Local Artist Raising Money To Save SOMA Furniture-Strewn Building Sculpture

A local artist is hoping this installation, "Defenestration," won't be tossed out the window...

​San Francisco artist Brian Goggin is facing a tough dilemma: Either raise the $75,000 to restore the iconic furniture dancing on the walls of the above derelict building at Sixth and Howard, or see all his work torn down. You can help. 

Defenestration, a word which literally means throwing things or people out a window, has added an ounce of levity to the gritty Sixth Street corridor on the defunct Hugo Hotel since the '90s. Goggin recycled discarded furniture into a dynamic installation: Clocks, bathtubs, and couches threaten to bail out the window. A chair prances along the wall. SF Weekly wrote about the piece's premiere back in 1997, when firemen responded to a call about a chest of drawers seeming to fall out the window and hacked it to the ground with 17 axe-swipes.

Though the art made made the building arguably the most whimsical in the city, the inside of the defunct Hugo Hotel has long been vacant. So recently, after a prolonged fight and eminent domain lawsuit against the abandoned building's owners, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency acquired the building. The city has told Goggin he must restore the urban art showpiece or it will none-too-whimsically come down.

So that's the rub. Goggin is now attempting to raise $75,000 in two months via his Web site to remove and rebuild all the weathered furniture pieces and reinstall them -- complete with lights to illuminate the art installation after hours. He also would like to integrate the street-level art with the entire work. His Web site says no donation is too small, though he's also looking for people to sponsor whole pieces of furniture -- from an estimated $400 worth of work for a lamp to $6,000 for four tables. Goggin has paired with Black Rock Arts Foundation to raise the money.

Calls to the Redevelopment Agency have not yet been returned. In the meantime, your dollars could keep the furniture dancing on the ceiling.

Photo   |   Metaphorm