Port of San Diego ‘Planting’ Urban Trees

Friday, 21 August 2009
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

The new crop of the Port of San Diego’s Urban Trees is beginning to blossom along the Embarcadero. Chester Wamsley, equipment operator with the Port’s General Services Department, has been busy “planting” this week, installing one-third of the 30 new artworks that make up Urban Trees 6.

The sixth edition is due to be officially dedicated during a ceremony that will be open to the public on September 12. The Port's Public Art Program conceived the temporary exhibit six years ago to add to the already postcard views of San Diego’s waterfront. Artists were invited to apply their creative talents to the design of artistic trees to add color, form, interest and fun to the waterfront.

On Friday, August 21, artist Todd Williams had his turn in the planting spotlight. His Urban Tree, titled "Synthesis" was carefully guided into its planter just north of the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal.

"Installation day is always exciting and (I’m) nervous," Williams said.

His 300-pound sculpture, which stands 12-feet tall and 9-feet wide, is made of bronze and stainless steel. It was created to "combine industrial urban elements with organic elements. It compliments the city while looking like it came from nature," he said.

Williams used his own body weight and bare hands to form the metal as opposed to tools. "Like a tree in nature, nothing is absolutely perfect,” he said. It took 30 days for him to create “Synthesis” at a studio in Northern California. It was then transported to San Diego for the exhibit.

Williams found out about the Urban Trees project from a co-worker, Frank Cota. On installation day, Cota donned a hard hat and helped his friend guide the tree into its “home” on the waterfront for the next year.

"This is an unusual opportunity to have a venue like this and an audience of this size," he said.

The installation took about 30 minutes, with Wamsley at the helm of a huge crane, carefully lifting the tree from the flatbed truck, then hoisting it across the Embarcadero walkway (blocked off to pedestrians for safety) and finally guiding it into its planter. Wamsley said this time of the year for him is “the most fun,” but it does have its challenges.

"The hardest part is figuring out how to pick them up," Wamsley said of the unique trees. "I’ve planted about 90 of them over the past three years. The most challenging tree so far was ‘Slice’ by Linda Joanou (from Urban Trees 4.)"

When asked which of the 90 were his favorite, he picked "My Bike" by Amos Robinson, which was recently purchased by the Port’s Public Art program and will soon be sited on tidelands adjacent to the Coronado bike path.

Many former Urban Trees are available for purchase. Interested buyers can contact the Port of San Diego’s Public Art Department, at 619-686-7246, who will put the potential buyer in touch with the artist. The Port does not have any involvement in the sale or price negotiations, nor does it receive any percentage of the sale.

“If we can help the artist find a customer, that’s a win for everyone,” said Allan Tait, project manager in the Public Art Department. "We’re interested in seeing the artist attain some level of success through the Urban Trees program. The high-visibility venue on the Embarcadero gives the artists a fantastic opportunity for their work to be viewed."

Art, culture and community accessibility to San Diego Bay are top priorities for the Port of San Diego. The Port's Public Art Program is an important element of this vision. Urban Trees can be found stretching for a half-mile along Harbor Drive from the Cruise Ship Terminal to Hawthorn Street.

Once his sculpture was in place, Williams smiled wide and said, "To see it all come together - creating something like that with no right angles – to see it fit in its niche is pretty rewarding."

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