The book store, Meyer Library, Ceras and the Law School(for lunch) are places that I frequently visit. To get from place to place I bike across the green grass area that's surrounded by these four buildings. Despite my frequent comings and goings, I've never really noticed the sculptures that are erected on the grass area. At the beginning of the quarter I stopped by at the Cummings Arts building for information on a course when I came across a pamphlet with the title of 'Outdoor Sculpture at Stanford University.' With curiosity I skimmed through the pamphlet when I realized that the grass area, also known as the Canfield Court, was part of the outdoor sculpture collection of Stanford. After acknowledging this information, my bike ride through the court yard had become so much more interesting now that I’m aware of the art work. Among the sculptures, I was fascinated to Calder's 'The Falcon.’ Having been to the SF MOMA the previous week, I had been exposed to his work and found myself trying to bridge his perspectives and work together. To get a closer look and hoping to find elaborated information on the sculpture, I parked my bike at the edge of the sidewalk and walked into the wet grass area. Some of the sculptures had plaques with information but some didn't even have a title. On top of that, access to the sculpture was difficult. You would have walk up to the middle of the grass area to get a closer glimpse of the sculpture. Observing the sculptures and gaining information would be a delight to many of the visitors and students but I find it a pity that the sculptures are barely noticeable being so remote from the side walks. Designing a way so that more people could enjoy the actual touch and sense by closer access would definitely enhance the learning opportunities.
Deb Kim: Nice reflection. I learned a lot about the space and ways one can and could interact with it and ways that could potentially be better about interacting with the space. It also drew up several questions for me about it and how it could/should not/is not a learning space. Like what is the intention of the Stanford University Outdoor Sculpture program for spaces like Canfield? What role does outdoor sculpture play for Stanford University? Is it just aesthetic like when you decorate your house and buy candles and artwork for your walls? Or it is a sign that a place like Stanford - a elite higher ed insitution is also a place of culture and tries to sprinkle fine pieces of art all over? Or as a missed opportunity that I'm reading from several of your classmate's reflections is that the Stanford University campus is a series of missed opportunities for learning. The outdoor sculptures could do better, the Tressider Union Square could also and that basically what the university needs is to hire a person at the executive level as the inhouse learning space designer. Thanks for sharing.