • ahmadi-lotus
  • 49-hls-boutelle
  • HyperFocal: 0
  • tirtzahbassel-concourse_rdh_736
Past

Home Land Security

September 10 – December 18, 2016 at Fort Winfield Scott at Langdon Court

Occupying a suite of former military structures in the Presidio overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Home Land Security brought together works by contemporary artists and collectives from around the globe to reflect on the human dimensions and increasing complexity of national security, including the physical and psychological borders we create, protect, and cross in its name. 

The exhibition extended FOR-SITE’s focus on provocative art about place, inviting viewers into decommissioned batteries, an administrative building, and a chapel — some open to the public for the first time — that served for decades as key sites in the US Army’s Coastal Defense System. The 18 featured artists represented diverse points of origin — including China, Cuba, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, the United States, and Vietnam — underscoring the universality of themes of home, safety, and defense in an increasingly pervasive climate of fear and distrust. The artworks, which encompassed media ranging from painting and sculpture to video and performance, responded to both personal and cultural concerns, with the historic sites of Fort Winfield Scott providing a new context for signature pieces and a showcase for site-specific commissions.

Home Land Security built on previous artistic collaborations with the National Park Service, the Presidio Trust, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and commemorated the park service’s centennial.

PDFs of the exhibition brochure are available in English, Chinese, and Spanish.

A PDF of the Home Land Security final report is available here. 

More

Additional Information

  • Getting There
  • FAQs
  • Volunteer
  • School & Community Groups

Featured Works

  • Shiva AhmadiLotus and Knot
  • Tammam AzzamThree works from the Storeys series
  • Tirtzah BasselConcourse
  • Díaz Lewis34,000 Pillows
  • Yashar Azar EmdadianDisintegration
  • Al FarrowRevelation I and Mosque III (after National Mosque of Nigeria, Abuja)
  • Liza LouBarricade and Conditions of Capture
  • Mandana MoghaddamExodus
  • Trevor PaglenOperation Onymous (FBI Investigation of the Silk Road) and Code Names of the Surveillance State
  • Shahpour PouyanFive works from the Projectiles series
  • Michele PredEncirclement
  • The Propeller GroupAK-47 vs M16
  • Luz María Sánchez2487
  • Do Ho SuhSome/One
  • Bill ViolaFour works from the Martyrs series
  • Alexia WebsterBulengo Studios, from the Refugee Street Studio Project
  • Krzysztof WodiczkoVeterans' Flame
  • Yin XiuzhenWeapon

Related Media

  • Intro Video
  • Twelve-inch rifle and crew; courtesy National Park Service Archives
    Fort Scott Chapel, c. 1942; courtesy National Park Service Archives
    Test firing guns at Battery Godfrey; courtesy National Park Service Archives
    Firing gun at Battery Marcus Miller; courtesy National Park Service Archives
    Military reserves drill at Fort Winfield Scott; courtesy National Park Service Archives
    Soldiers evaluating aerial photographs; courtesy National Park Service Archives
    Historical Images
  • In the Press
  • Home Land Security 3D scans
Home Land Security was organized by the FOR-SITE Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and the Presidio Trust.

FOR-SITE Foundation project team: Cheryl Haines, executive director and exhibition curator; Jackie von Treskow, program director and assistant curator; Alison Konecki, communications and development manager; Miegan Riddle, development consultant; Jennifer Burke/Industry, visual design; Anne Ray, writer and editor; Tyler Reed, art guide manager; Jan Stürmann, video production; Ari Salomon, web developer

Projects

  • Overview
  • On View
  • Upcoming
  • Past
    • Sanctuary
    • Home Land Security
      • Shiva Ahmadi
      • Tammam Azzam
      • Tirtzah Bassel
      • Díaz Lewis
      • Yashar Azar Emdadian
      • Al Farrow
      • Liza Lou
      • Mandana Moghaddam
      • Trevor Paglen
      • Shahpour Pouyan
      • Michele Pred
      • The Propeller Group
      • Luz María Sánchez
      • Do Ho Suh
      • Bill Viola
      • Alexia Webster
      • Krzysztof Wodiczko
      • Yin Xiuzhen
    • @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
    • Art About Place: FOR-SITE Foundation at the Presidio
    • International Orange
    • Presidio Habitats
    • The Marvelous Museum: A Mark Dion Project
    • Pae White: In Between the Outside-In
    • Chris Drury: Mushrooms | Clouds
    • Shi Guorui: Reproduction and Refashioning
    • Richard Long: The Path Is the Place Is the Line
    • New Work by Cornelia Parker
  • Plan a Visit
  • Artist Programs

Field Notes

  • Allison Stone talks Art in the Presidio

  • Art in the Parks and “Home Land Security”: A Partner’s Perspective

  • Q&A with “Home Land Security” Curator Cheryl Haines

Facebook

For-Site Foundation

YouTube

Sanctuary Salon (February 23, 2018)

Sanctuary Salon (February 23, 2018)

Echoing Sanctuary's ethos of plurality, the "Sanctuary Salon" series weaves together the voices of artists whose practices span creative disciplines, including ...

Brendan Fernandes: Safely (2017)

Brendan Fernandes: Safely (2017)

As part of his commission for "Sanctuary," Brendan Fernandes presented a site-specific durational performance that explored themes of reverence and sacred ...

Panel Discussion: Approaching the Rug as a Critical Form

Panel Discussion: Approaching the Rug as a Critical Form

Panel Discussion "Above the Rug: Approaching the Rug as a Critical Form" February 11, 2018 Historically and traditionally, rugs are a medium for cultural ...

Sanctuary

Sanctuary



Sanctuary Salon (January 26, 2018)

Sanctuary Salon (January 26, 2018)

Echoing the ethos of plurality embodied within FOR-SITE's exhibition "Sanctuary," the "Sanctuary Salon" series weaves together the voices of artists whose ...

Sanctuary Salon (December 14, 2017)

Sanctuary Salon (December 14, 2017)

Echoing the ethos of plurality embodied within FOR-SITE's exhibition "Sanctuary," the "Sanctuary Salon" series weaves together the voices of artists whose ...

Twitter

  • It's a full house (er, Chapel) tonight for FOR-SITE's first #Sanctuary Salon https://t.co/ABOANPBfeV
  • Happening now: Free #silkscreening workshops with #SanctuaryPrintShop outside #Sanctuary @FortMasoninSF Chapel https://t.co/4BGs628mct

Instagram

  • Continuing this week’s look through FOR-SITE’s past 15 years, today we’re visiting 2014 when we transformed Alcatraz Island with the monumental works of one of the greatest artists of our time, @aiww. Nearly 900,000 people experienced “@ Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz,” and over 7,000 tickets were distributed to underserved schools and community groups. The exhibition became a watershed moment for FOR-SITE, guiding us toward an ethos of social engagement that continues to shape our projects and exhibitions. __ Partnerships have always been a cornerstone of FOR-SITE’s work. Indeed, “@ Large” was a tremendous undertaking for us, and we couldn’t have done it without the support and collaboration of our project partners @nationalparkservice and @Parks4All. The exhibition also relied heavily on volunteer support. @aiww’s iconic “Trace” installation was assembled largely through the work of volunteers — 82 in all! And finally, to make the exhibition truly come to life, we turned to a dedicated corps of Art Guides. If you visited the exhibition, chances are your experience of it was made all the richer by their insights and thoughtful engagement. __ Help FOR-SITE as we prepare for another 15 years of presenting boundary-pushing #ArtAboutPlace by making a donation today. Follow the link in our profile to make an online donation.
  • Today we’re heading all the way back to FOR-SITE’s origins up in Nevada City on our 50-acre residency site. The residency program ran from 2005 - 2009, and saw FOR-SITE collaborating with a range of institutional partners to select artists and present the work created during the residencies. Included here are images from @Corneliaparkerartist’s “Anti-Mass” exhibited at @ybca from her 2005 residency; Shi Guorui’s exhibition “Reproduction and Refashioning” at @deyoungmuseum created during his 2006 residency; and @markdionstudio’s “The Marvelous Museum” at @oaklandmuseumca that the artist developed as part of his 2009 residency. __ More information about these and other FOR-STIE residency projects is available via the link in our profile.
  • This week we’re hopscotching through FOR-SITE’s history to highlight some of our favorite moments of our past 15 years. Although we were founded in 2003, we’re kicking things off with a visit to 2008 and the installation of #AndyGoldsworthy’s “Spire” in @presidiosf. Beloved by the Bay Area community, “Spire,” became a hallmark of FOR-SITE’s work to highlight the unique history of our parklands. __ When “Spire” was first installed, the reforested trees around it were barely more than saplings. A decade later, almost half the height of “Spire”’s 90ft are obscured by the trees. Eventually, the whole of “Spire” will be hidden within a mature forest of trees — no longer a visible landmark on our landscape, but a beautiful monument of its history. __ If you’ve enjoyed FOR-SITE projects such as “Spire,” consider making a year-end donation to help support our future exhibitions. Follow the link in our profile to make an online donation. __ #ArtAboutPlace
  • 2018 marks FOR-SITE’s 15th anniversary! From our founding in 2003 hosting artist residencies in Nevada City to the large-scale public art exhibitions that followed, FOR-SITE has consistently pushed the boundaries of “art about place.” Help us celebrate and get us ready for the next 15 years by making a donation this #GivingTuesday. To make a gift online, visit the link in our profile. As a thank you for your support, we’d love for you to stop by our office and select a commemorative FOR-SITE item from our archives, including Ai Weiwei books and exhibition swag, “Sanctuary” socks and catalogues, and more. Lastly, don’t forget to stay tuned throughout the week for posts sharing some of our favorite moments from the past 15 years! #ArtAboutPlace

Subscribe

Enter your email address for updates

Field Notes

  • Allison Stone talks Art in the Presidio

  • Art in the Parks and “Home Land Security”: A Partner’s Perspective

Plan a Visit

Donate

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

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

©2018 FOR-SITE Foundation - Credits + Colophon