The Stuart Collection Records contains materials documenting art pieces held in the Stuart Collection, as well as some proposals for projects that were not built.
UC San Diego. Stuart Collection Records, 1980-2020 (RSS 1250)
Restrictions: Original media recording formats are restricted. Viewing/listening copies are available
for researchers.
Restrictions: 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.
Extent: 14.20 Linear feet (9 records cartons, 13 archives boxes, 2 flat boxes, 24 map case folders, and 24 art bin items), + 0.484 GB of digital files
Digital Content
Digital files and a selection of digitized audiovisual recordings from this collection.
The Stuart Collection was created in 1981 through a partnership between UC 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.
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 collection) 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 2024, the Stuart Collection includes 22 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; Another (2008), Barbara Kruger; Fallen Star, Do Ho Suh (2012); The Wind Garden (2017), John Luther Adams; What Hath God Wrought? (2018), Mark Bradford; Same Old Paradise (created in 1987, installed in 2021), Alexis Smith; and KAHNOP • TO TELL A STORY (2023), Ann Hamilton.
Stuart Collection Directors include: Mary Beebe (1981-2021) and Jessica Berlanga Taylor (2022-current).
The Stuart Collection Records contains materials documenting art pieces held in the Stuart Collection, as well as some proposals for projects that were not built; including original proposals, design materials, construction and planning documents, publicity, and photographs. The collection also includes audio and video recordings documenting the installation of Stuart Collection projects, interviews with artists, openings and other events, and promotional materials. Formats include Betacam-Sp video, 3/4-inch video, U-Matic, Hi8 video, and audiocassette recordings.
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.
There is a large selection of 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. The proposals and design materials also include planning documents, drawings, photographs, and other graphic materials; and are present for both works built and works not built. Some artists, such as Richard Fleischner, appear in both categories.
Accession Processed Prior to 2023: Arranged in five series: 1) DERIVATIVE RECORDINGS, 2) ORIGINAL RECORDINGS, 3) WORKS BUILT, 4) WORKS NOT BUILT, and 5) PUBLICITY MATERIALS.
Accession Processed in 2024: Arranged in three series: 6) ADMINISTRATIVE FILES, 7) ARTIST FILES, and 8) AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS.
Container List
- Special Collections & Archives
- UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla CA 92093
- ©2016 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
- Contact Us
