Department of Art History

During last year’s Gold Gorvy Traveling Seminar on “Earthworks Revisited” taught by Prof. Christine Mehring, Sila Ulug, a joint PhD candidate in Art History and Theater and Performance Studies, picked up a ventriloquist doll at a Las Vegas thriftstore. From thereon, “Serra” accompanied the group everywhere, from Michael Heizer’s City to Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Serra’s visit to the Salt Flats in Utah just made it onto the cover of the new issue of “The Core,” which features a photo essay about the seminar’s land art adventures.

Asked for a comment on this story, Sila reports, Serra was having trouble speaking up, but when she did, she said "My name is Serra, and I do not make performance art."