Chuck Arnoldi Sculpture Returns to USC Fisher Museum!
More than three decades after it was first on display at USC during the 1984 Olympic Art Festival, Chuck Arnoldi’s “Not Marble Nor Gilded Monument” will once again grace the Fisher Museum!
The Past
In the summer of 1984 Los Angeles was abuzz. For the second time in the 20th century, L.A. was to host the Summer Olympic Games. As a prelude to the athletic competition, the city hosted a 10-week-long Olympic Arts Festival. A production of 400 performances by 146 theater, dance and music companies, and art exhibitions all over the city, the festival was an international affair with more than 18 countries participating.
The Festival opened with the unveiling of a massive bronze sculpture by Robert Graham, a Mexican-born, California-based artist. The 25-foot- tall sculpture, which consists of two pillars topped by headless athletes (modeled after Olympians Terry Schroeder and Jennifer Innis), was dedicated at the entrance to the Memorial Coliseum, a stadium built for the 1932 Olympic Games.
The then-Fisher Gallery was is a unique position (both geographically and culturally) in that particular summer. Director Selma Holo wrote in the introduction to the catalogue of the eventual exhibition:
“Fisher’s location (across the street from the Los Angeles Coliseum) guaranteed enormous exposure for the chosen exhibition. Furthermore, Fisher’s ongoing commitment to showcasing works of the highest quality would no doubt further bestow validation upon the art. It was a large responsibility, therefore, to decide just what exhibition to present at USC in the summer of 1984.”
Working with John Gordon, the Dean of the School of Fine Arts, Dr. Holo decided it would be best to present a large-scale exhibition that would showcase California artists to the gathered national and international audiences. Lyn Kienholz of the California/International Art Foundation came to Fisher with the hope that it would host the “California Sculpture Show,” an exhibition featuring 12 California artists from both Northern and Southern California, representing some of the finest creative efforts in contemporary sculpture. The plan was for the exhibition to open in L.A. for the Festival before traveling to Bordeaux, France.
Sculpture was a timely form to feature in the early 1980s, as one of the exhibition catalogue essays quotes art historian Barbara Haskell, “The creative atmosphere and international recognition achieved by Abstract Expressionist painting was not shared by American sculpture until the sixties… By the early sixties American sculpture became as prominent and as vital as painting.” The essayist then notes that it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that “true innovation [in sculpture] began to take place.”
One of the California sculptors featured in the exhibition was Venice Beach artist Charles (Chuck) Arnoldi. His early Stick works of the 1970s established a local and national reputation, even as they evolved, coming off the walls and morphing from essentially a 2-D form to a 3-dimensional presentation by the end of the decade. The work included in the exhibition was entitled Not Marble Nor Gilded Monument (1982). It is a 8.5' by 6.5' by 7' cast and assembled bronze sculpture of branches. The work truly illustrated Arnoldi’s ever-evolving practice and innovative use of materials.
Quotes published in the exhibition catalogue…
“Charles Arnoldi… distinguished himself a few years ago with squarish wall pieces composed of tree branches…Now Arnoldi is back with the same old notes and brand new music.” — Suzanne Muchnic, L.A. Times, 1980.
“The most recent sculptures have been executed in bronze… The end result, which is stunning, powerful and permanent, not only gives the work the patina of time, but allows them to be seen in a new context…” — Jan Butterfield, 1983.
The Present
In early 2020, the USC Fisher Museum of Art was thrilled to open Charles Arnoldi | Four Decades: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. The survey exhibition traced the evolution of the artist’s expansive and materials-focused practice from the 1970s to the present. During the exhibition (which unfortunately closed three weeks early due to the COVID-19 Safer at Home order), the Arnoldi studio brought to us the idea of installing for long-term loan a large work that would soon be returning to Southern California.
Amazingly, it was the very same sculpture that Fisher hosted in 1984!
With the generous support and assistance of a local donor and the Arnoldi studio and the logistical prowess of USC Capital Construction and top-notch art handlers, the Fisher Museum installed (again!) Not Marble Nor Gilded Monument on September 8th, 2020.
We recently chatted with the artist about the creation of this piece, oh so many years ago. Arnoldi noted that after beginning his work with sticks (in a effort to use the lines of the found branches to mimic the “lines” of a drawing), he became interested in taking the works off the wall. He began to create small-scale free-standing 3-D sculpture using the same natural materials as his early pieces. Later, he wished to alter the environment of the works, moving them out of the white walls of a gallery and placing them outside against the natural landscape. He knew that the actual branches he used for the early works would not hold up to the elements if placed outside, so he began to experiment with the then-unknown-to-him and complicated process of bronze casting.
After creating some smaller pieces, Arnoldi began to create two large bronze sculptures at the same time, his largest works to date. They were Roark, 1984, which is in the permanent collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art (seen at left) and Not Marble Nor Gilded Monument. Speaking about it today, nearly 40 years later, the artist notes that he perhaps wishes he has made more very large bronze pieces, but that the process at the time was cost prohibitive. (Honestly, hearing his dashed plans to make a bronze sculpture of nine foot long cantilevered potatoes truly makes us wish the cost had not been so high!)
Given the artist’s intention that these bronze works be placed outside against the landscape of nature, we are so excited to announce that the sculpture is situated in front of the museum!
(It was on display inside in 1984.)
Currently (as of September 10, 2020), the USC Fisher Museum and the USC University Park Campus remain closed. Because the sculpture is situated in front of the museum, it can be viewed partially from the sidewalk or roadway on the north side of Exposition Boulevard (though we don’t suggest attempting to see it from that angle, as it does the work no justice).
We look forward to announcing the future date when we will be able to welcome visitors once again to the museum and provide the opportunity to view this powerful work of art by a local Los Angeles icon.
Many thanks to Chuck Arnoldi, Jacob Melchi, Chris Toomey and USC Capital Construction, US Art, and Fisher staff Stephanie Kowalick and Juan Rojas for their efforts to make this re-installation happen! We extend a very special thank you to Dallas Price–Van Breda whose generous support made this possible.
