Performance Art Park Prompts Observers To Rethink Urban Open Space

Recently, a few lucky San Franciscan's were treated to an unexpected but pleasant surprise.

Rebar, a free-form art collective of creators, designers and activists, transformed a public parking space into a 20-foot-long and 10-foot-wide urban retreat, complete with green sod, two wooden benches and a potted European hornbeam...."two hours later it was gone, wheeled away by bicyclists pedaling off with their portable landscape to transform another patch of asphalt."

The group's message?

"Too often, success in open space is measured in acreage: the bigger the park or plaza, the better. Officials and interest groups want something they can boast about, or stand in front of on opening day.

But what we really need -- especially in dense downtowns -- are bits of the landscape that we can make our own. The places we remember are the ones we return to whenever we can, or the ones that we recommend to friends who are looking for a place to rendezvous. They're also the ones that feel like common ground, secure and attractive but also a place where the unexpected can occur."