Walking within Wright’s Triangle

By Amber Cherovsky, Nate Thompson, and Alexandrea Moore

The Artist

Serra is an American artist known for his postmodernist, large minimalist sculptures made of sheet metal. The majority of his art is site specific, meaning he creates it for a specific space.

Serra is known as one of the greatest sculptures of the 20th century and the postmodernist era. From San Francisco, the American artist graduated from the University of California and Yale with a Masters in Fine Arts. He studied under artists Philip Guston, Morton Feldman and Josef Albers, and credits them as influencers. Following his formal education, he traveled to Europe and won the Fulbright Scholarship.

He currently resides in New York, and expanded his artistic range to video, drawings and paintings.

The Sculpture

Wright’s triangle addresses issues of confrontation, enclosure, and the union of physical action and intellectual thinking. It is a large piece of corten steel metal, welded into a triangle, that was donated to the campus courtesy of the Virginia Wright Fund.

This particular sculpture is located in the center of a walking path on campus, forcing the viewer to interact with the art. Either they can actively walk around it or go into it. This is in line with his intent to symbolize confrontation and decision making, as the viewer is a participant.

Serra created this piece specifically for the school, and for this intersection. He had no intention of creating a larger call to action; this is one of the view larger art pieces that was likely not a protest against the recent Vietnam War.

While a lot of art in that time was likely protests, giant leaps in art style, and residing in the “70s Vibe,” Wright’s Triangle was focused on inspiring the Western College students. The message behind it was to make a choice: go around the Triangle or go through it. It is an interesting piece to be sure, but its meaning and purpose is simple: consider your options, understand the consequences, and take action, even in something so simple as how you walk to class.

Sources

Western Washington University. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from https://westerngallery.wwu.edu/sculpture/wrights-triangle

Richard Serra (b.1939). (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2017, from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/richard-serra.htm

Serra, R., McShine, K., & Cooke, L. (2007). Richard Serra: sculpture: forty years. New York: Museum of Modern Art.(p. 7)