VIEW ALL WALTON'S BLOG ENTRIES
Although nearly six weeks remain until theRichard Serra Sculpture: Forty Yearsexhibit opens At the Museum of Modern Art, now on view are two massive sculptures installed last week several weeks ago in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden as well as monumental works on the second and sixth floors. Serra fans remember the fascinating exhibit Rolled and Forged at the Gagosian Chelsea last year, as well as the monumental torqued ellipses in the permanent collection of Dia: Beacon. Yet by placing two massive outdoor sculptures at the Museum, MoMA has achieved two very intriguing results: First off, early arrivals at the museum can see how the steel takes on different aspects as the sun over Midtown peeks over a nearby highrise to the east. From 10:30 am to noon, the intensity of the light shifts dramatically, highlighting particularly the "Torqued Ellipse IV" (1999). Secondly, these two sculptures smartly divide the garden—in particular, Intersection II (1992-3)—forcing visitors to contemplate the sculptures by walking around and through them. The spatial orientation and placement toy with the basic precepts of the western sculpture garden, and the elegant curves provide many possibilities for contemplative speculation. Thus it seems in this otherwise ossified space that intrigue and innovation have finally taken hold; this garden now indeed appears (post-)(post-)modern. On this spectacular weekend when Manhattan's magnolia trees were in full bloom, while flâneurs were out in full force and while French voters stood in line outside their Consulate on Fifth Avenue, this oasis of tranquility in Midtown was greatly enhanced by the addition of these two Serra sculptures. Perhaps they will become as beloved as some of Serra's most famous installations—or despised as "Tilted Arc" (1981) was on Federal Plaza years ago. How New Yorkers relate spatially to sculpture in public places remains an open question, and most certainly for the next six weeks until this full 40-year retrospective of Serra's dazzling work officially opens.
Update: On Sunday, June 3rd—the opening day of the exhibit—an early-morning leak at the museum initially prevented public access to the massive sculptures on the second floor. Although it was wryly noted that little damage to these sculptures could be caused by water, it was nevertheless an unusual event with most unfortunate timing. Though several days of closed previews preceded the public opening, how the crowds interact with the Serra sculpture at MoMA is of key importance. Thus, our full review of Serra's work on the second and sixth floors of the Museum will follow at a later date, including an extensive discussion of Band (2006) and Sequence (2006) and the spatial relationships between the public and the sculpture.
Tags:
moma, museum of modern art, richard serra, tilted arc, torqued ellipse
© All rights reserved.
Posted on 4/22/2007
(
Permanent Link
)
Send to Friend
