News about our work
'Ten Years Later,' a 9/11 Memorial-Projection in San Francisco
Published on December 26th, 2011
On September 11, 2011, St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco was the site of a 9/11 memorial service and a large-scale projection by British artist Ben Wood. Working closely with curator Tamara Loewenstein, Wood created a melange of images invoking the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and traditional rituals of remembrance. In this interview Loewenstein and Wood discuss the process of creating something that was equal parts installation, performance, sacred rite and act of communal memory.
Read MoreTen Years Gone
Published on Septemeber 7th, 2011
When the planes crashed into the World Trade Center 10 years ago today, local artist Ben Wood had just started his first week of grad school at the S.F. Art Institute. That day's events and their aftermath instilled in him a desire to use his art to make the world a better place, tapping into community histories and bringing people together in public spaces. Wood is known for projecting video on Coit Tower on recent Fourths of July, and on the anniversary of the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz. Earlier this year he received recognition for a striking 18th century mural he recreated in the Mission with Eric Blind; the original was painted by neophytes at Mission San Francisco de Asis in 1791. Now Wood returns to 9/11, contributing his art to the September 11th Anniversary Commemoration.
Read MoreRemembering 911, Installation at St. Ignatius by Ben Wood
Published on August, 2011
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Ghosts of the City's Past
by Joe Rosato Jr., NBC Bay Area News
Published on March 20th, 2011
A good deal of San Francisco's deep history is buried beneath the footsteps of the City by the Bay. Construction digs yield old schooners, bits of pottery and the remnants of maritime factories. Seven years ago, Ben Wood and archaeologist Eric Blind heard the tale of an old Native American mural hidden behind the altar of Mission Dolores, San Francisco's oldest building. The mural had been covered when the altar was installed around 1796, five years after the dedication of the church.
Read MoreMission Dolores Mural now Part of Art History
by Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle
Published on April 14, 2011
For more than two centuries, the red and black images of a rare American Indian mural remained hidden in the dark behind the elaborate altar at Mission Dolores, inaccessible to anyone save a few archaeologists and curators. Now, the public can see it, too - in a way.
Read Moreby Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle
Published on February 17, 2011
A long-hidden mural at Mission Dolores painted more than 200 years ago by Native Americans will be recreated on a modern Mission District wall by a trio of muralists.
Read MoreForgotten 18th Century Mural
by Mission Local, Octavio Lopez Raygoza
Published on October 2010
When freelance artist Ben Wood and archaeologist Eric Blind heard about a hidden 18th-century mural at Mission Dolores in 2004, they wanted to see it. With permission from the church, they lowered a camera into a 3-by-3-foot trap door in the attic.
Read MoreWisdoms of the East and West created for 50th Anniversary of East West Center
Published on June, 2010
In honor of the East-West Center's 50th anniversary, the Gallery will feature a selection of some 35 works rarely seen by the general public, including sculpture, prints, paintings, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, wood carvings, and photographs. Also included is a video projection art work, by Ben Wood and Michael Schuster, based on the flagship Charlot and Affandi murals in Imin Center-Jefferson Hall..
Read MoreNYTIMES: Films to Be Projected Around Coit Tower Again
Published on November 26, 2009
The genesis of the program series Historic Techniques originated, perhaps fittingly, with a chance meeting at the vintage paper fair at the Golden Gate Park botanical garden in the autumn of 2013. The California Historical....
Read MoreTowering Reminder of Alcatraz
by the Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle
Published November 2009
Famed visual artist Ben Wood comes to Mendocino! During the Tenth Anniversary Mendocino Film Festival, he will illuminate the MacCallum House water tower and the Savings Bank with animated imagery and text in an exploration of the early history of our town. This is a collaboration with the Mendocino Art Center and many other local patrons of the arts.
Read MoreTower of Films to recall Alcatraz Takeover
Published November 2009
At the annual California Mission Studies Association Conference, this year in Ventura, Ben Wood presents recent, in progress, research with photo and video documents about the hidden 18th century mural.
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Fun Fact
Ben Wood is the middle of a set of triplets, the others being Bryan (identical) and Richard (fraternal) When the Wood Triplets were born, they were the first triplets to be born in many years at Southlands Hospital in West Sussex, United Kingdom. Ben weighed the least at a little under 2 llbs. He is one of six boys.See news from 1980.