My trophy, Barbara Shawcroft's Legs, takes its name and inspiration from a decommissioned BART sculpture. In 1978, workers installed Barbara Shawcroft’s sculpture Legs inside the Embarcadero BART station. 4,000 pounds of orange and white hanging macrame captivated transit riders. Over the next 30 years, grime accumulated on this iconic artwork of the Bay Area Funk Art era. Reactions to the sculpture ranged from fascinated to befuddled, delighted to appalled. In 2014, BART decommissioned the work. Barbara passed away in August 2023.

Barbara Shawcroft’s Legs pays homage to this controversial public artwork. Woven white rope encircles an oversized red pushpin. The sculpture inverts Legs’ focus on the textile, instead celebrating that which Legs obfuscates—the attachment point. The pushpin itself marks Legs’ enigmatic legacy, just as trophies celebrate winners in all their sundry forms.

In its consummate expression, public art should be fun, playful, and even mysterious. SFMOMA’s Artist Soapbox Derby embodies these qualities. Barbara Shawcroft’s Legs was awarded to the "Funkiest" car—an expression of our community’s idealistic hopes and visions.

Watch SFMOMA’s video about the event, or jump to my appearance, which includes footage of making my trophy and my thoughts on the derby.

My trophy, Barbara Shawcroft's Legs, takes its name and inspiration from a decommissioned BART sculpture. In 1978, workers installed Barbara Shawcroft’s sculpture Legs inside the Embarcadero BART station. 4,000 pounds of orange and white hanging macrame captivated transit riders. Over the next 30 years, grime accumulated on this iconic artwork of the Bay Area Funk Art era. Reactions to the sculpture ranged from fascinated to befuddled, delighted to appalled. In 2014, BART decommissioned the work. Barbara passed away in August 2023.

Barbara Shawcroft’s Legs pays homage to this controversial public artwork. Woven white rope encircles an oversized red pushpin. The sculpture inverts Legs’ focus on the textile, instead celebrating that which Legs obfuscates—the attachment point. The pushpin itself marks Legs’ enigmatic legacy, just as trophies celebrate winners in all their sundry forms.

In its consummate expression, public art should be fun, playful, and even mysterious. SFMOMA’s Artist Soapbox Derby embodies these qualities. Barbara Shawcroft’s Legs was awarded to the "Funkiest" car—an expression of our community’s idealistic hopes and visions.

Watch SFMOMA’s video about the event, or jump to my appearance, which includes footage of making my trophy and my thoughts on the derby.