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LeWitt's Six-Walls: ghost of Tilted Arc?
Art in America, Jan, 2005 by David Ebony
A monumental public sculpture by Sol LeWitt that was recently unveiled at Syracuse University's Crouse College has been met with both praise and consternation. Prominently situated on a hill overlooking the campus, Six Curved Walls (Syracuse), 2004, is a permanent, site-specific installation consisting of six overlapping, 12-foot-high serpentine walls. Made of cinderblocks reinforced by steel rods, the undulating light-gray walls stretch some 140 feet in length. LeWitt, who earned his BFA at Syracuse University (SU) in 1949, donated the piece to the university in honor of its new chancellor, Nancy Cantor.
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The overall size and proportions of LeWitt's work echo those of Richard Serra's 1981 Tilted Arc (12 by 120 feet), and could be seen as a nod to the destroyed public work. Walls is exactly the same height as Arc, and appears equally impenetrable when viewed from a distance. However, Walls has breaks between the segments that allow passage. Like the ill-fated Arc, Walls is not without its detractors. While at least one university spokesperson has called the piece "impressive," some students and faculty members have questioned whether a multi part concrete wall enhances or mars the campus landscape. A university administrator whose office overlooks the sculpture recently complained to the local press that the work resembled the outside of an industrial building.
In conjunction with the work's debut, and to deflect controversy, the university initiated a series of public "art chats" to explicate the sculpture and to highlight its esthetic qualities and historical significance. Led by the school's art professors and an independent curator, the free afternoon forums were organized under headings such as "The Concept," "The Materials" and "Form."
Walls is the third public work that the artist has donated to the city of Syracuse. Another sculpture stands in front of a federal building downtown, and a wall drawing is located at the Light Work/Community Darkrooms facility on the SU campus.
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