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.
Stuart Collection Records, 1982-2006 (RSS 1250)
Extent: 9.95 Linear feet (8 records cartons, 1 archives box, 2 flat boxes, 21 map case folders, and 19 art bin items)
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.
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.
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.