February 16, 1995
The branches are the primary components of an unfinished wood sculpture by visiting Polish artist Jedrzej Stepak. The sculpture is part of an effort by the Outdoor Art Committee to increase public art on campus.
The committee worked together with the grounds department to fund and hire Stepak, whom can be seen some days diligently working on his sculpture.
"It is a unique crossover between something that is partly a grounds project, a living planted thing, but with an artistic bent in how it's done," said Art Professor Leonard Hunter, coordinator of the Outdoor Art Committee.
The sculpture is on the wall that faces the Cesar Chavez Student Center. Once completed the sculpture will stand 45-feet wide by 15-feet high.
Stepak was initially hired as an artist-in-residence by the art department. As an artist-in-residence, Stepak is given a studio to work in, but since he is not on academic appointment, the university allows him to work without liability.
After the art committee and the grounds department formed a partnership, they were able to offer Stepak a contract to begin working on his wood sculpture.
According to Hunter, Stepak was chosen to do the sculpture because his work is unique. He is being paid $3,000.
Hunter said it is unusual for an artist to work on a sculpture in public, and it is a great opportunity for students to see him work. "I think it's unique because the university community itself can see it in the making rather than just see it arrive one day," said Robert Hutson, director of facilities operations.
Stepak is able to tour several college campuses in the United States to build his wood sculptures because of a grant from the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York.
Before he arrived in San Francisco, he had visited colleges in Chicago; Dayton, Ohio and Lincoln, Neb.
Well-known in Europe, Stepak has produced sculptures for many exhibitions, including Expo '92 in Spain.
While his favorite type of sculpture is landscape sculpture, he also makes furniture and props for performance pieces.
He finds SF State an interesting place and enjoys having curious students ask him questions about the sculpture.
When he was first shown the location for the sculpture, he thought it was ideal because "the building is so gray and so cold." Hutson, who is also on the Outdoor Art Committee, said the wood sculpture "will bring some world-class art to the campus. Maybe one day it will be much like a museum and people will not only come here for the university, but come here to stroll the grounds and see the art work that's on display here."
The process of creating the sculpture begins with the mounting of a steel structure against the wall. Then the different colored branches are woven together to form a wavy pattern.
While Professor Hunter says people can interpret the sculpture differently, he sees it as a cross-section of the earth. "It does feel like a geological section, like a stratification because it will have a lot of different colors and layers," Hunter said.
Most of the branches for the sculpture were obtained for free primarily from Golden Gate Park and Stanford University.
This is the first time Stepak is using pussy willow, bamboo and eucalyptus branches for his sculpture.
In Poland, Stepak says he uses willow because it is very flexible. Because this is a "living sculpture," the grounds department will continue the maintenance of the sculpture when the artist leaves. According to Hutson, the willow that has taken root will eventually begin to flower and wisteria will also be planted to add to the wood sculpture.
Hunter says the sculpture is considered a temporary art project and will be kept there for at least two years.
"It could last as long as ten years, but I think it's going to depend upon the public's interest in it. If they don't like it, then we'll take it down. But we owe him for all of his energy to have it on display for two years," Hunter said.
According to Hutson, the sculpture is expected to be completed by the middle of March.
Film major Jeri Johnson summed up her thoughts of the unfinished sculpture as she sat on the concrete bench across from it.
"It will definitely be an improvement over all the concrete," Johnson said.