In Mexico City, a battle is brewing over a historical sculpture and a new building.
The sculpture, called Espacio Escultórico, or "Sculptural Space," comprises 64 concrete pyramids arranged in a perfect circle around two and half acres of black volcanic rock. It sits on the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and is treasured for being one of the most important pieces of public art in the city.
But a new eight-story building less than a quarter mile away threatens to disrupt the tranquility of the pyramids. Hundreds of artists, architects, and intellectuals, and tens of thousands more signatories on a change.org petition are protesting the social science building for intruding on—nay, ruining—the skyline created by the flat tops of the pyramids.
Because the pyramids can't be transferred, and the lava on which it stands can't be moved, protestors are calling for the building to either be modified or demolished. About two dozen artists—among them famed sculptor Anish Kapoor—even offered to sell off their artworks to finance the move of the building.
The standoff is more than just about two structures battling it out for dominance of the horizon. "Mexico needs peace," sculptor Pedro Reyes told the New York Times. "This is the most peaceful place in Mexico City."
Should an educational building be dismantled so that a work of art can keep its structural and environmental integrity? Head on over to the New York Times for the full story.
- In Mexico City, a Battle Over a Building and the Art in Its Shadow [The New York Times]