It is with sadness that we share news of Jackie Ferrara’s death at age 95. New York–based Ferrara was an acclaimed proponent of the Minimalist aesthetic of hard-edged geometries and use of industrial materials, expressed in her stacked pyramidal towers, boxes, and stepped ziggurats, usually constructed of wood planks and beams. Her sculptures are simultaneously austere and graceful in form, such as her birch plywood sculpture 167 Double A, A/C Double A (1976) in LACMA’s permanent collection. She is also represented at LACMA with one of her finest works of public art, the Dorothy Collins Brown Amphitheater (1999) located in Hancock Park, which surrounds the museum. The 106-foot-wide sleek red granite arc is inspired by classical Greek and Roman outdoor amphitheaters yet is a monumental example of late modern Minimalism.
It came about very serendipitously when Jackie and I made a site visit to explore possibilities for a public commission for the urban parkland shared by LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum. Strolling the grounds together, I mused that a gathering place, maybe even designed for outdoor presentations, could be desirable. Jackie’s eyes lit up, and she said, understatedly, “I’d like to think about that.” Her resulting amphitheater has become a favored gathering place for musical programs, poetry readings, storytelling, and other performances, and is a wonderful place to sun oneself on balmy L.A. days.
