b. 1930 d. 2009
Site Affiliation: 500 Capp Street, The David Ireland House
American artist David Ireland is admired internationally for a diverse body of work concerned with the beauty inherent in everyday things and the making of art as a part of daily life. His idiosyncratic, hybrid practice blends sculpture, architecture, painting, and performance, and often draws on ordinary materials such as dirt, concrete, wood, or wire that he collected over time.
Ireland boldly began his full-time art career late in life after taking a circuitous route to his calling. In the two decades between his completion of a Bachelor of Applied Art degree from California College of the Arts (now California College of the Arts) in 1953 and finishing his graduate work at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1974, he followed a winding path through military service, marriage, fatherhood, insurance sales, carpentry, and extensive world travels in Asia and East Africa as a safari guide and importer of artifacts.
Primary Medium: Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, Performance
Primary Stylistic Term: Conceptual
Fun Fact: In 1976, David Ireland repaired the sidewalk outside of 500 Capp Street and declared the action a work of art. The preparation, mixing and pouring of concrete, and subsequent restoration of the sidewalk were recorded on video by the artist Tom Marioni in order to document an event that would disappear underfoot.
Recommended Publications: The Art of David Ireland: The Way Things Are by Karen Tsujimoto and Jennifer Gross (2003); 500 Capp Street: David Ireland’s House by Constance M. Lewallen (2015)
Watch: Video of David Ireland in his home at 500 Capp Street