Artist Statement: 

It is only a matter of time.  San Francisco will be hit by “the next big one” and a major earthquake will return our city to dust.

I was living in New England where natural disasters melt in the morning when I heard about Hurricane Katrina. I could not understand.  New Orleans is in a precarious position. It is likely that it will be hit again. Why rebuild?
Then I moved to San Francisco, equally precariously perched on the San Andreas fault. I fell in love with the city.  And now I get it. When the next earthquake comes I’ll be here rebuilding. When the next big earthquake takes our buildings down I will be here to rebuild.  Here’s the plan:

Anyone can go onto underscoreg.com/quake and submit a location-based memory.  What places in San Francisco are important to you? Where do you walk your dog? Where did you get proposed to? Where do you get the best avocados? Put these memories on the map. I’m pulling together a group of artists working in all mediums who will make original commissions from these memories.  I am compiling these works in neighborhood based shows, online, and in a book.  This book will be our guide. The morning after the next big earthquake we will get up, dust off this book and look to it as our guide for rebuilding the city.  We will rebuild San Francisco from art.

In accordance with this project my work is almost entirely inspired by San Francisco and the stories I hear here.  I work primarily in paint. I have found it an effective language for translating stories into art.  I do not restrict myself to a style or school as different memories and places hold different demands. By allowing anyone to submit a location-based memory I have opened up the commission process to a new audience allowing those who can not purchase art a deeply personal art experience.   I am always looking for other artists who want to adopt the mission of artistically capturing San Francisco. If you want to get involved as an artist or submit a location-based memory check out underscoreg.com/quake

We will rebuild San Francisco from art.

Mediums: 
Artist Display Name: 
_g | Gretchen Andrus