Tilted Arc - How a Hunk of Metal can be Surprisingly Controversial

           

Tilted Arc - Richard Serra
1981
Aerial view

Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc, to this day, is one the most famous removed public art installations from the 20^th century. The artwork consisted of a 120-foot long, 12-foot high solid, unfinished plate of rust-covered COR-TEN steel. Once installed in New York City’s Federal Plaza in 1981, it stood tall for 8 years until it was voted by the public to be torn down.

In my opinion, Tilted Arc was so far ahead of its time because it completely eradicated all sense of familiarity and convenience for the people that were forced to interact with it. It was this massive, obtrusive sheet of metal that was inconvenient to walk around. People saw it as an eyesore, unintelligently designed for the space, and abnormally large for an art piece. It aroused great antipathy in an era that was unaccustomed to such bold displays of artistic, site-specific intervention. At the time, the walls of galleries created a strict barrier between the the world of art and the real world. The real world consisted mostly of people that chose not to let art be part of their lives. And up until the time in which this sculpture was erected, that separation was doing its job. However, all sorts of discomfort arose when those two worlds suddenly collided.

What I think is funny is that the removal of the piece said more about humanity’s social nature than if it had stayed permanently. The intention of the piece was to cause disruption. Serra was addressing the numbing convenience that people had created for themselves with strategic design, architecture, etc. through the newfound practice of Minimalism. People’s lives had become autonomous and uninterrupted by learning how to cater to their own lives which, over time, constructed this artificial and void “utopia” that removed all obstacles of ever having to question or react to anything. Humans are only happy as long as they don’t have to think. When Serra’s piece got in the way of that, the first thing that society did was have it removed. This only validated society’s high praise of convenience which then just continued to feed everyone’s own inner monsters. Was the artwork ever really the problem, or was it society’s unwillingness to adjust? Another thing to note – if the work hadn’t been removed and stayed up permanently, everyday commuters would have eventually become desensitized to the wall, like they had to everything else in their environment, which ultimately would have rid the art of its inherent purpose.

Tilted Arc - Richard Serra
1981
Street view

I like to see the impermanence of this sculpture almost as an accidental performance piece. Marina Abramović’s Rhythm 0 is a good parallel for this concept because her piece heavily relied on the response of the audience in order for the concept to have been successfully communicated. When that crazy Serbian artist (Marina) sat in that chair for 6 six hours and granted the audience permission to use her body in any way they wished, she was giving them a platform to interact directly with the art and put forth their own actions as contribution to her work. To this day, we remember the men that groped her, the woman that cut off her clothes, and, most notoriously, the man that pointed the loaded pistol at her head. The performance would have been dead without the response of the audience, and I think the same goes for Serra’s Tilted Arc. The removal of this work revealed the true nature of modern society, and it wouldn’t have been remembered like it has been if it had been welcomed with open arms.

Rhythm 0 - Marina Abramović
1974

I think that Tilted Arc also gives us a platform, today in a postmodern world, to recognize that art still has very little authority and credibility in society. The fountain directly next to Tilted Arc in the Federal Plaza was not functional. The fountain was never used because, when the water would run, the wind would cause the water to overflow into the plaza. In the winter, the water would freeze and cause commuters to slip. One could argue that the fountain is equally as obtrusive and inconvenient to navigate around as the wall. The difference there is that the fountain is not art – it’s design. The fountain was designed to perfectly match its surroundings and blend into the architecture of the city. Because of its undisruptive nature, the fountain is not questioned. Mundane architecture is not questioned because everyday commuters recognize that it’s a part of the system that dictates the modern world. People are less bothered by a fountain with no purpose than by an art installation because art is considered less valid. And if you’re thinking the dilemma has to do with money, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. It cost $35,000 to remove Tilted Arc from the Federal Plaza, it would have cost another $50,000 to relocate it, and it probably would have cost a similar amount to remove that useless fountain. Society sees art as easier to manipulate than a useless fountain because art tries to prove to be more than a useless fountain. When art recognizes itself as art, it automatically challenges its surroundings. Art makes a verbal statement; art has a presence; art is not a wishy washy useless fountain. It’s why your uncultured relatives think that paintings of ducks in a pond is the bread and butter of art culture – because it doesn’t say anything. It’s motel art. It’s a painting recognizing itself as a stale piece of toast that refuses to challenge anything – and people eat that stuff up like none other. “How can I ignore what’s going on out there in the world? Ahhhh…. Happy ducks in a pond, that’s the stuff. Indulge my ignorance and distract me.” We do it all the time.

Martha Schwartz
Jacob Javitz Plaza, New York, NY
1997

Which brings me to my last point: humans have a tendency to create a false sense of idleness around them to distract them from the reality of the world that they live in. At the trial, one of the arguments stated in favor of the removal of Tilted Arc was that “it was inconvenient to walk around.” If you look at the pictures above this paragraph, you’ll see the alternative solution to the plaza after the removal. In my opinion, that maze of benches and shrubbery is far more annoying to walk around than a 120-foot wall. Also notice, specifically, the benches. If fast-paced New-Yorkers have no time to walk around an inconvenient wall, then they sure as hell don’t have the time to dawdle on a circular bench. But that’s the thing: those busy New Yorkers are never going to use that bench, but they like having it there as an option to remind them that they’re in control of their environment.

The Swing - Jean-Honore Fragonard
1766
Oil on canvas

In order to properly address this phenomena, I have to backtrack momentarily to the period of the Rococo. The Rococo was an art movement in the late 16^th century that was notoriously recognized by its fat cherub babies, flouncy dresses, playful depiction of nature, and all-around aesthetic that can only be illustrated by the fruitful combination of your great aunt Edna’s living room filled with porcelain nick-nacks and France’s King Louis XVI’s costume closet. It’s fluffy pastel puke on crack. Some people like it… they shouldn’t, but they do. Anyway, the reason why the Rococo is relevant is because its main purpose was for French elites to decorate their private properties. They’d adorn their houses with this frivilous therapeutic crap to give them a false sense of leisure and luxury. The elites were rich, most definitely, but they usually didn’t have time to skip in the gardens and fling their shoes into the air with their loved ones as they play on swings tied to trees in the forest. Many scenes from Rococo paintings take place in nature as a sort of remedy to the everyday labors. Many depictions elevate a sense of idleness that produce a sense of escape and frivolity.

A modern example to think about is all of that wonderful home décor you drool over at Target or Pier One that has some rhetoric of “Live, Laugh, Love.” Ah yes, what else would cure the pessimism and uncertainty of a hardworking middle-class family than a hunk of driftwood reminding them to do the things that they already inherently do? Now I know that I’m no exception from this phenomena – I’m pretty certain that my mum has multiple picture frames that say those exact vague words. But there’s no doubt that people like to create an environment around them that sustains an artificial sense of escapism. We like to think that we “Live, Laugh, and Love,” so maybe if we buy that hunk of drift wood, we’ll feel affirmed that we are in fact doing those things because it’s now hanging above our master bathroom toilet. Busy New Yorkers don’t need benches because, in reality, they’re far too busy. But maybe just the presence of those benches is enough to facilitate a false sense of comfort. Just maybe, if one day they had the time, they could sit on that bench and stare at that shrub – if they really wanted to. They’re probably never going to, but they like to have it there providing a hypothetical frivolity. Tilted Arc couldn’t provide this escapism because, like most conceptual art, it forced the people to reflect upon and criticize themselves. And unless you’re an artist like me, you probably don’t like being be forced to criticize yourself.
It’s amazing to speculate the social phenomena that arises from one work of art that was part of history for only 8 short years. Some of the most controversial works of art are the very historic components that force society to reflect on itself. It’s also why sculpture is so powerful as an art form. I don’t want to rant any further and bore you to tears, but maybe in another post I’ll talk about how sculpture has the capability to activate the 3-dimensional space it exists within and forces the viewer to become a part of the artwork – but that’s another theory for another time. The clock has just gone 3 minutes past midnight and I hear the drunk art students shouting outside the bar 2 floors below me, which only means one thing: That’s my cue to start my homework for the evening. Thanks for reading & stay cool... like this steel wall. 

Cheers,

Gem x