Outdoor structure brings art to public

It’s not every day that a 35-foot-tall structure goes up in the middle of an outdoor public space. But until next month, Pasadena residents strolling through One Colorado Courtyard will encounter just that.

The aluminum skeleton of a building on display looks as if construction workers left a project abandoned and incomplete, but the structure actually serves as a very deliberate work of art.

“Small Skyscraper” is artist Chris Burden’s way of looking at building construction and city rules. The structure explores the ways in which we expand our space and the obstacles we might run into in doing so.

Back in 1994, Burden discovered that though Los Angeles County rules call for a permit for each structure built, anyone could get away with not having said permit if the structure was no more than 400 square feet and 35 feet high. In 2003, Burden’s structure came to life through a collaboration with Linda Taalman and Alan Koch of Taalman Koch Architecture. It was exhibited at LACE gallery, where it lay horizontally on the floor, then in Switzerland where it stood vertically, as it does now.

The public space setting differentiates the work from what one might find in a sculpture garden of a museum. For every excited Burden admirer, there exists one disapproving casual passerby.

Not to mention, the public can be ruthless when it disapproves of a work of art — particularly one that invades their living or work space.

Take, for example, the famous case of Richard Serra’s “Tilted Arc.” The 120-foot-long, 12-foot-high structure stood in all its steel glory in the middle of Federal Plaza in New York City. The more days that passed, the more the controversy the piece began to stir up. This seemingly harmless art piece eventually got everyone so riled up a public hearing took place. It was decided the sculpture would leave the space.

That happened in 1981, and although the general public has surely seen much more controversial, in-your-face structures since, the erection of “Small Skyscraper” helps remind viewers of the dynamic between art and the public space. Even when the artwork seems totally undisruptive, there’s a certain kind of power in placing a work right smack in the middle of a place where people spend their everyday lives.

“Tilted Arc,” just like “Small Skyscraper,” did not display any sort of garish decoration or even words; it stood as a silent structure, yet garnered negative attention.  Similarly, “Small Skyscraper” will also irk some, likely because of its unfinished appearance.

But looking beyond the aesthetic — though the work is particularly fascinating in such an intimate plaza — “Small Skyscraper” comments on a loophole that reflects how complicated our spaces have become. As more dwellings sprout up, more regulations come into play. Burden pokes fun at the idea that the building could break free of some city rules.

When L.A. Weekly spoke to Burden in 2003, he described the work as something “two guys with a donkey could put up, and when the neighbor calls the building inspector, the guys can take it down again.”

That idea makes the building seem even more humorous. In its towering verticality, “Small Skyscraper” might show the same imposing authority of the other full-fledged buildings in the plaza, but at the end of its temporary stay it will — quite easily — come down. That fact also reminds us that although we put much importance into the structures in which we live and work, their foundations are startlingly simple.

The temporary stay of “Small Skyscraper” (The structure first went on display Aug. 11 and will remain in One Colorado Courtyard until Nov.11.)  also coincides with ArtNight Pasadena, which serves as good timing to remind art lovers and artists of one very important fact: Although we enjoy seeing art on the white walls of galleries, outdoor installations can often provide an equally effective, if not an greater, means of communicating an artist’s message.

Ultimately, Burden’s work serves as a way to slow down the public’s routines. When viewers gaze up at the work, they might find themselves wondering more than they ever thought they would about a simple, small skyscraper.

 

“Small Skyscraper” is on view in the One Colorado Courtyard until Nov. 11. One Colorado Courtyard is located on 41 Hugus Alley in Pasadena, CA 91103. A reception will take place Friday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. during ArtNight Pasadena.

 

Eva Recinos is a senior majoring in English. Her column “Two Cents A Piece” runs Tuesdays.