NATION NOW
California fires: 'Love' sculpture from Burning Man becomes symbol of hope
Jenny Kane
Reno Gazette Journal
SANTA ROSE, Calif. — Amid a charred grove of oak trees, one relic still stood this week at the Paradise Ridge Winery — the 12-foot-tall, four-letter word: Love.
The sculpture, which originally debuted at Burning Man in 2007, is probably the most iconic piece of art at the Santa Rosa winery, which over the years has collected dozens of pieces for its sculpture garden, many of them originally from Burning Man. The sculpture, a rustic steel sculpture stamped with flying birds, is popular with newlyweds and is the work of Reno's Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg.
"That 'Love' sculpture has become a symbol of hope in Sonoma County," said Sonia Byck-Barwick, whose parents opened the winery in 1994. "As my brother said, love conquers all. He took that photo when the property was briefly opened on Monday, and it's gone viral. High school kids are sharing it on Snapchat and Facebook. It's their symbol that it's going to be OK. I mean, how can you not love a sculpture that says love?"
'Love' at the winery
The winery was largely destroyed Sunday night in California's deadliest week of wildfires. One photographer captured images of wine simmering across the hot ground in the aftermath. More than 8,000 firefighters are battling the 21 wildfires that so far have killed 40 people, burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 5,700 homes and businesses.
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The art, however, and most of the Paradise Ridge Winery's grapes, miraculously survived. Most of the winery's supply also was in storage, so the business will be able to sell its supply to other distributors.
"Seeing all this art still standing, it's a perfect symbol of resilience. And, not all of Sonoma County is burned. We gotta make sure that people know there's still a lot left. Please don't not come visit us. All that's showing on the news is things on fire, but we have a lot left," Byck-Barwick said.
Byck-Barwick's parents bought the property in 1978, so it was her childhood home long before it was a winery. When her father retired as a physician, her parents opened the winery with Byck-Barwick's mother, Marijke, running the bulk of the operation. Her father, Walt, wanted a task so he decided to delve into the art world.
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"My parents were engaged in a sculpture garden in Holland, and they just love outdoor sculpture gardens," Byck-Barwick said. "My father, he was wandering through the wooded glen, and he realized it would make an amazing sculpture garden. He started to work on that and it became his passion. Artists, they love him because he's a visionary. His favorite people to hang out with are artists because they have a different lifestyle."
When Marijke died 11 years ago, her husband named the sculpture garden, "Marijke's Grove." The sculpture garden was open to the public and has become home to a portion of the collection of the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation, which has commissioned pieces by a number of Burning Man artists.
Sculpture community
The Byck family purchased the "Love" sculpture several years ago, but it is only one of more than two dozen sculptures on the property. The family rotates many of the pieces in the collection, though others are permanent, including the steel temple, "Temple of Remembrance," by Burning Man Temple artist David Best and an elaborate spire by Burning Man artist Bryan Tedrick.
Both Best, who designed and built Burning Man's first-ever temple and many of the ones thereafter, and Tedrick, who built the 2016 spinning warthog sculpture and the "Portal of Evolution," now in Reno, are artists living within a stone's throw of the devastation. They both been affected by the recent wave of fires.
"We were one of the first areas that was hit by the fires," said Tedrick, who lives in Glen Ellen, Calif. "When you're in the middle of it, you don't know how bad it is. I thought this was just a one-night thing."
Tedrick, who now is staying with relatives, had to evacuate his home at 2 a.m. PT Monday as homes around his burst into flames. He later discovered that his studio, a few miles down the road, was engulfed in flames along with a smattering of other buildings and homes on a 120-acre ranch that he leases space from.
The 62-year-old artist said he likely will rebuild the studio, but he's not sure that it wouldn't be better at his age to find studio space elsewhere at this point. His insurance, which will cover up to $20,000 in damages, should cover his tools, but he lost boxes of family memorabilia and a few paintings he'd created as a student.
Also left behind was a commissioned work, an equine sculpture, that was three-quarters of the way completed. Because it is steel, he is optimistic that it weathered the firestorm.
"I'm expecting that it will be fine, but I haven't seen it yet. There are emergency vehicles everywhere, and they don't want people clogging up the roads, so it's all blocked off," he said.
Best, who has lived in Petaluma, Calif., in modern farmhouse set against a bucolic scene of grazing horses, said he and his wife have packed up most of his art collection and their own family photos. His home, which is up a countryside road, was not in any immediate danger, but the fires have been swift.
"It's changing my look at what I want to do with the rest of my life," said Best, who last year said he was no longer going to make Burning Man temples and would begin making temples for communities that experienced tragedies in the world. "This is my home and community. Now I need to help rebuild it."
Follow Jenny Kane on Twitter: @Jenny_Kane