About the Piece

Although no written statement from Morris concerning the intention of Untitled (Steam Work for Bellingham) exists, he stated in an interview that ”The piece is work done, like all work, in the world-and partly because its audience has become much less end-directed, seeing life in terms of people and action and responding to life in a way formerly reserved for art.” Through the piece, Morris intended to link the process of physical labor, i.e. building a steam vent, to the process of making art. Morris states that his audience has become less end-directed as time has progressed, meaning they have the capacity to appreciate things with no given purpose or value.

Robert Morris’s Untitled sculpture is an extremely impactful piece. Many viewers may see it as an eyesore or pointless, but it has a lot of meaning behind it. The impact that this art piece puts on its observers is one of a kind on campus. It is nothing but a grate with rocks on top that occasionally releases steam. One could take a rock out or put a new rock in and not even the artist would be able to tell the difference. It is difficult to piece together why Robert Morris created this installation, but that could be the beauty of the work. We decided to visit the piece individually so we could fully take in the ambiguous and modular nature of the piece. We interpreted the art by rearranging the rocks and took photos. In the following paragraphs, you can read each member’s individual interpretation of the piece and view their photos.

Anthony’s Interpretation

My inspiration was derived from what could be the pieces true purpose, the steam. This grate releases steam, primarily in the mornings, which can trigger a calming effect for viewers, especially in the morning. Nonetheless, the grate continues to be somewhat of an eyesore, which triggered an idea. My idea was to create a channel in the middle of the grate to promote the flow of steam to the middle of the piece. I dug out a hole in the middle of the piece, making sure there were no rocks in that specific area, and then I stacked larger rocks around this circular hole to create more of a tunnel effect. This, in effect, will hopefully create a more aesthetically pleasing view in the mornings as it will seem as if most of the steam is blowing out of that one hole.  The introduction of “precision” and “order” will become factors, which will make the piece less of an eyesore and more pleasant of a view for people walking by.

Rose’s Interpretation

Since the simple material of rocks can become dull and go unnoticed at times, I wanted to embrace the diversity of the rocks. Showing that there is color and unique patterns within such a limited space of modest material. Looking at the sculpture as a whole, I did see similar shades of just black and grey. However, as I got closer and became more interactive with the art – I realized it was just as easy finding a colorful rock as it was finding a black or grey one. None of the rocks were identical, and I ended up seeing such a wide variety of different rock forms. This proved to me that Morris wanted his audience to acknowledge the arrangement, and the size of shapes in his art – as well as the change in perception as one moved around the sculpture, emphasizing the main captivation of Minimalism.

Matthew’s Interpretation

I visited the piece shortly after Anthony did. As previously mentioned, he left a ring around the steam exit in order to highlight the functionality of the piece. I was unaware that Anthony was the creator of the ring, but I added onto it anyway. I added small towers of rocks on top of the ring. My additions bring to light the fragility of Morris’ work. The fact that anyone can add or remove rocks from the sculpture is represented through the towers I added. Anyone could knock them over. If they really wanted, they could even steal all the rocks in the piece. To me, this is what makes Morris’ work so compelling. Despite being a work by a famous artist, it hides in plain sight. The ambiguity and modularity of the piece is highlighted by the effort and thought that one must put forth when interpreting it.

Contributions

Intro and About the Piece segment by Anthony Loetscher, Rose Koch, and Matthew Coon

Individual interpretations and photos by Anthony Loetscher, Rose Koch, and Matthew Coon

Blog Post by Matthew Coon

References

Baumgardner, Julie. “The 1970s.” Artsy, 11 Aug. 2015, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-the-most-iconic-artists-of-the-1970s.

Greenberger, Alex, and Andrew Russeth. “Robert Morris, Sculptor and Writer Who Helped Define Postwar Art, Dies at 87 -.” ARTnews, 30 Nov. 2018, www.artnews.com/2018/11/29/robert-morris-cornerstone-postwar-art-dies-87/.

Pearson, Steve. “What Happened in 1971 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture.” The People History, 5 Apr. 2012, www.thepeoplehistory.com/1971.html.

“Robert Morris Sculptures, Bio, Ideas.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/www.theartstory.org/amp/artist-morris-robert.htm.