Constitution Wall
Towering six stories over the Museum’s courtyard, the public art piece “RIGHTS” inspires thought and comment. Sculpted into the massive wall are words taken from California’s Constitution and chosen for their enduring meaning.
Depending on the angle of the light, different words leap forward. In the early morning or late afternoon, the giant word “RIGHTS,” the underlying theme of the piece, stands out, while at midday other “rights,” indicated by words such as “redress” and “assemble,” are more apparent. The artists’ grouping of the words adds another layer of meaning, punctuated by colors drawn from California’s own palette of forest, ocean, and desert hues.
The Wall was designed by artists Mike Mandel, Larry Sultan and Paul Kos, and built in collaboration with Frederick Meiswinkel Inc. and Esherick Homsey Dodge & Davis. The sculpture was funded in part by the California Arts Council’s Art in Public Buildings program.
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Famous quotes containing the words constitution and/or wall:
“The veto is a President’s Constitutional right, given to him by the drafters of the Constitution because they wanted it as a check against irresponsible Congressional action. The veto forces Congress to take another look at legislation that has been passed. I think this is a responsible tool for a president of the United States, and I have sought to use it responsibly.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life. Since man is mortal, the only immortality possible for him is to leave something behind him that is immortal since it will always move. This is the artist’s way of scribbling “Kilroy was here” on the wall of the final and irrevocable oblivion through which he must someday pass.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)