Forum opens up arts dialogue

Jane Dietrich

The “level of artistic dialogue at Caltech,” probably never very high to begin with, rose several notches on May 21 when members of the Caltech community met in Beckman Auditorium to discuss the Richard Serra sculpture, Vectors, proposed for the Beckman Institute lawn (see 336, May 16). David Kremers, a conceptual artist in biology, started things off with an art-history slide show on Serra’s work and suggested that, along with raising the dialogue level, “the controversy and confrontation associated with this sculpture may be its most valuable aspect.”

If so, the meeting was a great success, with much passionate controversy in evidence. Robert Rosenstone, professor of history and chairman of Caltech’s Institute Art Committee, served as moderator as a long parade of students, faculty, and staff aired their opinions about Vectors, almost all of them critical.

The symbolism and the size of the sculpture—four 60-foot-long steel plates that will rise from ground level to eight feet in height, zigzagging diagonally across the lawn—drew the most flak. “Vectors, despite its scientific name, is a wall. It’s a wall symbolizing division,” said Jack Roberts, Institute Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus. It is also symbolic of suspicion, distrust, hiding, secrecy, and fear, he said. “Caltech stands for none of these things.” Another speaker questioned whether the massive industrial-machinery look of Serra’s work was the right message for a high-tech institution to be sending.

Affection for the lawn itself, which has in recent years been reincarnated as a parking lot and a construction site, seemed to run deep among some of the speakers, who claimed it was a work of art in itself and a much-needed open green space on a campus that already has too few of them.
Determined not to come off as philistines, a couple of commentators praised Serra’s work but thought this particular piece wasn’t right for Caltech or the site. A lone grad student risked stoning by stating, “I like it.” Imagining all the “creative” treatments the sculpture would receive (and which he thought Serra would not object to), he urged fellow students to think of it “as an opportunity, not a travesty.”

Safety was an issue for some. Several women pointed out that the sculpture would offer convenient cover for midnight muggers, while one father saw it as a hazard for children who might be tempted to use the three-inch-wide panels as a balance beam. A neighbor commented that dogs would welcome it as the longest fire hydrant on campus.

The outlay of $2 million for the sculpture at a time of Institute-wide belt-tightening, even though raised from private sources for just this purpose, concerned many speakers, as did the alleged suddenness and “secrecy” of the deal without consulting the campus community. Rosenstone replied that no secrecy was intended and that the campus community was represented by the art committee, whose existence appeared to be a revelation to much of the audience. “For 25 years nobody has given a damn about what we do. Now suddenly it’s an issue,” said Rosenstone.
No formal contract has yet been signed with the artist, and the Pasadena Arts Commission must still grant its approval of Vectors. The “artistic dialogue” will continue on May 30 in another noontime discussion in Beckman Auditorium.
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