Downing makes art with a message

An innovative art installation by Professor of Art Jeff Downing was the subject of a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. Titled “Aqua Metric Markers,” the installation consisted of five, 250-pound pylons topped with nautical symbols erected in Richardson Bay near Sausalito. The work — which Downing put up and took down the same day — was meant to call attention to the impact climate change will have on Bay Area communities. “There are people who don’t think about sea level rise and don’t know the extreme of it,” Downing said. “In 20 years, the sea level will be six inches higher, which means inundation and flooding streets. In 2045, there will be 4,000 homes under water.” Four of the markers from the installation are now on display at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, where Downing is the 2020 artist in residence.