This art project is for the Goethe Institut San Francisco. The exhibition ‘Close to the Wind’ features ten German artists from the San Francisco Bay Area. Each of them was given a sail, 7.8 ft x 3.9 ft, to use as a blank canvas to turn into a work of art. Being a letterpress printer, book artist and printmaker I choose to letterpress hundreds of tiny little seagulls. The sail has a total of about 500 glued on to it. The first picture shows the rough layout, with the seagulls just laid on the sail. My first idea was to stitch them on, but then I decided to glue them (the time factor being part of my decision).
….keep glueing!
… parts of a nautical chart as a reference to the America’s Cup.
I don’t really know when I had the idea for the rainbow-seagulls, but once it was there it quickly formed in my mind and I knew this would be perfect for San Francisco. There is a rich history behind these colors and especially this year marks another historic event in the gay community with a ruling by the Supreme Court that same-sex marriages are once again legal in the state of California. I dedicate this piece to all my friends in the LGBT community and in specific to those two who asked me to be their witness when they gave each other their word on a sunny afternoon on Saturday, June 29th, 2013. I am honored that I was allowed to be part of your special day. Thank you Thomas & Karan!
… and finally, the finished piece!
