Driftwood Art in Emeryville Mudflats

Unfinished History

In the 1960s and ’70s, the mudflats between the Bay Bridge and the Powell Street freeway exit from I-80 were an amazingly fertile ground for creative expression. Mostly anonymous locals went into the area at low tide and working with the driftwood that would collect there, erected large sculptures that were often whimsical, poignant, political, satirical, and surprising. Here is a small collection from Seymour Rosen, courtesy of SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments).

CA 976 Emeryville 006.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 004.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 008.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 001.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 002.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 003.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 005.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

CA 976 Emeryville 007.jpg

Photo: Seymour Rosen © SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments)

Dragon sculpture on emeryville mudflats via Randy Koger FB.jpg

Dragon sculpture on Emeryville mudflats.

Photo: courtesy Randy Koger via Facebook

Emeryville mudflat sculpture via Rob Adams FB.jpg

Photo: courtesy Rob Adams via Facebook

Emeryville mudflat sculpture via Carl Griffith FB.jpg

Photo: courtesy Carl Griffith via Facebook

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ymKAhoXyPA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Junkopia by Chris Marker, 1981

Codirected by Frank Simeone and John Chapman, JUNKOPIA was filmed at the Emeryville Mudflats outside of San Francisco while Chris Marker was also shooting the Vertigo sections of Sans Soleil.