The Era

The 1970’s were a time of great change among the public. Events such as the Watergate Scandal and the Vietnam War enlightened the public and turned many against the government, while others clutched tighter to their precious American values. This period of change caused many to ask questions of pre-established hierarchies, in the art world and globally, and many chose to reject these institutions. It could be said that much of the art produced during this time period was reactionary to the state of current affairs.

About the Artist

Richard Serra was born in San Francisco on November 2nd, 1938. His father worked in the shipbuilding industry as a pipefitter and Serra worked in a steel mill to help earn money, so he could put himself through school. This exposed Serra to metalwork early in his life (Wainwright). Between 1957-1961, Richard attended University of California at Berkeley and Santa Barbara, earning himself a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. One year later, Serra decided to continue his education at Yale University, completing his bachelors in fine arts, and masters of fine arts between 1961- 1964 with a focus on painting (THE SOLOMON). Serra spent a lot of time in Italy and France due to his fellowships, and in 1966, he moved to New York City where he befriended multiple artists, playwrights and musicians (Cuddy, D). In Paris, Serra saw sculpture works by Constantin Brancusi for the first time, and would sit and draw them for hours in museums (Rose). Brancusi was most known for his abstract take on sculpture.

Wright’s Triangle

Wright’s Triangle was under construction on Western’s campus from 1976 until 1980 (Wright’s). This sculpture was created by Richard Serra and is located in front of the Ross Engineering Technology at Western Washington University. It is composed of four tall slanted metal walls that form a triangle with a fourth wall on the inside. This gives people the chance to walk through the sculpture as they go to class. The sculpture divides the walk way in to two paths, inducing a choice for bystanders to take.

Artistic Intent

In regards to his artistic intent, Serra stated in an interview with Charlie Rose (2001) that after seeing Las Meninas, he knew that he would never be able to challenge Velasquez as a painter. But after viewing sculptures by Constantin Brancusi & Alberto Giacometti, he felt he had a shot at changing how people perceive sculpture (Rose). From this, it could be said that Serra’s goal as an artist is to change the art world’s perception of sculpture. Wright’s Triangle was created during the early stages of Post-Modernism, where the medium of art in question became of much greater importance than before; it could be due to this shift that Serra’s work began to gain public acclaim. Serra worked along many famous artists of the time in New York City, such as De Kooning and Rauschenberg. The same year that Serra started construction of Wright’s Triangle, Robert Rauschenberg debuted Tracks, a series of tire prints consisting of cast dirt with a resin binder, fiberglass, and a wet soil patina (Rauschenberg). This anecdote gives us a reference as to some of the thinking that was going on around Serra while he was creating some of his most important works. Art, as a whole, was shifting profoundly. Many of the key artists of the time were creating art that made many scratch their heads as to what the whole point of it was.

Contributions

Video Production – Corey Chandler

Animation – Elsa Eisenhart

Music – Corey Chandler

Writer/Editor – Kate Henderson

References

Wainwright, L. S. (2019, April 10). Richard Serra. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Serra

THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION. (2019). Richard Serra. Retrieved April 25, 2019, from https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/richard-serra

Cuddy, D. (2016, September 16). Richard Serra. Retrieved April 27, 2019, from https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/richard-serra/

Wright’s Triangle. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2019, from https://westerngallery.wwu.edu/sculpture/wrights-triangle

Rose, Charlie, director. Richard Serra: Talk with Charlie Rose. YouTube, 1 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANRfB4xyieY.

“Tracks (1976).” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, 4 Aug. 2015, www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/art/series/tracks.