Jane Zwerneman, Assistant Director of the Stuart Collection, visited Rio Nov. 8 and held a presentation at the Wray Theater. Zwerneman discussed the public art collection, which features site-specific works made by 18 different artists around the UC San Diego campus.

Some artists in the collection include Bruce Nauman, Do Ho Suh, and Tim Hawkinson.

Nauman’s piece Vices and Virtues consists of neon blinking lights forming seven overlapping word pairs that contain virtues such as faith, hope,charity and their vices such as lust, envy, and sloth. They wrap around the Charles Lee Powell Structural Systems Laboratory.

Hawkinson’s sculpture titled Bear is a 23’6’’ foot high bear made out of eight granite stones. It was the 16th sculpture added to the university. The figure is a toy bear and is said to be the teddy bear of the campus.

Suh’s work, Fallen Star, is a blue house that hangs off the edge of the seventh floor of the Jacobs School of Engineering. Until recently, it has been the last sculpture added. The house is complete with a garden in the front giving it a homey vibe. Since it tilts off the edge of the building, the interior of the house is lopsided. While inside, it is common for people to get nauseous and dizzy, so they have someone that assures everyone is fine.

All of the pieces are captivating and appeared to be worth the visit, if around the San Diego campus. Many of the works are quirky and extraordinary.  

Zwerneman spent the last couple of minutes having an open Q&A session between herself and audience members, talking about the public art and upcoming projects for the collection. Zwerneman mentions that a new installment to the current works will be a sound environment done by music artist John Luther Adams.

The Wind Garden is set to be an outside piece that will be heard instead of seen. The work will feature benches to sit on and listen to the music coming from eucalyptus trees.

The collection is free to visit, aside from parking permits, as it is located around different areas of the campus. However, the sculpture Fallen Star  is open only on Tues. and Thurs. from 11a.m to 2p.m.

The Stuart Collection was founded in 1981 by Richard Atkinson and James Stuart DeSilva who had the collection named after him. DeSilva was not only the founder but was also the main benefactor in the collection.

The first sculpture added in the collection was Sun God by Niki de Saint Phalle in 1983. The sculpture is a 14 foot bird who stands on top of a 15 foot concrete arch. Phalle’s most notable work is the Nanas that celebrates feminism regarding the women’s bodies.

The Stuart Collection is always accepting donations to help the maintenance of current pieces and to also help fund new sculptures to add on.

For more information on the artists or to print a map to the 18 different types or art pieces visit http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu.