Sculpture in Place : A Campus as Site

In this landmark book, Sarah Clark-Langager gives us the first comprehensive look at the Outdoor Sculpture Collection at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

The Western campus, one of the most scenic in the world, is situated on an expanse of hillside that is one of the steps down from snowcapped Mt.

Baker to the waters of northern Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands beyond.

The natural setting is breathtakingly beautiful, but the artistic expression that is the campus - the combination of art and architecture - makes this a ture jewel in a magnificent setting.

Western Washington Uniersity has repeatedly been ranked as one of the United States' best colleges because of its unique scholastic disciplines.

However as any lover of beauty can attest, it surely is one of the best colleges because its lucky student body achieves academic excellence in a remarkable outdoor art gallery.

The appropriateness of this "campus as site" fits in with the famed Pacific Northwest consciousness, which reserves its focus as an outward interaction with and appreciation of its rugged natural beauty, its craggy mountains, its tall trees, and its shining waters. Western's Outdoor Sculpture Collection is not only significant for its history and the individual artists' works, but also for the scope of the public and private partnerships which, over time, have achieved a balance in the controversy of "public art" versus "art in public places." This book documents outdoor art on a university campus and the changes in context at every turn of new campus construction.

It has a unique perspective in that it gives equal voice to the art historian and to the artist.

Not only do the artists describe their inspirations and experiences on campus, they also interject their strong opinions on the issue of creating art for the larger public.

Sarah Clark-Langager documents a historically important collection of 22 significant artists, including Abakanowicz, Aycock, Caro, di Suvero, Holt, Judd, Morris, Nauman, Noguchi, Otterness, Pepper, Serra, and Trakas.

She draws on her background to weave together the voice of the curator and the voice of the artist. Most captivating is how the artists have responded to this specific environment - both natural and built - and how they have used this university site as a place to represent the larger cultural memory and environment.