Robert Baer’s public arts project "All
Roads Lead to Westwood" presents the names of several streets
leading to Westwood.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Contributor
Even though it may not feel like it to the confused student,
lost somewhere in Hollywood and desperately trying to find a way
back to the dorms, all roads lead to Westwood.
That is, of course, according to Rod Baer, whose public artwork,
“All Roads Lead to Westwood,” offers some whimsical,
though not-so-helpful, directions to Westwood Village.
The artwork, installed in the north and south sidewalks of
Weyburn Avenue, between Westwood Boulevard and Broxton Avenue,
consists of tiles inscribed with the names of the many famous
streets which do, in fact, lead to Westwood. Alongside these larger
tiles are smaller one’s offering cryptic directions, arrows
that don’t necessarily point to anything, compasses, and
dice.
“The quote came to mind, “˜All roads lead to
Rome,'” Baer said about how he got the theme for his
project. “Obviously, “˜All roads lead to Westwood’
is a lot more silly, except that when you think about roads, if
they interconnect, then they all lead to everywhere.”
“So, that was my way of playing with something really
grand and putting it in a really small village scale,” Baer
continued.
The road to installing “All Roads,” however, was a
long one, with the process taking three and a half years. Public
funding for the art, totaling about $60,000, was the result of a
Los Angeles law that allocates 1 percent of funds spent on new
construction to public works of art. In this case, the new
construction was the parking garage of Broxton Avenue.
First, a panel formed by the city, which included curators,
architects and UCLA Art Professor Henry Hopkins, was asked to
choose a work best suited to Westwood from among many
artists’ creations.
“After an exhaustive period of hours and hours we settled
on this one work which was filled with whimsy and fun and
excitement, called “˜All Roads Lead to Westwood,’ which
was based on the idea of the Monopoly game,” said Ben Pick, a
member of the panel.
The work was originally intended for Broxton Avenue, but the
panel discovered that Broxton already had art that would conflict
with “All Roads.” After reviewing other blocks in the
village, the artist and panel settled on the Weyburn Avenue
location.
 Photos by ANGIE LEVINE Tiles such as these are the public
artwork of Rod Baer titled "All Roads Lead to Westwood." The
project can be found on Weyburn Avenue between Westwood Boulevard
and Broxton Avenue. Implementing the project included further
muddling through the city’s bureaucracy.
“The city became involved with checking underground lines,
sewers and rights of way, and it took months and months and months
to get every department and building to just give their OK to have
the tile work installed on Weyburn,” Pick said.
The sidewalks were then cleaned and a contractor was hired to
install the artwork.
At present, the artwork still isn’t finished. Two dice
must be placed, and the painting and protective sealing work, have
not yet been completed.
To finish the installation, the panel is attempting to raise
$10,000, in addition to money already given by private donors, Pick
said.
“This has been a long, drawn out, arduous process that in
some ways is frightening, because it shows how difficult it is to
get even something that is beneficial for the community into
place,” Pick said
“In any case I’m looking forward to having this in
place in the next two months, raising the final $10,000, finishing
the work, and making it something that the people of Westwood, the
students of UCLA, and the visitors to our community can really
enjoy, have fun with, talk about, and ask questions about,”
he continued.
Having fun and stimulating the mind were two motives behind
“All Roads.” Baer designed the artwork to entertain
passers-by as well as helping Westwood Village.
“I wanted to do something that would be decentralized,
that would be diffused and that would help activate people walking
around,” Baer said. “I thought that instilling a sense
of play and fun and encouraging a kind of window shopping would be
something that would be good for the village.”
Steven Luciano, daytime manager of Enzo’s Pizzeria, said
the artwork has aroused many people’s curiosity.
“I think it’s just fun and a lot of people are
always questioning it and walking down the street looking at it and
following it around, and I found myself questioning it and
following it, too,” he said. “I don’t really
understand it, but it’s kind of cool.”
When asked about the cost to the city, Luciano said it was
justified because the art was beneficial to the village, and in
general, he felt that the world needs more art and culture. Many,
however, aren’t responding as positively as Luciano.
“I know that personally I’ve heard many positive and
negative comments,” Pick said. “People saying,
“˜What is all this? Who is doing all this?’ “˜Who
is wasting this kind of money?’ and I love this. I love the
negative reactions as much as the positive reactions because
it’s an indication of the involvement of people, suddenly, in
their own community.”
“All Roads” may serve as a precursor of future
city-sponsored art, eventually turning Westwood Village into a
cultural arts center.
“This will really be the forerunner to the regeneration of
the village in that it’ll be the first artwork on the
sidewalk, but we will then have a second and a third and a fourth
and a fifth, and that the sidewalks of the village will become
really an art school both for the students at UCLA, for the people
who live in the community and for Los Angeles as a whole,”
Pick said.
ART: “All Roads Lead to Westwood" is on
Weyburn Avenue between Westwood Boulevard and Broxton Avenue.