I am posting this on behalf of my professor and the cause of public art
Athena Tacha, Professor of Art
Oberlin College, OH & Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD
Home: 3721 HUNTINGTON ST., NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20015
tel.:  202-362-2347
FAX:  202-362-5626
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
WEB site:  http://www.oberlin.edu/~art/athena/tacha.html


Marianthe, one of my most beautiful and conceptually complex public art
commissions (see enclosure), will be destroyed by mid- February.  I was
notified
to that effect a few days ago by the lawyers of Edison Community College
(ECC)
in Fort Myers, which now owns the sculpture. The University of South Florida
(USF), its initial owner, is party to the decision.  Ironically, Marianthe
has
been selected for the cover of the forthcoming book on my work.

The sculpture was commissioned in 1985 by the USF when I won a competition
for a
public sculpture on its Fort Myers campus grounds (which passed to ECC ten
years
later).  I designed and built it for only $48,500, partly with funds from
Florida's Art in State Buildings Program ($25,000) and partly with a
contribution from the 1985 local USF Student Government Association.  When I
inspected the piece in the late 1980s, it had only minor damages on benches.
But
an S.O.S. conservators' inspection of 1994 (which was communicated to me
indirectly in 1997) reported that "treatment was needed" because cracks had
developed in several areas.  No measure was taken by either the past or
present
owner, despite my repeated urgent requests after receiving the S.O.S.
report.

In 1999, ECC decided that the sculpture had deteriorated to a dangerous
degree
and should be destroyed as "an attractive nuisance," declining my suggestion
that it be rebuilt (the foundations exist, so the cost would not be great,
probably less than $100,000).

While my contract with USF specifically obligated the University to "keep
the
sculpture in good condition and repair" and "not to destroy or alter it",
the
work unfortunately is not covered by the 1991 Visual Artists' Rights Act.
The
owners maintain that damages are due to structural defects: the steel
reinforcing rods, inserted and sealed in the walls at regular intervals,
have
rusted and split the bricks.  Yet, a structural engineer and the best
contractor
in the area (George T. Mann) built the work, and I made numerous trips to
Fort
Myers to supervise its construction.

The sculpture's deterioration is due to lack of maintenance, a frequent
problem
for public art.  If the University had "inspected periodically for damaged
mortar or cracked bricks," as my maintenance instructions clearly specified,
and
if it had repaired any cracks that developed , water would not have seeped
into
the walls and rusted the re-rods.  Would not such repairs have been made on
any
campus building? Even a sidewalk?  The implication is societal disregard for
its
cultural patrimony, and a deplorable failure of institutional responsibility
for
its preservation.

Unfortunately, like most artists, I am powerless, for I cannot afford the
legal
costs of taking on two public institutions, my contract notwithstanding.  It
is
a frightening precedent, yet all I can do is announce, and denounce, the
destruction of my work.  Please share this information with others who care
for
the arts.  Should you wish to protest, please FAX:
Lee Modica, Florida's Art in State Buildings Program, FAX: 850-922-5259,
with a
copy to:  Susan Nichols, Save Outdoor Sculpture (SOS), FAX: 202-634-1435.

(PLEASE MAKE A PRINT-OUT)


YOU CAN SEE IMAGES OF THE SCULPTURE ON MY WEBSITE (URL above)

The idea for this work goes back to some of my earliest architectural
sculptures
-- the 1971 series of Space Disorientation Mazes.  The horse-shoe shape of
the
Ft. Myers campus and the complex configurations of low-land curlicues along
the
entire bay suggested curvilinear forms, as did images of shells, opening
buds,
leaf coral and hurricane whirls -- all plentiful in Florida.  I also wanted
to
create pleasant sitting areas with views of the campus and the pond, as well
as
a kinesthetic interaction of the sculpture with students who would be
attracted
to it.  However, the inspiration for Marianthe comes ultimately from a
deeper
level -- my fascination with circles and spirals and my discovery that in
many
natural phenomena spiral formations can occur "spontaneously" from
concentric
circles.

To ensure safety and avoid claustrophobic feelings, I sought a type of wall
that
was solid enough, yet nearly transparent.  Open brickwork and decorative
fence
cement-blocks, often used for patio enclosures in Florida, Mexico, the
Mediterranean and other hot climates, are particularly suited for that aim,
and
can be beautiful as well.  Marianthe's lattice-like, floral maze creates a
playful and intricate garden pavilion in the middle of the campus, referring
to
clipped hedge mazes of Renaissance and Baroque European gardens.  It
provides
handsome views of its interwoven walls from all around the paths and campus
buildings, as well as five benches in and around the sculpture, oriented for
shadow or sunshine at different seasons and times of the day.

The walls are built on a concrete slab with rusticated reddish brick, redder
and
smoother on the insides of the curves (like the inner surface of shells).
The
tops of the walls are all stepped, with step "intervals" of changing length
depending on the varying incline of the walls, while the average width of
the
maze's corridors fluctuates between three and four feet (accommodating a
wheel-chair at every passage).  In the middle of the higher, open spiral is
a
strong underground light that throws a beam of light upwards, like the
luminous
center of a galaxy .  The center of the second, closed spiral contains a
four-foot round planter with bright red flowers, surrounded by a bench for
small
groups (seminars) or a contemplative sitter.

The title, Marianthe, comes from the Greek root for flower (anthos), just as
Florida comes from the Latin (flora).  The work was named for my adopted
sister
in Greece, Marianthe, who was taking care that year of my dying mother.
(Athena Tacha, 1986)
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