The West Campus Plaza: where good things happen.
The Plaza: where ugly things are sent, or where magnificent works of art are displayed, depending on one's point of view.
Although students are just now debating its aesthetic appeal and location, the whereabouts of Jaume Plensa's "Tattoo" have been an issue for months.
In October, The Chronicle first reported the arrival of the sculpture and pending installation on the plaza. Just one month later, The Chronicle reported "Tattoo" would be housed in the Nasher Museum of Art instead because Plensa was concerned about the security of the Plaza.
"The artist came and wasn't sure if that was the most effective space for the piece," said Kimerly Rorschach, Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans, director of the Nasher. "He was concerned about various issues and I'll just leave it at that."
But despite any earlier concerns, the work now, in fact, resides on the Plaza.
"The Plaza was just one of the ideas we had, and there were logistical issues we thought we wouldn't be able to work out," Rorschach said. "We were able to work out the logistical and security issues."
Although Rorschach would not divulge what security measures are in place, Paul Gray, a director of Richard Gray Gallery in Chicago and Plensa's North American representative, noted that there are security cameras on the Plaza that can be viewed online.
Gray also said that although the artist was originally concerned about the safety of the statue on the plaza, especially because he does not own the piece himself, he likes the location.
Paula Crown, Trinity '80 and member of the Board of Trustees, owns "Tattoo" and has loaned the piece to Duke until May, Rorschach said. Crown was not present when Plensa visited the University last fall and voiced his concerns with the Plaza site. Since then however, the lender has had the chance to consider the location, Gray said.
Rorschach said she has not consulted with Plensa directly about the work's move, but instead has worked with Crown and Gray, who said Plensa is pleased with the final location.
"The artist is delighted to have the work available to the broader majority of students who walk through the Plaza on a daily basis," Gray said.
But not everyone is ecstatic about the statue's arrival on the Plaza. Sophomore Nathan Jones created a Facebook group called, "WOW, that statue on the plaza is ugly." The group now boasts 137 members.
William Moss, a senior and member of the Facebook group, said he likes modern art but feels the work of art is more suited to the Nasher.
"I find that it is badly out of place, and in poor taste," Moss said. "When you're on the Plaza, most of what you can see is the Gothic-style architecture of Main West [Campus] and the Chapel. That is how West Campus was designed and built. Then you've got a statue of an androgynous person kneeling and changing colors. Somehow the two just don't mix for me."
Senior Joe Fore, Duke Student Government executive vice president, said he agreed. He wrote in an e-mail that he doesn't dislike the statue, but feels that it interferes with the student space, adding that the Plaza is not the appropriate venue since the statue clashes with the surrounding architecture.
In response to student discontent, Fore sponsored a DSG resolution calling for the Office of Student Affairs to solicit more thorough input from students before selecting or placing pieces of art or other items with a significant aesthetic impact in student-oriented spaces.
"Specifically, we recommended that Student Affairs run options by the DSG Athletics and Campus Services Committee and the Union's Visual Arts Committee," Fore wrote. "I wanted Student Affairs and other administrators to be aware that the placement of the statue, as well as other unilateral aesthetic decisions (think Spanish benches) were being viewed critically by a significant number of students, and that, to mitigate the likelihood of this continuing, more student input should be gathered in the future."
The resolution was passed at DSG's general body meeting Feb. 21, but will not apply to "Tattoo." Luckily for any disgruntled students or plaza-goers, "Tattoo's" short-term loan means that they won't have to deal with its presence indefinitely.
Plensa was not available for comment.
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