Over the years there have been many rumors about the Squiggle, the amorphous red sculpture that sits on the hill just outside of Porter College. The largest of which is that the sculptor moved it from its original location. It has also been mythologized in other ways including urban legends about it being snuck onto campus in secret. Kenny Farrell (Porter ’74, art), the The Squiggle sculptor himself came to campus to take photos with his iconic art piece and answer some questions about its history.
“No I didn’t secretly sneak this on campus,” Farrell says, breaking down some of the mythology.
Farrell transferred into the University of California, Santa Cruz from Pasadena City College in the early ‘70s. UC Santa Cruz had just finished construction of the (then) new Performing Arts Center. As another way of revitalizing the campus the school also offered a grant to create a sculpture for campus. Farrell also decided to use the grant as part of his senior project. And so The Squiggle was born.
Farrell does not recall his inspiration for the design, but he is able to squash rumors about how it ended up where it is. “Fifty years ago I probably could have answered that question,” he says. “Now I know it was just something I needed to do. It was freedom for me.”
The original placement of the sculpture was intended to be slightly south of where it sits now. Slightly down the hill so it could be framed by trees. But Farrell didn’t think his work needed to be framed. He intended it to be free, despite the wishes of the provost and other administrators. A stake was placed at The Squiggle’s intended location, a marker for the team that would come pour the base stand for it the next day. It was raining that day, and as the provost walked away, Farrell trudged the small distance through the rain to move the stake. “The next day granite construction came and poured the slab,” says Farrell. “After the slab was poured the school went ‘What?’ but there was nothing they could do because they had already spent all this money.”
The official name of the sculpture is “Untitled” though everyone nowadays refers to it as The Squiggle, and those more daring jokingly call it The Flying IUD. On any given day students can be seen climbing it or hanging out by it.
For the past 50 years The Squiggle has captured the hearts and minds of students and the surrounding Santa Cruz area. It is a staple of the UC Santa Cruz campus that has stayed in students’ hearts long past graduation. Kelsey Knox (Porter ’12, American Studies), one of the University’s archivists and a former student sports a black and white Squiggle tattoo on her upper arm. Knox has also been working on research about the sculpture and its origins.
Farrell still creates art, though according to him “not to the degree that this [The Squiggle] was executed, but still in the flavor or being an artist.” The Squiggle remains one of his most notable works, in part thanks to its location. “I wanted it there,” says Farrell, “I got what I wanted.”