The project Markings_∆ took place on June 22nd in Kezar ∆, a section of Golden Gate Park. senseofplace LAB was asked by the Friends of Kezar Triangle to activate this underused space.
A large triangular shape of 500 mylar flags created a sculptural form to mark ’empty’ space.
This artwork was the final destination for a ‘tour’ of Kezar∆ performed by SF artist Emily Tareila. Leading her tour complete with a custom-made Kezar∆ flag, participants followed her as she shared specific memories and histories of Kezar∆ and a dialogue about the affect of memory on our relationship to places. The tour included discussing chalk markings/outlines by senseofplace LAB where the Quiqley home used to be on the site, and where a Barley patch used to be to feed horses in the nearby stables.
After the tour, participants were invited to drink barley tea, and be a part of an interactive art piece in which they ‘marked’ this place with their own thoughts about Kezar∆ and its memories – including those created during the event. Participants were given tags with This is where… printed on them. They finished the statement on their tag with memories connected to the past/present/or future of the place – then ‘tagged’ the site via attaching them to the reflective flags.
The photographs of the tags attached to the reflective flags [like the two at the top of this page] form a body of photographic work – a series of 20 photographs , each 24″ x 36″. The photographs are part of a series of works titled the FLAG series.
The Friends of Kezar Triangle (supported by the Carla and David Crane Foundation) have designed a very thoughtful and artistic proposal to activate this underused area of GG Park, with groundbreaking planned for 2013. Their plan will include subtle landscaping and art works that point to the many histories inherent to the site; including the Quigley House that burned there in 1912 and a barley patch grown to feed the horses that were in the nearby stables. Some say that the introduction of barley into the soil created more diversity in the SF landscape. Markings_∆ also included markings to highlight these histories [and the future art works] by outlining these two areas in chalk. The project deepened an awareness of this area of the park as it also marked several things at once.