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UC San Diego. Stuart Collection Records
RSS 1250
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Stuart Collection Records
Creator:
Wegman, William
Creator:
Hawkinson, Tim, 1960-
Creator:
Ferrara, Jackie
Creator:
Asher, Michael
Creator:
Allen, Terry, 1943-
Creator:
Holzer, Jenny, 1950-
Creator:
Irwin, Robert, 1928-
Creator:
Finlay, Ian Hamilton
Creator:
Fleischner, Richard, 1944-
Creator:
Baldessari, John, 1931-
Creator:
Paik, Nam June, 1932-2006
Creator:
Nauman, Bruce, 1941-
Creator:
Murray, Elizabeth, 1940-2007
Creator:
Stuart Collection (San Diego, Calif.)
Creator:
Smith, Kiki, 1954-
Creator:
Smith, Alexis, 1949-
Creator:
Saint-Phalle, Niki de, 1930-2002
Creator:
Hawkinson, Tim, 1960-
Identifier/Call Number: RSS 1250
Physical Description:
9.95 Linear feet
(8 records cartons, 1 archives box, 2 flat boxes, 21 map case folders, and 18 art bin items)
Date (inclusive): 1982-2006
Abstract: The Stuart Collection Records contains the materials documenting art pieces held in the Stuart Collection as well as proposals
for projects that were not built.
Languages:
English
.
Original media recording formats are restricted. Viewing/listening copies are available for researchers.
Acquired 2002, 2006, 2017, and 2021.
UC San Diego. Stuart Collection Records. RSS 1250. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
The Stuart Collection was created in 1981 through a partnership between the University of California, San Diego and the Stuart
Foundation with a gift from businessman and philanthropist James Stuart deSilva (1919-2002). DeSilva's goal was to establish
a collection of public art in a setting where people who might not otherwise seek it and could encounter it as a part of their
everyday lives. In addition to its original $1.5 million endowment, the collection has received financial support from organizations
such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Russell Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and the California Arts Council.
Since 1998, the Friends of the Stuart Collection International Advisory Committee has also provided an important network of
support both for new projects and the long-term care of built works. Founding director, Mary Beebe, has overseen the collection
and its growth since 1981.
Artists invited by the Stuart Collection's Advisory Committee to contribute proposals are prominent figures of twentieth-century
conceptual art, including artists not typically associated with environmental sculpture. The Advisory Committee includes the
Stuart Foundation's chair and at least one artist, an art critic, and a member of the UCSD faculty. As of 2002, more than
forty artists had submitted proposals.
All sites on UCSD's campus are available for an artist's consideration, though projects are subject to a campus review and
final approval of the chancellor. Throughout the proposal, design, and construction processes, artists tailor their work to
the selected site.
Proposals may be rejected for a variety of reasons, including conflicts with the University's plans for a site, logistical
infeasibility, safety concerns, or insufficient funding. The obstacles which occasionally occur during the approval or construction
process are illustrated by several projects represented in the Stuart Collection Archive. Bruce Nauman's
Vices and Virtues, originally conceived for the Mandel Weiss theater, was ultimately relocated to the Powell Structural Laboratory when area
residents objected to the proposed use of neon lights and the general nature of the work. Objections from residents also played
a part in the ultimate rejection of two amphitheater proposals from James Turrell (
Laodicea and Amphitheater Proposal). Works cancelled due to conflicts with University plans include George Trakas's
Pepper Canyon (1987), and Richard Fleischner's preliminary proposals for works in a canyon (not included in this archive) and a eucalyptus
grove (included). For more information on the subject of project changes, researchers should see
Landmarks: Sculpture Commissions for the Stuart Collection at the University of California (Rizzoli International, 2001). Additional information about the Stuart Collection may be found at the collection's website
http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu.
As of 2006, the Stuart Collection includes 16 completed works:
Sun God (1983), Niki de Saint Phalle;
Two Running Violet V Forms (1983), Robert Irwin;
La Jolla Project (1984), Richard Fleischner;
Trees (1986), Terry Allen;
Something Pacific (1986), Nam June Paik;
UNDA (1987), Ian Hamilton Finlay;
Vices and Virtues (1988), Bruce Nauman;
La Jolla Vista View (1988), William Wegman;
Untitled (1991), Michael Asher;
Terrace (1991), Jackie Ferrara;
Green Table (1992), Jenny Holzer;
Snake Path (1992), Alexis Smith;
Red Shoe (1996), Elizabeth Murray;
Standing (1998), Kiki Smith;
READ/WRITE/THINK/DREAM (2001), John Baldessari;
Bear (2005), Tim Hawkinson.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Stuart Collection Records contains the materials documenting art pieces held in the Stuart Collection as well as proposals
for projects that were not built.
The Stuart Collection at the University of California, San Diego, is a collection of site-specific public art in settings
where people can encounter it as part of their everyday lives. The artists invited to contribute proposals by the Stuart Collection's
Advisory Committee are prominent conceptual artists, including some not typically associated with environmental sculpture.
As of 2006, 16 works have been completed:
Sun God (1983), Niki de Saint Phalle;
Two Running Violet V Forms (1983), Robert Irwin;
La Jolla Project (1984), Richard Fleischner;
Trees (1986), Terry Allen;
Something Pacific (1986), Naum June Paik;
UNDA (1987), Ian Hamilton Finlay;
Vices and Virtues (1988), Bruce Nauman;
La Jolla Vista View (1988), William Wegman;
Untitled (1991), Michael Asher;
Terrace (1991), Jackie Ferrara;
Green Table (1992), Jenny Holzer;
Snake Path (1992), Alexis Smith;
Red Shoe (1996), Elizabeth Murray;
Standing (1998), Kiki Smith;
READ/WRITE/THINK/DREAM (2001), John Baldessari;
Bear (2005), Tim Hawkinson. The records include design materials from fourteen of the artists whose works have been built for
the Stuart Collection, and proposal materials from thirteen artists whose works have not been built, as well as photos of
an early non-constructed proposal from Richard Fleischner. The greatest portion of the materials are blueline print or whiteprint
plans, although drawings, photographs, and other graphic materials are also present. Also included are audio and videorecordings
of interviews, installations and other events, and brochures.
The collection includes audio and videorecordings documenting the installation of Stuart Collection projects, interviews with
artists, and promotional materials. Formats include Beta-Sp video, 3/4-inch video, Hi8 video, and audiocassette recordings.
This collection also contains plans and proposals for Stuart Collection projects. Work by a total of 27 artists is included;
fourteen artists whose works were constructed, and thirteen artists whose proposals were not constructed. One artist, Richard
Fleischner, appears in both categories. The greatest portion of materials are whiteprint or blueline print plans with specifications
for a project's construction. Since Stuart Collection works are outdoors, and typically large scale, some artists employed
large photographs, maps, or topographical surveys of a proposed site with additional artwork or transparent overlays illustrating
features of the project. Drawings, photographs, and other graphic media are also included.
Arranged in five series: 1) DERIVATIVE RECORDINGS, 2) ORIGINAL RECORDINGS, 3) WORKS BUILT, 4) WORKS NOT BUILT, and 5) PUBLICITY
MATERIALS.
Selected items from Series 3) WORKS BUILT are on indefinite loan to the Stuart Collection office. For access, please contact
the Stuart Collection office.
Additionally, artworks by Bruce Nauman relating to
Vices and Virtues are restricted without advance permission of the Director of Special Collections & Archives.
A selection of audiovisual recordings from the collection have been digitized.
This collection has additional unprocessed materials not described in this finding aid. See the UC San Diego Library
catalog record to view the acquisition dates and extent of unprocessed additions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Public sculpture -- California -- San Diego
Art, Modern
Stuart Collection (San Diego, Calif.)
Stuart Collection (San Diego, Calif.)