Writings/Interviews [Paperback]

Richard Serra (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226748804 | ISBN-13: 978-0226748801 | Publication Date: August 15, 1994 | Edition: 1

One of the most important sculptors of this century, Richard Serra has been a spokesman on the nature and status of art in our day. Best known for site-specific works in steel, Serra has much to say about the relation of sculpture to place, whether urban, natural, or architectural, and about the nature of art itself, whether political, decorative, or personal. In interviews with writers including Douglas and Davis Sylvester, he discusses specific installations and offers insights into his approach to the problem each presents. Interviews by Peter Eisenman and Alan Colquhoun elicit Serra's thoughts on the relation of architecture to contemporary sculpture, a primary component in his own work. From essays like "Extended Notes from Sight Point Road" to Serra's extended commentary on the Tilted Arc fiasco, the pieces in this volume comprise a document of one artist's engagement with the practical, philosophical, and political problems of art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Through writings and interviews, Serra chronicles not only his evolution as an artist but also touches on some of the responses inspired by the large site-specific urban sculptures for which he is best known. Like his method of sandbox construction where scale models are constantly adjusted in situ , the reader gets a sense of the visions and revisions in his writing. With workman-like logic, Serra addresses the structuralist concerns of his installations and sculpture. But with its cadent listing of the qualities of mass, his prose becomes almost poetical in the piece titled "Weight." Serra is at his pugilistic best when he attacks postmodernist architecture as "signature architecture" and in "An Opinionated Museum Goer," when he criticizes the tyranny of the well-lit white cubes of those architects who define the space of museums without regard to the art that goes in them. Although his aesthetic position is not intrinsicially political, Serra does manage, in Robert Morgan's words, to "collide with political issues." One such example is the cogent, if opinionated, essay "Tilted Arc Destroyed," although subsequent articles concerned with issues of censorship are merely adequate. Since Serra chose the articles included this volume, it should perhaps come as no surprise that it lacks more controversial interviews on the role of public exchange in public sculpture. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The removal of Serra's Tilted Arc from Federal Plaza in New York City was one of the seminal events in recent art censorship history, particularly because the controversy focused strictly on the "artistic merit" of the work and not issues such as pornography or politics. Mostly large, site-specific steel structures, Serra's work has a way of raising hackles as well as the question, "What is art?" Containing material that ranges from 1967 to the present, this collection of interviews and essays will help clarify Serra's position and ideas on the nature of art-particularly sculpture, but with asides on film, architecture, and drawing as well. Combative and opinionated, Serra offers an articulate expression of an important contemporary aesthetic that demands reading by both his admirers and his detractors. Highly recommended for collections covering contemporary art or aesthetics.-Martin R. Kalfatovic, Natl. Museum of American Art/Natl. Portrait Gallery Lib., Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (August 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226748804
• ISBN-13: 978-0226748801
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A clear look into the mind of a great artist and philosopher, September 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Writings/Interviews (Paperback)

I have been a fan of Richard Serra's from the moment I first viewed the torqued elipses. I looked for his work and information about him all over the place, all of which sparked my interest. I saw this book and I was incredibly curious to read what an artist who does so much head work has to say, and whether it would be clear and understandable. I was so pleased to find that Serra was incredibly open, direct, honest, well-expressed, with an even humorous turn-of-phrase at times, which was refreshing. I highly recommend the essays and interviews 'Extended Notes From Sight Point Road,' 'About Drawing: An Interview,' and 'An Opinionated Museum Goer.' I personally found myself agreeing with much of what Serra said and wrote, in fact, to my surprise, he was able to articulate many of my thoughts better than I ever had. A great, influential man, and I highly recommend this book by and about him.