Barn Stormers San Francisco artists Tracy Ginsberg, 35, and Theodore Lillie, 33, knew they'd found their new home as soon as they drove up to the 3,700-square-foot barn in West Marin County, California. They watched from their car as another prospective buyer peeked inside, then quickly reversed course and left. "This place isn't for everyone," Ginsberg says, "In fact it's really only for people like us." By "people like us," she means those who aren't scared off by particleboard floors, woodstove heating, a septic system, and on hot days, the pungent, faintly sweet smell of horses. After all, from 1972 to 2000 this had been a working barn. She also means people who need space. For nine years, Ginsberg had worked alone in a cold, cave-like studio in San Francisco's Mission District. It was there that she began to develop the idea for a less solitary, more collaborative arts organization. In 2002, she christened the company fulcrumProjects, and began incubating multidisciplinary installations and performances. "An amazing synergy happens when a group of artists experiment freely together," Ginsberg says. "Installing and performing work in a forest or a meadow creates a whole new level of interconnection." FulcrumProjects gives Ginsberg a chance to connect with other artists—musicians, dancers, designers—and to explore the parameters of art. As fulcrumProjects started taking off, Ginsberg and Lillie talked about moving to a bigger space. "We dreamed about big studios and lots of land," she says, "where we could live and work and give fulcrumProjects a home." As soon as the couple moved into the barn, they gutted anything that wasn't bolted down. The previous owners had already done a serious scrub-down, disinfecting with bleach and hauling out five tons of manure, so Ginsberg and Lillie could go headlong into demolition mode: tearing out two rotting wood decks, bulky kitchen cabinets, and two non-load bearing walls. For Ginsberg's studio—the old stables—the pair insulated, sheet-rocked, and installed a mail-order propane gas heater. Once the heavy lifting was done, they painted all the walls white. "I always start with a blank slate," says Ginsberg. "It's the best way to see what you have to work with and the best color to display art on." It took 30 gallons to cover all their walls, so she and Lillie chose five-gallon buckets of Kelley Moore's "Swiss Coffee," which has a friendlier price tag than premium brands, without sacrificing quality. Though they were happy with the results, they'd never do it the same way again. "We spent three weeks rolling the walls and ceilings," says Lillie. "For a big space with lots of nooks and crannies, it's better to rent a spray gun. Next time the job will take five days." Finally, they attacked the floors, which were a random mix of particleboard, ceramic, and plywood coated with a layer of splattered paint. For an easy fix, they painted them black. Now they look modern and uniform. As the interior is a work in progress, Ginsberg and Lillie are turning their attention outside. Having successfully build two decks—one that runs along the side of the house, the other cantilevered out from the front, where they sunk in a hot tub that looks out over the treetops—the couple decided to get more experimental with their next deck, designing it to be modular and transportable. It will live on a gravel breezeway that leads to the front door and doubles as an art gallery. Eventually, pieces of the cedar platform will move around the property for outdoor seating. They've also started the process of transforming their 29-acres of densely forested, hilly land into an art park, where interconnecting trails will lead to sculptures, installations, and meditation enclaves. Lillie has already carved out two miles of paths with the help of some local high-school boys. This summer Ginsberg and Lillie will produce an onsite event called Forest Alchemy featuring five installations, video, spoken word, and dance on the program. San Francisco MOMA and Gen Arts have already booked "field trips" to the Park. Forest Alchemy will be fulcrumProjects official debut in its new home, but Ginsberg and Lillie stress that the art is already happening. "We do a little bit every day, and then all of a sudden there's a shift and a big project is done," he says. "It's a work in progress." |