For the past several weeks a 45-foot tall wire sculpture of a nude woman has loomed over San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza. “R-Evolution,” which first appeared at Burning Man in 2015, has gotten a very mixed reception, sparking controversy in the city over who public art is for and who gets a say. We’ll talk about how public art gets selected, how it illuminates the different relationships people have with shared urban spaces, and why private funding is complicating it all.
How a 45 foot Nude Has SF Debating Public Art
We’ll talk about how public art gets selected, how it illuminates the different relationships people have with shared urban spaces, and why private funding is complicating it all.
A 45-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude woman, titled R-Evolution, by artist Marco Cochrane, stands in the Embarcadero Plaza on April 14, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)
Guests:
Sarah Hotchkiss, senior associate editor, KQED Arts and Culture
Cheryl Derricotte, artist
Lynne Baer, public art advisor