Maya Lin designs Arts Plaza for UCI

Whether hosting a lecture by a Nobel Peace Prize winner or unveiling

the new Arts Plaza designed to engage all the senses, UC Irvine

connects with the community on a variety of levels.

Sharing its physical and intellectual resources remains a priority

for the campus, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall with

a wide range of public events. It’s a circular relationship:

Community support has helped establish UCI as a top research

university, which enables it to attract the world’s leading thinkers,

artists and innovators.

The new Arts Plaza provides a perfect example of how UCI and the

community enrich each other. Built with the help of private

donations, the $3.6-million outdoor plaza in the center of the Claire

Trevor School of the Arts has cultural significance that resonates

far beyond the campus. It was designed by artist Maya Lin, who

achieved international fame 25 years ago with her winning design for

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., while still an

undergraduate at Yale University.

Lin will join Chancellor Michael Drake, landscape architect Pamela

Burton and arts dean Nohema Fernandez for the plaza dedication at 4

p.m. Tues., Oct. 25. The free public event will feature student

music, dance and drama performances, as well as video art by Japanese

artist Takagi Masakatsu.

In designing the plaza, Lin worked closely with Burton to create a

30,000-square-foot plaza that “taps all of the five senses.”

There’s the scent of jasmine, rosemary and other plants growing

throughout the space. Orange trees planted at the entrances not only

satisfy the sense of taste -- visitors are welcome to sample the

fruit -- they also represent Orange County’s agricultural roots.

Visitors can sit on “whispering benches” that play poetry, music

and other sounds, and can watch student films, plays and concerts in

a 200-seat outdoor amphitheater.

The heart of the project, says Lin, is the drawing table. Many of

her designs, notably the Vietnam memorial, feature a large, flat

stone surface inscribed with text that visitors can trace with their

fingers. For the Arts Plaza, she replaced text with “a simple line

drawing that takes its shape as a bubbling line of water on the

surface.”

“You may think you actually see the water drawing a line,” Lin

said. “Text has been reduced to the mark of the human hand, so you

realize, ‘This is a school of the arts.’”

UCI offers another venue for the community to interact with

renowned innovators: the Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series.

An astrophysicist, Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil rights advocate

are among the experts featured in the sixth annual lecture series.

Veronica Tennant, filmmaker and former principal ballerina with

the National Ballet of Canada, begins the series by presenting her

film, “Shadow Pleasures: Making Dance for the Screen,” at 6:30 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 20, at Edwards University Center, Cinema 6, in Irvine.

Tickets are $30.

Other distinguished fellows include:

* Alan Lloyd, secretary of the California Environmental Protection

Agency, Jan. 18;

* Mary Frances Berry, former chair of the U.S. Civil Rights

Commission, Feb. 16;

* Smithsonian astrophysicist Margaret Geller, best known for her

3-D map of the universe, April 19;

* Harvard sociologist and author William Julius Wilson, May 11.

* Marvin Minsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor

and pioneer of artificial intelligence, May 24;

* Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize

laureate (TBA); and

* Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University professor of economics

(TBA).

Most presentations are free and open to the public. For

information, call (949) 824-6503 or visit

o7www.chancellor.uci.eduf7.

While the Arts Plaza appeals to the senses and the fellows series

challenges the mind, the communal spirit of the campus is embodied in

one premier event: the UCI Medal Ceremony on Saturday.

One couple and three individuals will receive the UCI Medal -- the

campus’s top honor -- for their extraordinary dedication, generosity

and service to the university. More than 700 community members and

campus leaders will gather in tents at the Anteater Recreation Center

Fields for the gala.

The 2005 recipients are Dr. Thomas Cesario, dean of the School of

Medicine; Mary Cesario, community leader; Walter Fitch, professor of

ecology and evolutionary biology; Paul Merage, chairman of Falcon

Investment Management and co-founder of Chef America; and Janice

Smith, community leader and UCI volunteer.

Hosted by the UCI Foundation, the gala begins at 5:30 p.m. and

features performances by alumni, students and faculty of the arts

school. Proceeds support the UCI Regents’ Scholars program and

graduate fellowships. For information, call (949) 824-7939.

The campus and community have had a close connection for four

decades, and as the coming events indicate, there’s much more in

store for this enduring partnership.

* Parents Talk Back: Our parent panelists will return next week.