Artistic Response

to Richard Serra’s Wright’s Triangle

We noticed in this piece the four slabs of metal leaning up against each other. We saw the entrances and exits by these 3 steel walls arranged in the shape of a triangle. Walking up to “Wright’s Triangle” gives a mysterious impression on the viewer. The 3 large slanted walls seem tall and long and obscure the viewer’s sight. The cold and rigid structure seems Once inside the center of the sculpture, the viewer is able to gain an new perspective of the piece. The viewer sees that the slanted walls making up the triangle are supportive of each other. The viewer is now introduced to an expansive sky framed by the large walls, felling small and insignificant in comparison. Instead of feeling trapped, the viewer feels more aware and is given the opportunity to look up. Once inside, the composition creates a playful demeanor, as if the viewer is hiding in between clothing racks! The sculpture is very prominent in its position, making viewers approach it regardless of their route, as it initiates a fork in their path. The piece is seemingly made for interaction. Viewers are supposed to interact with this piece, and they are give choices of necessary paths. 

Immediately, responses formed in our minds regarding the piece. Our group of three split off into two separate responses. One group, Emma and Annika, used photography to express their own personal ideas of confrontation, exploring the confrontation of self, other man, and nature. The other response, made by Eleni, uses a different interpretation of Serra’s work. As if us students were mere insects, Eleni interpreted the structure of Wright’s Triangle as playing cards stacked against one another in a triangular formation. The simplification of the piece allows for us to see a bigger picture.

Biography

of Richard Serra

Richard Serra grew up in San Francisco, CA. His father was a welder in a ship building factory, where Serra worked as a young adult to pay for school. He attended UC Berkeley in 1957 and graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1961 with a B.A. in English Literature. During his time at Yale, Serra studied painting and earned his B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees. From there, Serra travelled to France and Italy before moving to New York City. The first sculptures of Serra’s were made of rubber, fiberglass, and molten lead. He found the elitism of the modern art movement unappealing, but he found roots in minimalism and enjoyed art that was interactive with the viewer. Serra was not interested in art that represented metaphors and symbols or held a deeper meaning. Serra wanted his work to become a phenomenological experience and even referred to his pieces as “props.” His work was made specifically for the environment in which it was placed and he wanted to create an interaction with the viewer. Serra has become well renowned for his work and has received many awards including Japan’s Praemium Imperiale prize (1994), and the Gold Lion for contemporary work at the 49th Venice Biennale (2000).

Wright’s Triangle

Because Serra’s massive artistic endeavors are always created specifically for the spaces that house them, Wright’s Triangle was made to sit at the crossroads of several converging paths on campus, thus evoking a sense of choice, which challenges the perceptions of the students at Western and asks of them to remain present in the world around them. It’s a reminder of life’s obstacles, as well as a piece that creates an experience for those who interact with it, allowing one to experience the innate qualities of the material, such as the weight and gravity of the steel itself, and the agility of the hollow spaces between each panel. The minimalism of the sculpture pulls those who encounter it into a quieter world away from their reality, where the meaning of the piece is only uncovered through their own interaction with it.

Other Work

By Richard Serra

Serra’s Wright’s Triangle was created in the late 70’s (1978), a period of American history characterized by profound social revolution and progression. The rapidly changing social and political climate of the country resulted in the artistic response of the progressive, thoughtful, and inclusive postmodernist movement. This is a product of the fact that art always was, is, and always will be a reflection or result of the political environment in which it was created. Thinking about this idea, the context in which the piece was created did influence its creation. Wright’s Triangle and the rest of the Serra catalogue in particular are also concurrent with the notion of process art, a post minimalist idea which favors the process, placement, and materials of a work over the content and finished piece as a whole. This was also a period of time when American education had become more and more accessible and popular. Placing an art piece on a college campus as a reminder of life’s choices and obstacles is linked to this period of mass higher education across the country and remains an apropos spectacle in its environment as its significance is timeless and universal across college campuses around the world.

Sources

Crow, Kelly. “The Reinvented Visions of Richard Serra.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 4 Nov. 2015, www.wsj.com/articles/the-reinvented-visions-of-richard-serra-1446687924.

Kimmelman, Michael. “Man of Steel.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/arts/design/01serr.html.

“Process Art.” Artsy, www.artsy.net/gene/process-art.

“React. Research. Execute!” React Research Execute, wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/category/southcampus1/serra/.

“Richard Serra Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-serra-richard.htm.

“Richard Serra.” Richard Serra at Gagosian, www.gagosian.com/artists/richard-serra.

“Right Angle Prop.” Guggenheim, 19 Jan. 2018, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/3900.

“Western Washington University.” Western Gallery, westerngallery.wwu.edu/sculpture/wrights-triangle.

Kearns, Jessika. “Walking Among Giants: Richard Serra’s Monuments to Minimalism .” Google Sites, 4 Dec. 2014, sites.google.com/a/asu.edu/jessika-kearns-writing-samples/home/walking-among-giants.