Surprises aplenty at UCSD's Stuart Collection

By: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 8, 2006 8:23 PM PDT ∞

LA JOLLA ----- A 180-ton teddy bear fashioned of Pala granite. Talking and singing trees. Neon letters that spell out vices and virtues.

These and more than a dozen other creations compose the Stuart Collection, a body of site-specific sculpture that enlivens UC San Diego's sprawling, 1,200-acre campus.

Anyone can visit and contemplate the 16 pieces, and if you go on Saturday or Sunday, parking is free and a space might just be available.

Appreciating the work, however, requires a small investment of time. Seeing the entire collection can take three hours or more and involves a fair amount of hiking.

The latest commission, "Bear," is the cuddly centerpiece of the Jacobs School of Engineering courtyard. Artist Tim Hawkinson accomplished his own feat of engineering by stacking the boulders and holding the pile together with steel plates and rods. The net result is a seated bear two stories tall, with a pudgy belly and tilted head. Eight boulders make up Bear's torso, arms, legs and ears. The largest of the uncarved boulders made the late-night voyage from Pala aboard a specialized trailer under police escort.

Also enlivening the engineering school's campus is the "Vices and Virtues" installation by Bruce Nauman.

Best appreciated at night, the piece uses overlapping neon tubing that blinks and loops around the upper edge of the Charles Lee Powell Structural Systems Laboratory. Back and forth flash the sacred and profane: FAITH/LUST, HOPE/ENVY, CHARITY/SLOTH, PRUDENCE/PRIDE, JUSTICE/AVARICE, TEMPERANCE/GLUTTONY, FORTITUDE/ANGER.

The Stuart Collection's first commission went to artist Niki de Saint Phalle, who in 1983 completed "Sun God," a 14-foot-tall bird perched atop a 15-foot arch. Wings outstretched and gold crown aglow, the bird of brilliant colors seems to embrace the sun's energy.

Footsteps from "Sun God" are Terry Allen's "Trees" ---- one of several pieces inspired by the eucalyptus groves scattered throughout the campus.

Standing among the tall and slender trunks are three that Allen has sheeted with lead plating. At the trees' first crook is a speaker. Music plays from the speaker of one tree and verses of poetry emanate from another. A third tree plays nothing.

Also clustered near "Sun God" and "Trees" are "Two Running Violet V Forms," plastic-coated fencing standing atop tall poles. The geometrically predictable panels pose a sharp contrast to the changing shapes and forms afforded by the grove.

Ironically, the many groves on campus also are manmade, planted by a railroad company that did not understand eucalyptus was unsuitable for timbers.

Discovering the "Trees" ---- and the other Stuart Collection pieces ---- adds to the excitement of viewing the work, said Mary Beebe, director of the Stuart collection.

"Consider it like a treasure hunt," she said.

Visitors to UCSD can get a Stuart Collection brochure at the information kiosk at the university's main entrance off Gilman Drive. The brochure contains a pull-out map.

Also at the kiosk, visitors can purchase $8 parking passes. Parking on the campus is free on weekends. Community, school and church groups can arrange group tours by calling (858) 534-2117.

"These are some really significant works by important artists," Beebe said. "We don't expect everyone to like it, but we think it's fun to figure out why you like something or why you don't."

The Web address for the Stuart Collection is http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/index.htm.

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com.

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The Web address for the Stuart Collection is http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/index.htm.

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