Truth is Beauty
Truth Is Beauty is a 55-foot-tall sculpture made of 13,000 lbs. of stainless steel mesh, 20,000 steel connecting rods, and 3,000 programmable LED lights. The result is a graceful, physically transparent woman claiming the space around her as safe.
While the San Leandro Tech Campus was still under construction in early 2016, the City, developers Westlake Urban, and Truth Is Beauty’s sculptor, Marco Cochrane, came together in a celebration of both the tech campus and the message behind the Truth Is Beauty sculpture: “What would the world be like if women were safe?” Civic and business leaders grew to understand that this modern, high-speed internet connected office building, graced by the iconic sculpture, represented a change for San Leandro identified in the event name: TRANSFORMATION.
In October 2016, San Leandro greeted the arrival of Truth Is Beauty to its city. 55 feet tall, made of 13,000 lbs of stainless steel mesh and lit up by several thousand, programmable LED lights, this statue of a naked woman reaching joyfully, fearlessly to the sky in dance, can be viewed from the downtown San Leandro BART station by thousands of people daily. She symbolizes the connection between San Leandro’s past (making things) and the innovation of the future.
This project was and is personal for me a passion project. Truth Is Beauty, apart from being a technical marvel, challenges us to open up our minds to what is possible, asking ourselves a question few of us would dare to even imagine: “What would the world be like if women were safe?”
“These sculptures are intended to demand a change in perspective… to be catalysts for social change. They are intended to challenge the viewer to see past the sexual charge that has developed around the female body which has been used for power and control, to the human being. They are intended to de-objectify women and inspire men and women to take action to end violence against women, thus allowing both women and men to live fully and thrive.”
-Marco Cochrane, Sculptor and Creator of Truth Is Beauty
Truth Is Beauty’s message is clear. The viewer is challenged, in 10 different languages inscribed at her feet, to:
Imagine a world where women are safe.
The Truth Is Beauty Journey
It was a spring evening in 2014, and I (Deborah Acosta) had been invited to speak at an entrepreneur event hosted by the City of Berkeley and my good friend and colleague, Greg Delaune of UIXGlobal. On behalf of the City of San Leandro (and with Greg’s guidance), I had cautiously been exploring – and enthusiastically supporting – an opportunity to introduce a large, impactful sculpture as a candidate for acquisition by the developers of a new office tech center adjacent to the Downtown San Leandro BART station.
TECHNOLOGY AS AN ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR MAKING THINGS
“I was blown away by how developers, realtors and city officials really get an art piece and really get behind the meaning of that art piece and how that can actually change a community and change the way people think. I haven’t seen anything quite like this before.” Thomas McCabe, former Executive Director, Burning Man Arts
I especially credit co-developers, Gaye Quinn and Sonny Tong (then with the development firm of Westlake Urban) for having the vision to understand the impact an art piece of this magnitude - and with this intention - could have on a development and on a community.
Truth is Beauty - the Documentary
This half-hour, award-winning documentary traces the journey of Truth Is Beauty from the mind of its maker, Marco Cochrane, to its home at the San Leandro Tech Campus in October 2016.
Filmed and Edited by Brandon Katcher, Lost Summit Films
