In San Francisco, just a few steps from theEmbarcadero waterfront, a new presence has taken shape amidst the indifference of institutions and the astonishment of citizens: a 45-foot-tall statue, or about 13.7 meters, depicting a completely naked woman with her arms raised and her chest in motion. The work, titled R-Evolution, created by artist Marco Cochrane (Venice, 1962), weighs more than 32,000 pounds, or about 14.5 tons, and appeared in April in the central Embarcadero Plaza, without any public debate. The reason? The entire operation was financed by private entities, thus bypassing the usual civic consultation procedures.
This is not the first time that R-Evolution has caused controversy. The work was first unveiled in 2015 at Burning Man, the art and performance event held annually in the Nevada desert. Initially, it was intended to be permanently relocated to Union Square in downtown New York, but its placement was scrapped due to excessive weight, which was deemed unsustainable for the site’s structure. Since then, the sculpture has been waiting for a new destination, until the decision was made to bring it to San Francisco, in an area already tested by urban transformation, gentrification and declining attendance due to the pandemic.
“Public art is a vital part of San Francisco’s cultural identity, embodying the city’s diverse and creative spirit,” said Ralph Remington, the department’s director of cultural affairs, in a press release. According to the man, the installation is intended to reflect the city’s spirit of “bringing people together, activating public space and enhancing the power of art to stimulate conversation, inspire connection and revitalize our shared urban landscape.”
Unlike many public art installations, R-Evolution was not subject to approval by the city council or the citizenry. The San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks explained that the placement of the statue meets the goal of “activating urban space,” with the intent of stimulating a new frequentation of the plaza by both residents and tourists. The project, in fact, is part of a larger $300,000 initiative promoted by the San Francisco Arts Association, supported by the Sijbrandij Foundation, and carried out with the production of the women-led arts organization Building 180. According to the organizers, the presence of the sculpture should be a symbol of women’s empowerment and an invitation for reflection on the body and the relationship between gender and power. Cochrane explained that the intent is “to change perspectives on gender and power” by showing a female figure not objectified, but caught in a moment of simple breathing. The work is inspired by performer Deja Solis, whose natural, tension-free pose would be the expressive heart of the project. A technological detail accentuates the effect: for one hour a day, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., the statue’s chest slowly rises and falls thanks to a built-in electronic mechanism, simulating the woman’s breathing.
“With this piece,” Cochrane wrote of the sculpture on her website, “model Deja Solis explores and expresses how she feels when she can be alone ... a whole person ... a woman, radiating her energy into the calm world ... just breathing.”
Despite the stated intentions, public reception was far from unanimous. Many citizens said they were surprised, if not annoyed, by the statue’s placement and lack of community involvement.
“Who funded this stupid shit?” commented one online user in one of several threads opened on social media, where the image of the statue quickly made the rounds on the web. Criticism focused on both the explicit nature of the depiction and its political and social significance.
“I’d rather have another $1.7 million public restroom. You know, something more practical,” someone added. “Now you have to walk between his legs to get from the Ferry Building to the Embarcadero,” continued another.
Some observers have questioned whether the work can actually serve as a feminist emblem, pointing out that the author is a man and that the project was done without consulting gender organizations or local women’s collectives. In addition, Court House News reported, R-Evolution ’s presence resulted in the temporary eviction of local street artists and vendors who were using Embarcadero Plaza as a work and exhibition space. It was an action that reignited the debate on the transformation of public space in a city context already marked by tensions related to gentrification and displacement.
This is not the first time that San Francisco has found itself at the center of controversy over the use of urban space: the city, once thought to be a progressive and inclusive stronghold, now faces numerous challenges related to the management of its downtown, the loss of residents and the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. According to recent data, more than a third of office buildings in the downtown area are currently vacant. Pedestrian traffic, which once characterized the area, is in sharp decline, and city authorities are looking for new strategies to bring life back to the urban core. In this context, the decision to install a monumental statue can be read as an attempt to respond to this crisis, but the method adopted (lacking transparency and confrontation) has raised questions of legitimacy and representation. Artist Marco Cochrane defended the initiative by speaking of an artistic vision born out of the need to show the female body in a different way from what is routinely proposed in the media and mass culture. In any case, the outsized size and total nudity of the work ended up accentuating the gap between intentions and perceptions, raising questions about the actual ability of public art to represent the values of a community in a shared way.
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| USA, controversy in San Francisco over giant statue installed without public consultation |
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