Serra Interview Questions

1. What were Richard Serra's goals for the installation?

He wanted to define space with his sculptures, but he didn’t want his works to define the space already placed by the galleries. He also wanted the space to be defined by what he constructed not by the gallery. He wanted to also give each person no matter their size the same experience of scale and wieght.

2. Define the field Serra is referring to when he states that his sculptural elements need to create "enough tension within the field to hold the experience of presence in the place". How do you define "experience of presence"?

The field he is talking about is of the vertical and how his sculptures need to give off a sense of elevation and scale. The scale and dimension in proportion to their bodies is what gives people a presence of the work, so that when they remember the work or the building what they really remember is the proportion of the work to their scale.

3. How do the columns, pedestal condition, octagonal space and vertical axis challenge Serra?

The columns and pedestal gave Serra a challenge by only taking up a certain amount of space but when he used them he found the gallery limited there presence since they over shadowed its height and they didn’t occupy much horizontal space. The octagonal space was seen to have a effect where people kept wanting to stand towards the center of it.

4. What is effective in terms of the shape, scale and number of the two square elements in the Duveen Galleries?

The galleries use of shape and scale are effective in that they give a person a lasting first impression by the roofs being much higher and giving people and massive vertical experience, and there space does not take up much horizontal space so it gives each person a presence based on its vertical axis condition.

5. Describe the differences and similarities between Barnett Newman's and Richard Serra's work.

Both deal with basic geometric shapes in different proportions so that people can remember their work based on its scale rather than its color’s or positioning.