Sky Lines
Sky Lines
There are a limited but notable number of pedestrian overpasses in the city of San Francisco. Built as continuations of the sidewalk to move people up and over busy car thoroughfares, these concrete and steel spiral ramps provide the right kind of armature to host the latest version of the String Drawing series. This piece whose full title is “Sky Lines: Random Acts of Beauty” appropriates urban infrastructure to move the string line drawings from the gallery into the public realm. Sky Lines take advantage of a void created by a spiral ramp to make the invisible helical geometry of the overpass visible. As one moves up or down the ramp, one’s eye is drawn to the center where brightly colored lines shift and rotate position. The regular spacing of concrete piers creates a cadence of framed views of pink lines set against a blue sky. Installed in the days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the piece was also done as a reaction to the war. The second portion of the title is a shortened version of Anne Herbert’s phrase “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” which she turned into a book depicting humans as animals who lose their way when their leaders turn to violence. Peace is restored when the animals realize it is up to each individual to create a better world through their actions.