The 45-foot-tall sculpture of a nude woman that was banished from Union Square earlier this year will soon loom above Embarcadero Plaza instead.
“R-Evolution,” by Petaluma-based artist Marco Cochrane, will be unveiled April 10 and remain in the plaza for at least six months, with the potential to extend for a full year. The sculpture, which debuted at Burning Man in 2015, had been slated to appear in Union Square in early February, but organizers cancelled its installation at the last minute because its weight could have cracked the plaza’s tiles.
Apparently, no such concerns hinder the 13,000-pound statue and its 16,000-pound steel anchor plate from coming together on Embarcadero Plaza’s gray tiles. The piece aims to “make the waterfront more inviting for all,” Elaine Forbes, executive director of the Port of San Francisco, said in a statement, by “further embedding art into the fabric of our civic life.”
The statue is one of a series by Cochrane, who was inspired to create it after his first voyage to Burning Man in 2007, when he “noticed that women were walking around practically naked, and hardly anyone even cared,” he said in a video about the piece. The piece is meant to challenge outdated narratives about women as it “stands strong, aware, and grounded — calling for a world where all people can walk freely and without fear,” he said in a statement about the new location.
For one hour a day, the chest of the statue will move in a way that simulates breathing.
Before coming to SF, the sculpture traveled the country, from Petaluma to Las Vegas, and, most recently, Miami Beach. Cochrane currently has another public art piece on display in the city; it, too, is a sculpture of a nude woman, who can be seen reclining over the Central Freeway on 14th Street.
Funding for the Embarcadero installation comes from the Sijbrandij Foundation, launched by the cofounder of GitLab and his wife, an engineer. They collaborated with the SF Recreation and Parks Department to find a home for the sculpture.
An unveiling party April 10 from 5 to 8 p.m. will include a full bar, food trucks, and DJ performances organized by the Burning Man-adjacent arts group Opulent Temple.