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Research Apprenticeship: Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, class visit to UCLA Library Special Collections.

This quarter, I am teaching a course in UCLA's Digital Humanities Program titled Research Apprenticeship: Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden.* Each week, my students and I take a new approach to the Sculpture Garden, a hub of North Campus life and home to over 70 sculptures by renowned artists. We have learned about the art historical import of the works in the garden, the people responsible for designing the garden's landscape, and the challenges of conserving outdoor sculpture, developing over the course of the quarter a deeper appreciation of the Murphy Sculpture Garden and the factors that make it such a significant part of our campus.

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TsutakawaDrawing-1024x1024.jpg

George Tsutakawa, fountain sculpture proposal sketch for Obos 69, from University Archives Record Series 640, UCLA Library Special Collections.

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Ralph Cornell, North Campus Court Detail View, from University Archives Record Series 640, UCLA Library Special Collections.

One of our most illuminating meetings took place at UCLA Library Special Collections, where Head of Processing Projects Megan Fraser and Project Archivist Jasmine Jones introduced us to the wealth of materials in their files. Drawing from a variety of different collections, Megan and Jasmine uncovered a treasure trove of resources that added a new dimension to what my students had previously learned in lectures and readings. Highlights included a proposal sketch of George Tsutakawa's fountain sculpture Obos 69, signed by the artist, original plans for and drawings of the garden by the landscape design firm Cornell, Bridgers and Troller, and photos of the Sculpture Garden from its construction in the mid-1960s. For my students to be able to see and hold these documents of the garden's history was an exciting opportunity, and I was not surprised to see how clearly their visit to Special Collections impacted their research projects. Being exposed to this archive of primary resources helped them to understand the forces behind the Sculpture Garden's evolution from an idea conceived by UCLA chancellor Franklin D. Murphy in 1960 to the vital space that UCLA students stroll through and congregate today.

*The works in the Murphy Sculpture Garden are in the collection of the Hammer Museum, where I am a staff member.

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By Philip Leers, Project Manager for Digital Initiatives, Hammer Museum