Who Determines What the Public Should See

"The rest of the page was filled with a feature article about his sculpture. Serra was accorded such coverage because he is seen as one of the world's most influential artists. His best-known works are large and looming pieces of cold steel that have "a mystical effect" from the "distortions of space created by their leaning, curving or circling walls and the frankness of their materials.""

"The way to appreciate Serra's sculptures is in person, I learned when I visited the Dia Beacon museum in the Hudson Valley. No photo can capture the effect of Torqued Ellipses, the sculptures I saw there. The enormous, rust-colored steel plates give the illusion that they are ready to tip, and walking in the narrow corridors between high parallel walls that open at the top feels as though the steel walls are in motion."

"Not everyone appreciated Serra's sculpture, Tilted Arc, a 12-foot-high, 120-foot-long, 2.5-inch-thick piece of rusted steel that was placed in the Foley Federal Plaza, in Lower Manhattan. In this commissioned piece, Serra designed the work to interact with workers streaming to and from the nearby subway station, which it did, but not in the way he had anticipated. Within months of its 1981 installation, over 1,300 government employees signed a petition to remove it."

Richard Serra received prominent recognition at his 2024 death, reflecting his status as an influential artist. His best-known works are large, looming cold-steel sculptures whose leaning, curving or circling walls and frank materials create spatial distortions and a mystical effect. The works are most effective experienced in person; photographs cannot capture the immersive effect of pieces such as Torqued Ellipses, whose rust-colored plates and narrow corridors create an illusion of motion. A commissioned public work, Tilted Arc, provoked mass workplace opposition, legal battles, and ultimately removal after courts found government interests in keeping the plaza unobstructed and Serra lacked rights to prevent removal.

Read at Psychology Today