Tilted Arc by Richard Serra
| May 02, 2008

I don't think I could really offer any explanation as to why I am constantly amazed by the work of minimalist sculptor Richard Serra, that would justify his amazing work and his big inspiration on my work. I guess I've decided to post about this specific work (Tilted Arc), though, because of how considered it was (design wise) and the way it functioned as a site-specific work. The work itself was "a solid, unfinished plate of Core-Ten steel, 120 feet long (36.6 metres), 12 feet high (3.66 meters), and 2.5 inches thick" (Wikipedia). Serra himself said of the work tht "[t]he viewer becomes aware of himself and of his movement through the plaza. As he moves, the sculpture changes. Contraction and expansion of the sculpture result from the viewer's movement. Step by step the perception not only of the sculpture but of the entire environment changes."

Eventually dismantled due to public contraversy (a horribly regrettable decision) even against the artist's appeals (which were ignored apparently), the work now exists in the minds of those who saw it and in photographic form. Serra quickly dismissed the idea of rellocating the work, which led to him famously stating that "to move the work is to destroy it", which comments on the nature of his work and site specific work in general.

Below are a few further details/different viewpoints on the work.

Link:  Tilted Arc at Wikipedia

Tags:  installation, minimalism, sculpture, site-specific

Topic: Sculpture