Richard Serra: Equal | ARTIST STORIES

The Museum of Modern Art recently added Richard Serra's "Equal" to its collection. The 320-ton sculpture is composed of four pairs of precisely forged steel blocks, stacked and arranged in a square. In this short video, Serra describes the material processes and conceptual concerns that shape this ambitious work.

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[Alexbollerstudio]

You live on through your works, you will be missed.

[StedelijkMuseumAmsterdam]

Incredible process and sculptures. He explaines his story so clearly, very nice video.

[MarkPermann]

I spent a full hour walking around this piece, because it rewards really looking. At all of the colors and textures; patterns and blots; surfaces and edges and meetings and gouges, catching or sinking the light. This is clearly a man who loves his material - it's the impression I got from the equally phenomenal but quite different piece, Emerson, at the Menil in Houston. 

Near the end of my appreciation, a young man walked in with his girl, pointed to one of the blocks, and said: "Now this right here, this is a box!" Ah, the people look, but they do not see.

[ceciliawong]

Richard Serra's art always commands its own space. Here it looks like the blocks might raise the ceiling!

[rrfirefly]

The virtual denies tactility, it denies our physical presence. Amen.

[ramenbo]

he made a good point on the value of the tactile. sometimes you have touch things

[edwardfortae]

Giant forgings. I am completely amazed the floor holds those.

[vivlive]

RIP Richard Serra. we have lost a Titan.

[manuelbranco]

320-tons sculptures - how do they move this stuff around? where do they find gallery floors that will hold that kind of weight?

[LOLO-lmpr]

I love this sculpture, but is not equal to it's installation, deserves so much more. Especially more natural light. The best part of kinetic art it the full human experience of senses. To tough to smell, we can often smell through touch, a lost art.

[Gruntled]

Love seeing people pretend that there is a deep meaning here. This emperor has no clothes. There are 8 very big and heavy pieces of metal that were put on display in a huge room in a museum. While I admire the feat of architecture and engineering, which is what it took to put these monstrosities there while having a strong enough floor to support them, but beyond that, this is a piece of very expensive soulless kitsch by an artist who was lucky to have his caprice and ego catered to. There are so many artists and installations more deserving of the gigantic room and the expense that it unfortunately took to produce such schlock.

[susanjane]

Touching and feeling? I have never been to a gallery or museum that allowed me to touch or feel anything. I could smell them at a distance. Even grok them compared to my body dimensions. If there was a gross temperature difference, I could feel that. Sculpture in public places allows a tactile and person/body exploration.

[Jack.Strait]

Why don't people spend hours staring at say... landfills? Way more experiential richness. I guess it needs a big famous name attached in order to be valuable?

[solortus]

They're metal blocks... that's it.

[James-wwri]

Reminder that his sculptures have killed people by crushing them.