The Destruction of Tilted Arc: Documents

October Books

by Clara Weyergraf-Serra (Editor)

Richard Serra's Tilted Arc , a 120-foot curved Cor-Ten steel structure in New York City's Federal Plaza, was destroyed in the spring of 1989 by the General Services Administration, the federal agency that had commissioned and installed what was Serra's most ambitious and probably most important public sculpture. These documents from the public hearing and the court proceedings are an essential primary source for scholars of art and law, providing a complete and moving record of censorship in the arts.

The impassioned speeches by important artists, political figures, and by federal employees for and against the sculpture's removal also make fascinating reading. Among those testifying at the hearing were Marion Javits, reading a letter from her husband, the dying Senator Jacob Javits; Congressman Theodore Weiss; artists Claes Oldenburg and Frank Stella; filmmaker Emile de Antonio; and Museum of Modem Art director William Rubin. Richard Serra's introduction presents his own acerbic view of the government's case.

301 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 1990

Reviews

[Eric Cartier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly fascinating collection of primary texts resulting from the installation and removal of a massive public sculpture the artist Richard Serra created for the Federal Plaza in New York City. I first learned about Tilted Arc and the controversy surrounding it in a philosophy of art class at UMass Amherst long ago. We read Puzzles about Art: An Aesthetics Casebook and had lively discussions about various issues, though none were as divisive and sustained as the one about this work. After devouring this book in just a few days, and having had half a lifetime more to consider the case, I still don't know where I stand in regards to the piece, which is a testament to its power. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Serra and his work, this work in particular, and the intersection of public rights, artistic expression, and the law.

[tl · Rating 5 out of 5]

documenting the destructing of richard serra’s tilted arc this book contains the impassioned letters of those who stood up of this doomed yet magnificent piece of sculpture.