From the birthplace of Levi Strauss in Germany to the place he made his name
A new permanent installation in San Francisco.
Where
San Francisco Flower Mart
https://www.newsfflowermart.com
Kilroy Innovation Center (temporary location)
660 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94107, United States
Credit: Lawrence Anderson Productions
Intertwining a past to a future
20 meters x 80cm made in Recycled Denim
photos by Lawrence Anderson
A hanging trellis with flowers, leaves, vines, wisteria and chrysanthemums welcomes visitors, but it is no ordinary flora but a dense structure that blooms in blue, indigo blue. Each piece cut from jeans and denim.
Cascading high across the wide-paned windows as a floral curtain, this piece is a solemn and bold reminder of the industrial history of the United States. The denim from this piece was sourced from the last denim mill in the United States, Cone Denim’s, White Oak in Greensboro, North Carolina.
This piece was commissioned for the Kilroy Realty for the Kilroy Innovation Center to pay homage to the blue-collar jobs being preserved by the new San Francisco Flower Mart as well as portray the sustainable credentials and support Kilroy’s commitment to sustainability and art within its developments.
Credit: Lawrence Anderson Productions
click here to see a gallery of images from the San Francisco Flower Mart
Denim has been Ian Berry’s medium for over 15 years and one thing he loves the most about it, is the history though time and its symbolism but also its origins. Representing the Flower Mart in the material famed in the city dating back to the 1870s and the official fabric of California will show that the great new building respects and embraces the city’s heritage.
Of course, it was the immigrant to America, Leob Strauss who emigrated from Buttenheim in Germany to become Levi Strauss and make the garment what it is today. Ian Berry is currently exhibiting in the birth home of Levi in Bavaria starting a tour of his work that takes in many cities across the world.
Credit: Steelblue, LLC
The democratic nature of this famed material is also a mark of this project’s preservation of blue-collared jobs and a bridge between the old and the new in this innovation. And of course, denim transcends all boundaries all over the world and ever since the 1800’s the Flower Mart has been ethnically diverse, and this history should be celebrated.
While the city was built on gold and ‘white gold’ turned to jeans, now San Francisco is a world leader in technological innovation as a key industry as other industries waned. The true leaders know that we have to lead a sustainable future, and Kilroy is at the forefront of this and put simply the up cycled nature of this installation of worn and scraps of denim that pays tribute to its past and builds for a greener future.
Tonello
Blue is also green with Ian’s friend’s at Tonello in Italy, an international leader in the production of garment treatment technologies, developing innovative equipment for the apparel industry. Ian has been working with Tonello for four years now since the Secret Garden in the CMA in New York and their relationship has flourished to make numerous other installations. In Ian’s work normally everything is just worn jeans and scissors, whereas the large-scale installations he turns to Tonello.
With the installation for the new San Francisco Flower Mart, Tonello helped was (with ozone) dozens upon dozens of yards of the Cone denim and laser cut the vines to make the Trellis. Ian travelled to Italy to work with the specialist team in the region also famed for its denim industry
Ian working with the Lazer Blade at Tonello
Alice Tonello, head of marketing and R&D said
"Having the opportunity to work with Ian Berry is always amazing. We are using denim in a different and inspiring way, and it's something that in the industry usually doesn't happen.
When he asked us about this new project, we were so happy and so proud to be part of it. The installation in the San Francisco Flower Mart is an example of how collaborations and friendships can lead to unexpected and surprising results as well as portraying a message in a beautiful way."
Ian Berry saw the San Francisco links to the denim history at the Levi Strauss archive with Tracey Panek.
Credit: Lawrence Anderson Productions
Tracey Panek, Levi Strauss & Co. Historian said
“Since the birth of blue jeans by Levi Strauss & Co.in 1873, denim and Levi’s® have been a foundational part of San Francisco’s history, culture, and political landscape. Denim constituted the working clothes for the builders who erected the city and the engineers who raised its bridges; it was the canvas of self-expression for hippies, the uniform for gay activists, and the business attire of today’s entrepreneurs. Denim will continue to be the common thread in San Francisco’s future fabric and that's why it is great to see it acknowledged in this amazing installation by Ian Berry.”
Kilroy Realty Corporation
Kilroy Realty Corporation
San Francisco Flower Mart
The origins of the San Francisco Flower Mart go back to the late 1800s when flower growers brought their product to Lotta’s Fountain in downtown San Francisco to sell to local flower shops. The need for a centrally-located space to bring together the ethnically-diverse groups of flower growers led to the opening of a market at 5th and Howard Streets in 1924.
In September 1956, the grand opening of the current San Francisco Terminal marked the establishment of an industry icon. As it has for more than a century, the San Francisco Flower Mart continues to witness the evolution of one of America’s greatest cities. Today, there are over 60 wholesalers and purveyors of cut flowers, potted plants, and floral supplies that service the floral industry of the Bay Area and beyond.
Credit: Lawrence Anderson Productions
As the city evolves, the San Francisco Flower Mart Project will keep these timeless businesses in operation. After almost 65 years at 6th and Brannan without any major renovations or updates, Kilroy Realty Corporation is planning to build the Flower Market a brand new, efficient, and environmentally sustainable wholesale marketplace at 901 16th Street in San Francisco’s historic Potrero Hill neighborhood.
As Central SoMa prepares for major growth and reshaping into a vibrant, transit-oriented neighborhood, Kilroy will lead the historic San Francisco Flower Mart site at 6th and Brannan into its new role as the focal point of a dynamic, mixed-use space that offers a unique take on the urban lifestyle.
Kilroy Realty Corporation
Once the development is complete, the installation will move in from the Kilroy Innovation Center. More information about San Francisco Flower Mart may be found online at www.newsfflowermart.com.