Finding Hope in The Muck’s Sculpture Garden

26 May Finding Hope in The Muck’s Sculpture Garden

On a bright, sunny day in Fullerton, a man dug a pickaxe into the soft earth of his front garden. His strenuous expressions were hidden behind the cover of a cloth mask. Directly across from his cottage-like home is the manicured lawn on the north end of The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, which has just installed a new contemporary sculpture. The steel sculpture towers at twelve feet high. It is one of the many new highlights at The Muck. The sculpture is called Godot, by contemporary Orange County artist Bret Price. Its unmistakable ruby red color is visible from the bottom of the hill that the cultural center was built upon.

When I visited the Muck, I stood at the concrete base of Godot and observed it under the glare of the afternoon sun. The sculpture looked like a free-floating curvature of lines all derived from a single straight line that was bolted to the base. Its shape was spontaneous, like a silk ribbon whose edge unraveled into the sky. 

Godot became the first sculpture to be a part of the Muck’s new sculpture garden after its installation in early May. The idea for a sculpture garden was a notion that rested heavily on the minds of the staff at the Muck for a while. Coronavirus was what made the idea become reality.

Since the unexpected toll that Coronavirus has had on everyday life, the Muck had recently been inventing new ways to keep the public engaged with their artistic mission: “To enrich the human spirit through the arts.” Among these things, the Muck had instituted drive-in move nights, curbside art kit pickups, and, of course, the sculpture garden.

The intention behind the sculpture garden was to allow people to connect with art in a way that kept them safe. It gives people a tangible reason to appreciate art despite the harsh circumstances we are currently living with. 

“What I think is important is connection and contemplation. You might get that on a Zoom call with an old friend, or a book of poetry, or by practicing meditation,” said the Muck’s CEO Farrell Hirsch, “but for some of us, the right piece of art provides a conversation that draws us back into the physical world.”

The Muck chose Godot as the first sculpture because of its novelty. It echoes the artistic theory of Price, who is well-known for creating abstract sculptures that are the physical manifestations of undiscovered forms. 

The sculpture is currently the sole inhabitant of the grassy terrain where it was installed, but on its right side is the Muck’s display of several 350-year-old Papua New Guinea story poles, gifted to them from Bowers Museum. The placement of the sculpture across from the story poles is symbolic of a contrast between two different genres of art. 

Another sculpture has been added to their sculpture garden since Godot’s installation—The Wave by Dan Miller, donated by a collector in Fullerton. Several more abstract sculptures will arrive in the near future. 

During my last few moments observing Godot, I noticed the sculpture had an oval-shaped center that framed a picturesque view of the forestry and neighborhood behind it. As I moved around it, I marveled at the shifting perspectives of the gardener’s cottage and the other Spanish and English-style homes in the neighborhood. Every angle of the sculpture was a new work of art. I watched people with masks pass by and saw my own masked reflection in the gloss of the sculpture’s red paint.

It was an important reminder of the hope that could be found in our new reality.