WEEKLY
                  WALKER
                                By Tom Davids


A Walk through Outdoor Sculpture

 Stanford University

"A statue lies hid in a block of marble, and the art of statuary only clears
away the superfluous matter and removes the rubbish."  
Addison

Directions: From El Camino Real in Palo Alto, go west on Palm Drive to the
Oval. Turn left on Serra Street for one block, and park near Memorial Hall.
Grade: Level.
Distance: Your choice.
Time: The full tour could take one-half day.
Special Conditions: Pick up a guide at the Visitors Center, which is on the
first floor of Memorial Hall. For information on the Cantor Arts Center, call
650-723-4177.

    In addition to being one of the world's great universities, Stanford is a
wonderful accumulation of special "points of interest." Its 8,180-acre campus
stretches from the Santa Clara Valley to the foothills of the Santa Cruz
Mountains, and throughout the campus are located 28 individual sculptures and
two large sculpture gardens. One sculpture garden features works by Auguste
Rodin and the other by Kwoma and Iatmul, artists from the Sepik River region
of Papua New Guinea.
    On a recent Sunday afternoon we decided to tour the sculptures at
Stanford. Your first stop must be the Visitors Center in Memorial Hall to
pick up the Outdoor Sculpture Guide. This guide provides an easy-to-follow
map of the campus and a listing of sculptures by name, artist, and date. The
names of Rodin, Miro, Calder, Bufano, and de Kooning appear on the list with
interesting titles such as "Burghers of Calais," "The Falcon," "The Thinker,"
and "Call Me Ishmael."
    From Memorial Hall you can follow the map in any direction. We decided to
walk to the Cantor Arts Center for a look at the Rodin Sculpture Garden. We
passed by the Graduate School of Business and viewed number 2 (see map
guide)--"Pillars of Hercules III"--and number 3--"Group of Six," which is an
interesting assemblage of six large stones including a slab to sit on.
Farther on, beyond the Littlefield Center, we located number 4--"Stanford
Wall," a modern piece of brick, steel, and granite.
    We turned left on Roth Way, crossed over Palm Drive, and walked to the
Cantor Arts Center. We spent the next hour and the remainder of our afternoon
wandering about the Rodin Sculpture Garden, which includes 20 bronzes, one of
the most interesting being "The Gates of Hell" (1880-1900) and a special
Rodin exhibit inside the building.
    The Cantor Arts Center was opened to the public in January 1999. The old
1893 Museum building has been restored with a new 42,000-square-foot wing
added. In addition to the Rodin Sculpture Garden, there are other gardens in
and around the facility for other late 20th and 21st century sculptures. The
center also includes sections on Ancient Mediterranean, Africa, Oceania, and
Asia, with areas displaying ancient and religious works, paintings, and jades
and ceramics.
We ran out of time and had to call our walking tour short, but we resolved to
return soon to view other sculptures. Docent-led tours on the first Sunday of
each month at 2 p.m. (rain or shine) leave from the entrance to the Main
Quad, facing the Oval. Or you can tour the campus on your own.
    The Stanford campus is a fine place for walking any time of the year.
    Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome. Fax to the
Independent at (650) 692-7587, or e-mail to: trekertom@aol.com.
______________________________________________________Summary for this week's