Contemporary Issues in Art
In class we discussed the artist Richard Serra and his work Tilted Arc, one of the most controversial artworks of the 1980s. You can also learn more about Serra’s work here:
Video including interview with Serra discussing Tilted Arc: https://vimeo.com/122126605 Excerpt on Trial of Tilted Arc: https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/richard-serra-on-trial-for-tilted-arc/
Optional links: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/tiltedarc_a.html http://www.cfa.arizona.edu/are476/files/tilted_arc.htm http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/martin/art_law/tilted_arc.htm
Answer the following:
After learning more about this work, in your opinion, what makes Serra’s Tilted Arc art?
How was the site/location important to the work?
Do you think the work should have been removed? Why or why not?
What are similarities/differences between Serra’s Tilted Arc and Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial?
Contemporary Issues in Art Spring 2016
Worksheet #4: Place / Serra and Salcedo
View the brief videos on the contemporary artist Doris Salcedo. Answer the questions below
http://www.art21.org/videos/short-doris-salcedo-istanbul
http://www.art21.org/videos/segment-doris-salcedo-in-compassion
? How is time an important element of her work, “Noviembre 6 y 7”?
? Discuss Salcedo’s explanation of the word experience, including the Latin root that means “going across danger.” How does Salcedo’s definition relate to specific works of art and her working process?
? Doris Salcedo says: “The memory of anonymous victims is always being obliterated; that’s why my work does not represent something; it’s simply a hint of something—trying to bring into our presence something subtle that is no longer here.” How does the artist expose, reveal, or rescue marginalized or hidden histories and perspectives? Do you find her work successful or unsuccessful in this regard?