Stadium Piece is, without a doubt, one of the most notable sculptures present on the Western Washington University campus. Given that visitors typically park in the general lots on south campus, the zig-zagged stairwell is one of the first objects people see when they enter the school grounds. For students, it is not a just an art installation, but a social café, a peaceful study place, a piece of athletic training equipment and comfortable seat for the passerby.

Bruce Nauman created Stadium Piece in 1998-1999 with the specific intention to bridge the gap between the viewer and the art piece. His typical focus on language, space and body are especially apparent in Stadium Piece because of its size, central placement on the Communications Lawn, and its enticingly interactive nature. Nauman was inspired to create Stadium Piece by the campus at Western Washington University and how his sculpture is interpreted as a kind of stairs leading up to the heart of the grounds.

With our coverage of Stadium Piece, we wanted to demonstrate the many uses of the sculpture as an interactive art piece on campus. Stadium Piece demands an atmosphere of fun. It is not intimidating like some other art, which allows it to be approachable enough to give people to confidence to interact with it. We had just as much fun in the making of our post as we appear to be having in the video, and that sense of freedom and play is a critical aspect of what makes Stadium Piece remarkable.

CREDITS:

Paige Shimkus: Video Acting, Artist Statement, Research

Kayla Guttormson: Cameraperson, Watercolor Painting, Research

Mariah Crisafulli: Video Acting, Video Editing, Research

SOURCES

Music from www.bensound.com

Clark-Langager, Sarah. “Stadium Piece”. Western Gallery.

https://westerngallery.wwu.edu/sculpture/stadium-piece. Retrieved 10/21/18.

Snyder, Jill. “Bruce Nauman, 1985-1996: Drawings, Prints and Related

Work.” The The 1995 Larry Aldrich Foundation Award Exhibition. Copyright 1997. Retrieved 10/21/18.

Ketner, Joseph D., Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light. Milwaukee Art Museum, 2006.

Saval, Nikil. “Bruce Nauman, the Artist’s Artist.” The New York Times Style Magazine 15 Oct. 2018. The New York Times Web. 22 Oct. 2018.

Cuddy, Dylan. “Bruce Nauman.” Widewalls, 21 Mar. 2016, www.widewalls.ch/artist/bruce-nauman/.

Kraft, Michael E. “U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics: From the 1960s to the 1990s.” Journal of Policy History, vol. 12, no. 1, 2000, pp. 17–42., doi:10.1353/jph.2000.0006.