“Greenwood Pond: Double Site,” the large-scale work of public art that has been part of Greenwood Park in Des Moines since 1996, will remain in place following the decision of the federal judge on Friday to issue a preliminary injunction stopping the Des Moines Art Center from dismantling and removing its wooden structures.
The large-scale installation features curving wooden and concrete walkways and other features creating a double-sided elliptical form on Greenwood Pond that echoes the curve of the shoreline. A wooden trough in the water at one end allows visitors to connect with the pond by standing below the waterline. “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” also features wooden structures adjacent to the pond that can give visitors an elevated view of the landscape, as well as a wooden pavilion that is open-air during nice weather, but can be closed to serve as a warming center during winter. It also incorporates prairie plants native to Iowa in its landscaping.
“Greenwood Pond: Double Site” was created by renowned artist Mary Miss, a pioneer in land art. The New York-based artist was commissioned by the Des Moines Art Center to create the work in Greenwood Park, which is next to the Art Center. Miss worked on the site in collaboration with the Des Moines Department of Parks and Recreations, the Science Center of Iowa, the Des Moines Founders Garden Club, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Polk County Conservation Board between 1989 and 1996 to plan, design and build the site. After its opening, “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” was hailed as a major work in the developing field of land art.
Iowa’s climate is hard on wooden structures. The center did extensive repairs to the installation in 2014 and 2015, working in collaboration with Miss. But the structures have fallen into disrepair since that restoration work, and after members of the public raised concerns last year about the structural soundness of parts of the installation, the center announced in October it was “conducting a complete structural review of the site.”
Public access to the wooden structures of the site was suspended while the review was conducted, and fencing erected to keep people out. Access remains suspended and the fencing is still there. In January, the Art Center announced it had decided to dismantle and remove “Greenwood Pond: Double Side.”
The Art Center did not reach an agreement with Miss before announcing its decision, even though her contract with the center for the work states that the “Art Center agrees that it will not intentionally damage, alter, relocate, modify or change the work without the prior written consent of the artist.”
ArtNews reported Miss learned about the decision in a letter from the Art Center board dated Jan. 17 that explained it would remove the installation because of its state of disrepair with estimated repair costs being too high and “not financially feasible.”
Miss objected to the decision, as did admirers of the piece both in Iowa and around the world. The Art Center did not alter its position, pointing to its contract with the City of Des Moines. Along with granting them the opportunity to place an art installation in Greenwood Park, the contract required the Art Center “to remedy and/or remove any unsafe conditions related to” that installation.
In April, just days before the demolition of the art was scheduled to begin, Miss sued the Art Center to halt it. Miss argued that the dismantling and removing of “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” without her permission violated both her 1994 contract with the center and the federal Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). The act, passed in 1990, protects certain rights of the creator of a work of art, regardless of who currently owns the artwork, and prohibits significant alteration of a public work of art without the artist’s consent. Miss also argued the Art Center should be ordered to make the necessary repairs to the installation’s structures.
On April 6, Judge Stephen Lochner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the Art Center from doing anything to change the Greenwood art installation until there could be a hearing to determine whether a preliminary injunction should be issued. On April 17, Judge Lochner held a hearing on granting an injunction.
Last Friday, the judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping demolition. In his 19-page decision, Lochner said the contract between Miss and the Art Center did not require the center to make repairs, and therefore he could not order the center to make repairs.
“[T]he end result is, therefore, an unsatisfying status quo,” the judge wrote.
Lochner found that Miss was entitled to the preliminary injunction on the grounds that she was likely to prevail at trial on her argument that the Art Center violated the terms of their contract by not securing her permission before moving to take down the art installation. Miss’s claim under VARA was unlikely to succeed, the judge found, because VARA specifies the types of public art it covers — “painting, drawing, print, or sculpture” — and the Greenwood installation is none of those things, even though Miss’s lawyers argued it should be considered an “environmental sculpture.”
Lochner also noted the Art Center’s argument that its contract with Des Moines regarding removing unsafe structures would likely outweigh Miss’s rights under her contract, but since the city had not actually requested the center remove the installations — even Parks and Rec said it supported the center’s decision — that did not apply.
In a statement published after the judge’s ruling, the Des Moines Art Center said, “We are exploring our options as to how to resolve what has become a court ordered stalemate. In the meantime, we will retain the existing fencing around the dangerous sections of the site and will engage the City of Des Moines to address public safety in Greenwood Park.”
Miss issued a statement, in which she expressed hope that a compromise to preserve her work in Greenwood Park could be found.
“I am grateful for Judge Locher’s ruling, and I hope this opens the door to the consultations about the future of the site that were denied me,” she said.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said the Des Moines Art Center “did not consult” with Mary Miss prior to announcing its decision to dismantle “Greenwood Pond: Double Site.” The Art Center was in contact with Miss in October to inform her of the artwork’s state of disrepair and subsequently thereafter. The center informed her by letter of the decision to dismantle it prior to the public announcement. The story has been updated for “did not consult” to “did not reach an agreement with” to better reflect that.
