When the 48 story office tower designed by Albert C. Martin & Associates opened in 1981 as the Wells Fargo Building, it had one of the most expensive public art programs in Los Angeles. The Community Redevelopment Agency required the developer, Rock-Flower, (a subsidiary of Rockfeller Center, Inc.) to spend one percent of the total construction costs on public art. More than $1.1 million was ultimately spent on the program, with at least a 10% fee to the art consultant, Douglas Chrismas. Describing his project as "the first program of its type in North America where the intensities of artistic and architectural concerns have been married producing a profound aesthetic experience," Chrismas enlisted five internationally recognized artists whom he represented through his gallery. The developer announced that the artists would be commissioned to produce major works for the structure1 and reported at the conclusion of the project that the works were "commissioned for specific public spaces in the building's lobby and plaza areas."2 However, neither Frank Stella's "Long Beach," which is one of a series of 95 similar works, nor Bruce Nauman's "Trench, Shafts, Pit, Tunnel and Chambers", which is one of an edition of three, were designed for the site. Nauman's work, however, fits comfortably in the small plaza where it was placed and was aligned by Nauman to pick up the pyramid shape tower of the Public Library across Fifth Street. "Fargo Podium" by Robert Rauschenberg, in contrast, was designed for the project but is too large for the site. As a bench, it is uninviting and rarely used to sit on, leading David Martin, the building's architect to admit it "doesn't fit its surroundings real well."3 Of the original works commissioned for the office complex, only Michael Heizer's "North, South, East, West" and "Shoshone" are site specific.Chrismas attempted to link the project to the growing support by progressive urban planners for a collaborative process between artists and architects.4 His project, according to Chrismas, "was a truly successful collaboration of art and architecture."5 However, only Heizer collaborated in any meaningful way with the architect in determining the size, scale, siting and alignment of his work. DiSuvero and Rauschenberg installed their works in sites selected by the architect while the works by Stella and Nauman were gallery pieces that Chrismas sold to the developer from his inventory.
Footnotes:
1 "Art Partners Architecture," by William Wilson, Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1980, Pt. II, p. 5.2 "Wells Fargo Building Installs Major Art Program in Public Areas," Press Release #6084, Wells Fargo Building, June 2, 1982; "Modern Art Installed at Wells Fargo Building," Downtown News, June 8, 1982, p. 1.
3 "Rauschenberg Unveiled at Wells Fargo", by Mike Teverbaugh, Downtown News, July 5, 1983.
4 "Collaboration: Artists & Architects," edited by Barbaralee Diamonstein, Whitney Library of Design, New York, c. 1981.
5 Ibid.
The text has been provided courtesy of Michael Several, Los Angeles, January 1999.
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