New York/Richard Serra

Intersection II • Richard Serra

A while ago I posted a comment about a series of photographs of Richard Serra's sculpture made by Hiroshi Sugimoto. I objected to the fuzzy treatment–Sugimoto's trademark–for this quintessentially hard-edged work. Here are a few of my images of two Serra pieces in the Museum of Modern Art garden, not offered as a rebuke to Sugimoto, but rather as quick takes while visiting with my son Brendan who streaked around the Serra arcs, a red blur.


Intersection II • Richard Serra


Brendan, my son, intersecting with Intersection II

I have long regarded Serra as one of the giants of contemporary art, and I was eager to see the new installation of his work at the museum. I have seen Serra in various locations: the Dia Beacon and in Chelsea, and in many outdoor settings. Like any sculpture, but particularly with Serra's, the work is dramatically changed by the context. Indoors, there is often a sense of great compression, the coiled quality of the steel seemingly ready to burst the confines of the surrounding walls. Outdoors, that tension is relaxed somewhat, the scale changed, although it depends on the siting. A willfully confrontational installation at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan so irked the government workers who had to circumnavigate the piece that it was eventually dismantled. On the other hand, one of my favorite sitings was also in Lower Manhattan–St. John's Rotary Arc was placed within the huge roundabout formed by the Holland Tunnel exit.


Intersection II • Richard Serra


Intersection II • Richard Serra

At MoMA the two pieces on view in the sculpture garden work beautifully–on the one hand held in check by the relatively close quarters of the space–on the other hand free to the sky and juxtaposed against the gray-green trees and silver-black glass of the museum facade. Upstairs on the second floor, the completely neutral gallery spaces seemed less successful to me. Although the sculptures are impressively contained within walls, the warmish interior light and blank wall surfaces allow for less dialogue with the taut forms within. But by all means go and see–and interact.


Torqued Ellipse IV • Richard Serra


Torqued Ellipse IV • Richard Serra

MoMA has recently been presenting wonderful virtual exhibits on their website. Some of the best stuff I've seen. Here is the Serra web presentation. I did not, by the way, get a chance to see the sixth floor galleries, but will do so next time.