Public art from cequinn1

In his early years in public arts, Serra searched for a material that will be distinguished and unique. His most recognizable works are monumental steel sculptures. He was so kind to share some of his works with us, including:

Strike: To Roberta and Rudy (1969-71) is an eight-foot-high wall of steel jammed into the gallery’s back corner. While One Ton Prop’s repetition makes its components into generic units, blasting away their color and detail, Strike elevates its pattern of orange rust into a universal particular that defies generalization; the choice of its arrangement seems not like the faint, hazardous breath of mortality but singular and necessary.

– Reem Zaghmout
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Richard Serra discussed in his lecture about art and it’s relation to architecture, in which forms and shapes play a huge role in each field in which it relates them to each other. As each design is unique and a piece of art with it’s exceptional shape and outline. Serra admitted that when each form of his work is perceived as a symbol for each individual reminding them by something in their lives, was his ultimate success.

– Amal Al-Kubaisi

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Serra’s materials and methods, i.e. large-scale steel panels and welding, has been interpreted by some feminist historians as a “last gasp” of Abstract Expressionism’s so-called masculine themes and artistic processes. His work has thus unwittingly inspired a host of counter-responses by subsequent generations, who, decidedly in rejection of his histrionic example, turned in the late 1970s and 1980s toward more ephemeral, everyday materials to suggest that art could be monumental without relying on massive, “in your face” substances and formats.

He explored how an art work might relate intimately to a specific setting; how it might take up a physical as well as a visual relationship to a viewer; and how it might create spaces (or environments) in which a viewer can experience universal qualities of weight, gravity, agility, and even a kind of meditative repose.

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Richard Serra, have designed 2 sculptures only for Qatar.

he have never really considered sculptures until he have seen vacatio studio, on that day he realized how the 3D have a different affect on people rather than the 2D where he have left painting behind & moved to sculpturing & 3D modeling.

Richard Serra have started looking at different materials that he can play with, where he have found his first interest rubber and that 3D work was his first. after that he have found lead and shaping of this material, its properties, color, texture, feeling that it gives grabbed his attention

Lead sculpturing was what got Richard Serra into architecture, it was his first step into engineering. Lead didn’t last much where Richard Serra have moved into steel, since steel dose not collapse or  breakdown , so it can last more.

The strength of steel,( its sheer force, space division, texture, color, thinness & thickness, extreme heights & its tensile force) was what really made Richard Serra in love with sculpturing steel.

The reaction of different people, with different ages & cultures to Richard Serra’s work what made him keep doing what he does. The different analysis, imagination, emotions & unconscious inner thinking of the people was showing Richard Serra the inner mind of these people, what are their fears & how do they react to different feelings.

Indoor spaces creates different experiences with Richard Serra.

– Noor M. S.

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“Some sculptures make memory for people, which makes the sculpture successful” Richard Serra
He said that when he was talking about his sculptures. His sculptures has a kind of communication or language that make people more interested to hi sculptures. Moreover, his sculptures all of them are free standing and that what makes his work different and interesting , he plays with the gravity and forces to create an equilibrium free standing sculptures.

– Abida Khan

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Richard Serra focused on three of sculptures especially created for Qatar by himself. east-west/west-east sculptures in the desert, another one which is facing the museum of an Islamic art and the one that is wavy.
In general, he explained how the shape of a masterpiece is related to its material. Such as, rubber and very light steel for the flexibility and heavy steel for stability.
How the atmosphere, which may be indoor or outdoor can affects the masterpiece or sculpture.
So well selection of the material is an important issue to present the shape and suit the location.
Turning back to the three sculptures which he mentioned I like east-west/west-east sculptures, which stand in the desert.Four steel plates punctuate the desert landscape, forming a close relationship to the topography of the site by crossing the peninsula of the protected park and connecting the waters of the gulf!

– Fatima AlNuaimi

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“Don’t be afraid of a risk! stay with it no matter what others say!”

– Richard Serra

Serra said this quote when he talked about his tragedy when the government of New York city decide to demolish his sculpture “tilted arch” because of public criticism with out informing him. On the other hand, Qatar adopted this artist to show the world his creations. Richard Serra present 3 sculptures in Doha, “7″, “Passage of Time” & “East-West/West-East”.

Serra notice in his career, how 3D have different impact on people, so he left painting and moved to 3D modeling and sculpturing, so he started looking for different materials that would achieve what in his mind. He choose lead at first which leads him into architecture. However, he did not last much with it. He found his desires in steel since it doesn’t breakdown or collapse. He redefine Indoor spaces and creates different experiences with his sculptures.

– Fatma Fakhroo

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“How you do and what you do gives credibility to what you have done!”

– Richard Serra

Richard Serra’s presented his work in sculpture and drawing, including his large-scale, site-specific sculptures for architectural, urban and landscape settings, which have been celebrated here in qatar and around the globe.

Serra’s work showed in two cultural spaces in Doha, at the Al Riwaq Doha Exhibition space where visitors will be able to experience ‘Passage of Time’ conceived specifically for the space, and at the QMA Gallery in Katara Cultural Village where a selection of seven sculptures and four large drawings reflect the main stages in the development of Serra’s work.

His Work creates different experiences to people.

– Moza AlMarri