April 3, 2008
Broken Obelisk removed for renovation
Red Square is looking a little barer these days because the Broken Obelisk has been removed for renovation. The Broken Obelisk is one of three identical steel sculptures made by Barnett Newman in 1963; the other two are at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Menil Collection in Houston. The UW version — which stands 26 feet high and weighs two tons — was donated to the University by Virginia Wright.
“The sculpture was made in the early days of artists making use of industrial manufacturing processes,” said Campus Art Administrator Kurt Kiefer. “As a result, it wasn’t as well made as it might have been.”
Kiefer explained that as a result of earlier renovations, the UW version of the obelisk has differed slightly from its counterparts. The place where the two pieces of the sculpture meet is thicker here than in its other two iterations.
“Because these three pieces have become iconic in their respective locations, it’s important that they be the same,” he said. “We’ve lived with the difference for a while, but last year our donor gave us $32,000 to make it right.”
The sculpture was removed over spring break and taken to Fabrication Specialties, a local company founded by three alums of the UW School of Art that builds, installs and maintains works of public art from all over the world.
Kiefer said the work needed is not extensive and that he expects the sculpture to be back in about two months, in time for all those graduation photos.
