Yesterday, I visited The Center of The Universe, a hilarious Bruce Nauman piece on the University of New Mexico's campus. Never has the search for a large chunk of public sculpture been so amusing. Just image 3 critic and curator types wandering around a large campus asking students about where "The Center of The Universe" is located?



The eventual answer was even more rewarding... it's near the duck pond.



The piece has minimal labeling so most students walk through it as if it is just another campus obstruction... and it makes me wonder what Richard Serra (king of all artistic obstructionists) would have been like if he had a better sense of humor.

Somehow Nauman is subtle enough to play with both the art viewing audience's solipsism and often inflated self importance as well as the blissful ignorance of busy students and professors who are already at the center of their own universes.