Art can be damaged by things much less tangible than wind and rain

In an article in the Arts section of the June 2, 2016 issue of The New York Times (“Sculpture in a Building’s Shadow”), Victoria Burnett reports that “Espacio Escultorico”, an important work of land art on the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico has been damaged by a recently constructed eight story building whose presence in the landscape disrupts the line of the sky against the top of the work. As the building is not next to the work, but is located the equivalent of three or four city blocks (less than one-quarter mile) away from the sculpture, it is likely that the university did not consider that there was any relationship between the two. This situation is a reminder that a work of art is more than its physical parts and can be damaged by things much less tangible than wind or rain.