Dear Folks: I have sent this message now two times this week and it gets returned to me saying it identical to other text which is untrue!! I have not seen my posting on MUSEUM-L and it is very important that the cause be heard. 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) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). 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