On Monday, a federal judge in Des Moines issued a temporary restraining order stopping the Des Moines Art Center from dismantling and removing a work of public art that has been part of the city’s Greenwood Park for 36 years. “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” was created by renowned New York-based land artist Mary Miss for the Art Center between 1989 and 1996.
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.
In a story published in January, the New York Times described it as “one of the very few environmental installations in the collection of any American museum,” adding it “is considered to be the first urban wetland project in the country.
The Times was writing about the art in a Des Moines park because of the decision by the Art Center to remove “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” and subsequent pushback from community members, art lovers beyond Iowa and the artist herself.
In October, the Art Center announced it was “conducting a complete structural review of the site.”
“While the site is being studied, the Des Moines Art Center has suspended public access to some of the wooden structures that comprise ‘Greenwood Pond: Double Site,’” the center said in its Oct. 24 news release. “This week, metal fencing will be installed to enclose the warming hut and bridge and some of the arched structures will be dismantled as future plans are considered.”
That public access remains suspended. According to the Art Center, the structural review found wood in some key parts of the installation had decayed to the point it posed a safety risk to the public.
“The Art Center has devoted considerable resources to ‘Greenwood Pond: Double Site’ over many years, from the original commission to the present day, and it regrets very much that this outdoor environment has deteriorated to the point where multiple elements are unsafe to remain open to the public and are no longer salvageable,” the center said in a January news release. “We appreciate that this is very difficult for Mary Miss, and we are committed to doing all that we can to honor both her legacy and the legacy of the remarkable ‘Greenwood Pond: Double Site.’”
Miss told the Times she was informed of the decision in January, and was surprised. Miss has a contract with the Art Center in which it agrees to “reasonably protect and maintain the project against the ravages of time, vandalism, and the elements.” The center did extensive repairs to the installation in 2014 and 2015 working in collaboration with Miss.
“But the use of residential deck wood, which has a lifespan of around a decade, was no match for Iowa’s extreme climate,” the Times said.
According to the Art Center, the estimated cost for needed repairs to the installation is $2.6 million, which is well beyond the center’s budget. The center says its contract with the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department regarding the placement of the piece requires it to “remedy and/or remove any unsafe conditions related to artwork in Greenwood Park.”
Like the Art Center, Des Moines Parks and Recreation was one of the groups that collaborated with Mary Miss in the creation of the “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” from 1989 to 1996.
“I’m not using paint or the regular materials that a sculpture might use. In a way what I’m doing is more like filmmaking, because there’s so many people involved and it’s so much of a collaborative effort,” Miss explained in a video on the project the Art Center made to mark its completion.
In addition to the center and Parks and Rec, the Science Center of Iowa, the Des Moines Founders Garden Club, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Polk County Conservation Board were also key collaborators.
“There are so many layers of participation at work here,” I. Michael Danoff, then-director of the Art Center, told the Des Moines Register in 1995. “This is a unique blend of aesthetic, environmental, scientific and architectural considerations, all wedded by the artist’s vision.”
According to ARTnews, Miss received a letter from the Art Center board dated Jan. 17 that explained their decision to remove the installation based on its state of disrepair and the estimated cost of repairs, which the letter called “not financially feasible.”
Miss’s contract with the Art Center for the installation 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.”
Neither Miss nor any of the people or organizations supporting the retention and repair of “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” were able to persuade the center to change its decision. Last week, Miss sued in federal court to stop the demolition of the installation.
Miss claims removing the installation without her consent would violate both her contract with the Art Center and the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). The act is a federal law passed in 1990 that protects certain rights of the creator of a work of art, regardless of who currently owns the artwork. VARA prevents significant alteration of a public work of art without the artist’s consent, as well as the “destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work.”
In his ruling on Monday, Judge Stephen Lochner, found that Miss had “established a likelihood of success on the merits” of claims and had “established a sufficient threat of irreparable harm to warrant a temporary restraining order given the unique nature of the artwork and the fact that the Art Center is proposing to remove it once and for all.” The temporary restraining order stopping the dismantling of the installation will remain in effect until the judge can hold a hearing on whether to issue a preliminary injunction preventing further action.
In a statement issued on Monday after the judge’s decision, the Art Center repeated that it is proud of its work on “Greenwood Pond: Double Site,” but “our responsibility to public safety is paramount, and we believe we are compelled to take action as required per our 1990 agreement with the City of Des Moines to correct what has become a hazardous environment. However, we respect the court’s decision, and we will be pausing plans to remove the artwork from Greenwood Park. The sections declared dangerous and unsalvageable will remain enclosed in protective fencing.”
Mary Miss released a hopeful written statement on Monday.
“I am pleased and relieved by Judge Locher’s decision not only for what it has done for Greenwood Pond: Double Site, but because it reaffirms the rights of all artists and the integrity of their legacies,” she said. “Let’s use this opportunity to reach an outcome of which we can all be proud.”
