news@dailylobo.com
Since its creation, the piece of art titled “The Center of the Universe” has been a magnet for graffiti and vandalism.
Artist Bruce Nauman created “The Center of the Universe” in 1988. The structure, located just west of Ortega Hall, has a cross-section of tunnels that people can walk through as well as one that projects up and down.
Gary Smith, the associate director of environmental services for the Physical Plant Department, said he sends maintenance workers at least three times per week to check for graffiti. Maintenance for the structure costs about $850 per week without the cost of supplies, such as paint and paint brushes.
“We have a policy here that we don’t allow an artist or others to modify the artwork here on campus and that would include graffiti.
We certainly try and keep that off as quickly as we can,” Smith said. “We’re over there at least three times a week, our labor rate for grounds is $47.28 an hour, we’re over there probably 25-26 hours a week, so you can see that will add up. The sad part is that will divert resources that we could use for other things here.”
Smith has been in charge of environmental maintenance since 2000, and said graffiti often peaks at the start of every new school year and near graduation.
He said his department often receives complaints about graffiti at “The Center of the Universe,” even though he often tries to clean the site early each morning.
“We’re here early in the morning so we usually see it first, but if we don’t get it removed by the time people get here for work and school, we usually get calls and that really is more so if there’s inappropriate wording, or a racial slur, but we usually see it first and remove all of it — it’s very common for people to call and tell us of the inappropriate things that are over there,” he said.
Professor of contemporary art and art history Libby Lumpkin said having a piece by Nauman is worth the cost of maintenance.
“I think if you made a short list of the most important artists of the last half of the 20th century, he (Nauman) would be near the top of that list,” Lumpkin said.
Lumpkin has been teaching contemporary art at the University since 2010, after serving as director for the Las Vegas Art Museum from 2005 to 2008. Lumpkin said Nauman’s art has been hailed throughout the past few decades, often pushing the idea of creating art.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Lumpkin said Nauman approached the sculpture from a nontraditional point of view. While most statues are featured upon a platform, “The Center of the Universe” occupies the same space as the viewer.
“It’s a major breakthrough in sculptures and for us to have it is truly astounding and a wonderful teaching moment,” she said.
Lumpkin said Nauman’s intention was to create anxiety among his viewers. Anxiety is a reoccurring theme with the artist — his multimedia piece “Clown Torture,” a video of the artist dressed as a demented clown, is indicative of that. She said that because of this anxiety, students often respond through graffiti and vandalism.
“Throughout history, there have been cases of anxiety felt towards works of art,” she said. “I think this really expresses their power, when you have someone not able to deal with anxiety in a safe way, it’s just one of the hazards of art.”
Nauman’s studio manager Juliet Myers spoke on behalf of the artist, who declined an interview with the Lobo. Myers said the University has done what it can to keep up with the piece’s maintenance.
“At a certain point, once a piece of art exists out in the world, the artist nor his assistant or anyone else, we can’t be the police of the work and we have to let the work exist in the world as it will,” Myers said. “Sometimes that means there will be interventions, such as graffiti or when people will use it to hang up their opinions.”
