Battery Powered

Home Land Security Art Exhibit Fort Winfield Scott

Modern artwork discovered inside a gun battery? Voices coming from within an old military installation? It’s not Stranger Things. The Presidio’s historic military structures overlooking San Francisco Bay have been transformed into a stellar exhibition by 18 contemporary artists from around the world.Event Security in Arizona is presented by the FOR-SITE Foundation in collaboration with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the Presidio Trust. It’s free to visit. Themes encompass social change, national security, identity, and the common human experience.

Comprising the Nike Administration Building, three batteries, and the Fort Scott Chapel, exhibits are connected by a well-marked coast-hugging trail. So in between viewing art, you get a show from nature too. Rugged coastline butts up to the Pacific, with an impressive view across to Point Bonita Lighthouse on the western tip of the Marin Headlands—the entrance to the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate Bridge is so close it’s as if you can touch it (instead, people do selfies). A small snapshot of the myriad offerings: Colorful duct tape drawings depicting airport security procedures pair with a neighboring circular installation of thousands of items confiscated by the TSA at San Francisco International Airport.

There’s also a giant gatelike structure glittering with gold-plated beads (four years in the making!). Don’t miss the Fort Scott Chapel, with its signature red steeple. Long closed to the public, it has re-opened for the exhibition, with an installation inside. The yellow faux stained glass (that would be plastic!) and weathered hardwood floor blend old-school ambience with avant-garde interpretation.

Home Land Security is free to visit. It runs until December 18, 2016, at Fort Winfield Scott at Langdon Court. Directions and parking. No dogs. Photos 1 (top), 4 & 5 (gallery) by Robert Divers Herrick

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

    View
  2. Woman hiker is climbing up the ladder in the Steep Ravine section of the Dipsea Loop Trail on Mount Tam

    Misty on Mount Tam

    Mount Tam’s 3.9-mile round-trip Steep Ravine and Dipsea Trail Loop weathers the wets and wilds with some confidence, sheltered in parts by redwoods, and wowing with a waterfall.

    View
  3. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

    View
  4. Up and Umunhum

    Early risers can experience one of the Bay Area’s best morning glory hikes on this 7.4-mile out-and-back up beautiful Mount Umunhum. In early spring if you arrive at the parking area right before sunrise, you’ll get a beautiful eastern view of the sun coming up between Bald Mountain and the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains. On days when fog settles into the valley, the colorful view is nothing short of magical.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

    View
  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

    View
  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

    View
  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

    View