The artists’ responsibility

Reading the story “ ‘Collar and Bow’ Comes Untied” [July 27] makes me wonder about the issue of responsibility in reference to fabricated art.

One would assume for artists like Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, who build monumental sculptures with the aid of fabricators, that part of their job would be to supervise and oversee the construction and engineering of their sculpture. If the sculpture fails due to technical difficulties, wouldn’t that failure reflect back on their inability to manage the project successfully? If the artists have the integrity to refuse to “install a sculpture that does not measure up to their standards,” shouldn’t they also have the integrity to pick up the costs to remake a sculpture that fails to meet up to their managerial standards? Is the artist’s job done when “the aesthetics are definitely in place”? Or is the artist’s job done when the finished sculpture is in place?

Answer that and perhaps we might find an answer to that nagging Post-Modern question, “What is art?”

RICHARD SHELTON

Los Angeles