The 92-foot-tall statue that stands, mostly obscured from the street, at the center of the courtyard of the monolithic Trinity Place development at 8th and Market which we just learned about a few weeks ago just got its head installed atop it on Monday, as we can watch in the video above from CBS 5. This topping off of the massive sculpture was supposed to happen last week, but high winds delayed the process.
The piece, commissioned by the late developer Angelo Sangiacomo as a centerpiece for this 1900-unit complex that's been decades in the making, is by artist Lawrence Argent, and is covered in gleaming, polished steel. It is now, officially, San Francisco's tallest statue and piece of public art, though that title will be taken away when this piece gets installed outside the Yerba Buena station of the Central Subway a 110-foot-tall twisty tree branch sculpture by artist Roxy Paine, in 2019.
The scaffolding is likely to stay up for a while, obscuring the full effect of the piece, until Trinity Place and its courtyard fully open next spring.
Sangiacomo's daughter Mia Sangiacomo said to CBS, "It’s actually very emotional, because my dad built this Venus and it was his dream to build this courtyard for SF, a gift to SF... Art is going to be everywhere and the main attraction is this Venus. So yeah, I’m really proud of my dad, really proud. I miss him." She can be seen posing with the statue in the video.
The elder Sangiacomo passed away at age 91 in December.
Previously: 92-Foot-Tall Stainless Steel 'Venus' Sculpture Coming To Mid-Market's Trinity Place