SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Standing totally naked in front of San Francisco's famous ferry building is R-Evolution, a 47-foot-tall, 32,000-pound wire sculpture of a woman. 

She is giant but serene - eyes closed, hair tied back and arms outstretched as she exposes herself to Market Street. She towers over the Embarcadero, a scenic stretch along San Francisco's bay-facing waterfront. From 5 until 6 p.m. every evening, electronics in her rib cage move her chest up and down, simulating breathing.

San Franciscans didn't ask for this. Because the piece is privately funded, the city's Recreation and Parks Department allowed it to skip the usual process of public feedback. It's also only temporary: After a 6-month display that ends in October, R-Evolution will be leased or sold.

All of that has drawn consternation in one of the world's priciest cities, a former stomping ground for hippies and bohemians that's seen property values soar.

For those troubled by the city's roaring gentrification, R-Evolution sends a grotesque message: San Francisco is indeed for sale.

"R-Evolution is public art only in the most literal sense: It exists in public space," local NPR affiliate KQED opined. "The public - as in, the people - had nothing to do with it."

That's only the start of the criticism. Those entering from the bay are greeted by a giant metal backside, as if this glitzy new version of San Francisco is mooning them all. Local street artists were temporarily displaced for the installation. And while this enormous nude woman is meant to convey a message of "feminine strength and liberation," it was created not by a woman but by a 63-year-old man. 

Yet on a recent Friday in San Francisco, most people viewing the statue didn't think much of these controversies. 

Many of them, in fact, even liked R-Evolution.

"I'm impressed by the musculature, the accuracy," Daniel Murphy, a retired physician, told Courthouse News. "There's just a lot of anatomical detail [that is] more accurate than I would have expected."

San Francisco may be a glamorous city, but it's also one with many challenges. 

Naysayers call it a city in decline, stuck in a "doom loop" of declining population and worsening quality of life. Researchers report that during a survey last year, more than a third of the city's office buildings were vacant. Observers worry the decreased traffic is affecting businesses.

The San Francisco Arts Association unveiled R-Evolution in April as its latest bid to bring foot traffic back to downtown after Covid.

"R-Evolution is designed to activate the space - creating a landmark that invites locals and visitors alike to return to the city's core," the Recreation and Parks Department explained in a news release.

The installation was arranged by Building 180, a female-led art production organization, and is funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation with a budget of about $300,000.

It first debuted at Burning Man in 2015 and has spent the last decade on the road, looking for a permanent home. It stopped by the Miami area and almost appeared at the National Mall in D.C. In March, officials approved it for a 6-month stay in Embarcadero Plaza.

Marco Cochrane, the Petaluma-based artist behind R-Evolution, didn't respond to a request for an interview. 

Nonetheless, he's spoken at length about his vision for the statue as a symbol of female empowerment. 

"My mother was a feminist," Cochrane explains on his website."She handed off the torch to me about bringing feminine energy into the world."

Another inspiration: Burning Man, the famous arts festival held each year in the Nevada desert.

Cochrane says R-Evolution was inspired by his experiences at the festival, where hardly anyone cared that women were walking around "practically naked." Thus, while R-Evolution doesn't necessarily like all the tourists ogling her, she feels safe enough to be naked. At sunset she breathes calmly, undisturbed by rude stares or touching.

Burning Man has its origins in San Francisco. It's followed a similar trajectory as the city, going from countercultural haven to techie playground. That might explain why R-Evolution has evoked strong feelings here. Local critics have called it an "utter travesty" and a "half-baked message of representation." 

Still, the tastes of critics don't always line up with those of audiences. On a recent visit, tourists and residents alike seemed unconcerned with the swirling controversies and were simply enjoying the new art installation.

"Have you ever tried to build anything in San Francisco?" East Bay resident Mikki Asada said when asked about one criticism: the lack of public comment. "We shouldn't have to wait six months and pay board members to answer emails about whether or not you like the art."

Marce Calonge, a San Francisco resident, echoed that sentiment. The city already has plenty of bureaucracy surrounding public art, she said.

"Not everything needs public comment or agreement," Calonge told Courthouse News. "It's just a statue."

Asada was at Burning Man in 2015 when R-Evolution first debuted. At the time, she said the statue's message of female empowerment was well-received. 

"I feel like that was everyone's opinion of this beautiful woman," she said in an interview. "Somehow, you put it in the city and you get a lot of criticism and backlash."

Part of that, she thinks, comes down to how San Francisco has displayed R-Evolution. At Burning Man, people interacted with the statue, touching it and dancing beneath its legs. 

While there's no explicit instructions for San Franciscans to stay off it, people here are being delicate with the statue, apparently believing that's the appropriate and respectful way to treat art. Teresa Pitta, a 75-year-old tourist visiting from Merced, said she'd rather show her grandkids art they could interact with, unaware that R-Evolution was intended to be just that.

Still, some here are serious about their feelings that people should not climb on statues. Someone even screwed rivets between R-Evolution's heels and along the platform, to try to prevent skateboarders from using it. That hasn't stopped everyone. On our recent visit, Courthouse News watched as one brave adrenaline junkie glided over the screws on his board, taking the bumpy rivets in stride.

Critics of R-Evolution aren't all pretentious art-world columnists. Even some tourists can spot the obvious irony of a male artist sculpting a nude woman to represent female empowerment.

Pitta, the Merced tourist, didn't dislike the statue. But she wasn't surprised to learn its creator was male, given its sexually suggestive nature.

"I think female bodies are often things that don't please us as ourselves, as our own bodies," Pitta told Courthouse News. "So, to see a body like this, it makes sense to me that a man designed it."

Still, criticisms from passersby didn't match the level of art-world disapproval. Nicole Rup, a tourist from New York, said the sculptor's gender didn't matter "as long as the message is there." Her husband Daniel Murphy agreed. "I think that people can write about an experience that is not their own," he said.

One group is notably ambivalent about R-Evolution: the local artists who actually work beneath her feet.

Under San Francisco city law, Embarcadero Plaza is one of four places where vendors can sell their art. Many artists have had booths here for decades. To install the statue, the city kicked them out for a week. Some are still upset they weren't consulted about the decision, given that Embarcadero Plaza is the source of their livelihood and their second home.

In a statement, the city implied that R-Evolution would benefit these vendors in the long run. 

"At the feet of R-Evolution, local artists will continue to sell their work, making a visit to Embarcadero Plaza an opportunity to engage with San Francisco's thriving creative community," the Recreation and Parks Department said.

And yet one month into the city's experiment, artists who spoke to Courthouse News said they haven't seen much of this promised engagement. They asked us not to use their real names, fearing retaliation from the city. Although they've got proper permits to be here, the recent temporary eviction left many rattled, fearing they could get kicked out again on a whim.

"I work here a lot of days, and I don't see any difference at all" in foot traffic, said one artist, who gave her name as L. L has sold art here for more than 25 years. She gestured towards Market Street and the city skyline. "The offices are closed, right? I don't know many people coming out here just for this."

Others complained that the statue took up the best real estate in the middle of the square. "We're the attraction," another artist said. "Why do they have to put something like this here?"

Interestingly, some of the artists here expressed sympathy for Cochrane, the sculptor behind R-Evolution. They said his piece was "suffocated" in its current location, boxed in by palm trees and art booths.

"I feel sorry for the artist," L said. "People, they walk, they don't stop, don't even appreciate his art. They don't even see the face of the woman. That's the sad thing."

Love it or hate it, R-Evolution has certainly generated a stir in the arts scene. In a way, that's the most artsy thing about it.

Asada, the East Bay resident, said that the sculpture's provocative nature was a plus for her, and she welcomed the conversations it stoked. "Isn't that what art's supposed to do in the first place?"

Source: Courthouse News Service