Serra, Richard

Richard Serra: Torqued Ellipses

Torqued Ellipses is a new series of sculptures by Serra which mark a departure in the artists work. Never before have these spaces been articulated in sculpture or even in architecture.

Writings/Interviews

The Destruction of Tilted Arc: Documents (October Books)

Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, a 120-foot curved Cor-Ten steel structure in New York City's Federal Plaza, was destroyed in the spring of 1989 by the General Services Administration, the federal agency that had commissioned and installed what was Serra's most ambitious and probably most important public sculpture. These documents from the public hearing and the court proceedings are an essential primary source for scholars of art and law, providing a complete and moving record of censorship in the arts.

The impassioned speeches by important artists, political figures, and by federal employees for and against the sculpture's removal also make fascinating reading. Among those testifying at the hearing were Marion Javits, reading a letter from her husband, the dying Senator Jacob Javits; Congressman Theodore Weiss; artists Claes Oldenburg and Frank Stella; filmmaker Emile de Antonio; and Museum of Modem Art director William Rubin. Richard Serra's introduction presents his own acerbic view of the government's case.

The Tilted Arc Controversy: Dangerous Precedent?

Since its installation at and subsequent removal from New York City's Federal Plaza, noted sculptor Richard Serra's Tilted Arc has been a touchstone for debates over the role of public art. Installed in 1981, the 10-foot-high, 120-foot-long curved wall of Cor-Ten self-rusting steel instantly became a magnet for criticism. Art critics in the New York Times and the Village Voice labeled it the city's worst public sculpture, and many denounced it as an example of the elitism associated with art and as an obstacle to the use and enjoyment of the plaza.

Harriet F. Senie explores the history of Tilted Arc, including its 1979 commission and the heated public hearings that eventually led to its removal in 1989 (it was dismantled and is currently stored in a government warehouse in Maryland). Analyzing the archive of popular opinion, Senie shows how the sculpture was caught in an avalanche of shifting local and national discussions about public funding for the arts. She examines the tactics of those opposed to the sculpture and the media's superficial and sensational coverage of the controversy, reframing the dialogue in terms of public art, public space, and public policy instead of the question of whether the removal of Tilted Arc was poetic justice or a dangerous precedent. Senie provides an enlightening history and analysis of a controversy that will continue to inform our discussions about public art for years to come.

Harriet F. Senie is director of museum studies and professor of art history at the City University of New York's City College and professor of art history at CUNY's Graduate Center.

Richard Serra: Weight and Measure 1992 : 30 September 1992-15 January 1993

Richard Serra: Large Scale Prints By Richard Serra

Richard Serra began making prints in 1972. Since then, his continued investigations into printmaking have produced an innovative body of work that is as large as it is varied. While Serra's prints explore the perceptual possibilities suggested by his sculptural work, they are not merely illustrative, but rather autonomous works of art that constantly push the medium to its limits. Conveying a sense of weight, instability, and potential motion, Serra's graphic works possess a physical presence that provokes reactions similar to those experienced in the presence of his sculptures. Rounding out the publication's visuals, two essayists explore the many ramifications of presence in Serra's work.

Richard Serra/Sculpture

Richard Serra: Drawings=Zeichnungen: 1969-1990; catalogue raisonne=Werkverzeichnis

Richard Serra: Afangar Icelandic Series 1988-1992

Abstractions in space: Tadao Ando, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra