The article below originally appeared at Presidio.gov and is being reprinted with permission.
Picturing the Presidio is a multi-faceted public art installation by photographer Lyle Gomes, presented in partnership with the Presidio Trust.
For more than two decades, Gomes has captured emotive black and white images of the Presidio during a period of great transformation. Picturing the Presidio displays eight of his panoramic works along the trails where they were originally made, enabling viewers to consider the past, present, and future of key forest landscapes.
The exhibit extends the experience by inviting visitors to share their own photographs of the park via Instagram and to go deeper through a series of free guided walks, photography classes, and other programs. An online virtual gallery offers a larger selection of Gomes’ images, revealing the artist’s intimate observations of an ever-evolving park environment.
Four Ways to Experience the Exhibit
Forest Gallery
Eight 52” panoramic images captured by Lyle Gomes between 1989 and 2009 are displayed along the Presidio’s trails in the location where they were originally made. View the brochure for an installation map >>
Virtual Gallery
The Virtual Gallery on Flickr features 60 Presidio photographs made by Lyle Gomes between 1989 and 2012. View the images and see where each photo was captured on the interactive map.
Share your Presidio Images in the Community Gallery
How do you picture the Presidio? Follow @PresidioSF on Instagram and share your favorite photos of the Presidio using the hashtag #PresidioPics. Each month, four images will be selected for public display at the Presidio Transit Center.
Free Exhibit Programs
Picturing the Presidio features a series of free guided walks, photography classes, and other programs. See the schedule on the right and in the exhibit brochure.
About the Artist
Lyle Gomes was born in 1954 in San Francisco. He began photographing seriously at the age of 20 and received his B.A. and M.A. in Art from San Francisco State University. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award and a Rockefeller Foundation residency. His work can be found in numerous permanent collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; and Cantor Center, Stanford University. He is the head of the photography program at the College of San Mateo.
The Presidio has long been an influential setting for Gomes. He began photographing the Presidio while it was still a military post. In 1994, amid the Presidio’s transition from post to park, he created The Presidio: a City Woodland, an exhibit of 48 images displayed at the Ansel Adams Center for Photography. Two decades later, he is returning to this subject through the Picturing the Presidio exhibit.
