As public art often is, "Curving Arcades" had been controversial from the outset. When the Arizona Board of Regents approved the University of Arizona's request for a sculpture on the mall, even then-UA President John Schaefer said "I'm a little bit nervous about this." The work was financed by private sources and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. An Oberlin College artist, Athena Tacha, was chosen for the project. When it was completed in late 1981, at a cost of $88,000, community reaction was mixed. This photo of the "tweezers" or "wishbones," as some called it, was taken on July 19, 1983. See the artist's first choice of sculpture for the UA in Tales from the Morgue at go.azstarnet.com/morguetales.
Tucson Time Capsule is a daily feature, a photographic record of Tucson as it was. If you have a memory of an event to share, please go to go.azstarnet.com/ timecapsule, where you can find all of the time capsule photos. You can also add your own historical Tucson photos to the collection. Please observe copyright laws.
As water lifeline evaporates, Arizona faces a cultural change over water use
