The Tilted Arc Controversy: Dangerous Precedent?

228 Pages·2001·8.28 MB·English

by  Harriet F. Senie

The Tilted Arc Controversy
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The Tilted Arc Controversy
d a n g e r o u s p r e c e d e n t ?
Harriet F. Senie
University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis / London
Copyright 2002 by the Regents ofthe University ofMinnesota
All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission ofthe publisher.
Published by the University ofMinnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Senie, Harriet.
TheTilted arccontroversy : dangerous precedent? / Harriet F. Senie.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8166-3785-7 (HC : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8166-3786-5 (PB : alk. paper)
1. Serra, Richard, 1939– Tilted arc. 2. Public sculpture—New York (State)—New
York—public opinion. I. Title.
NB237.S46 A77 2001
730'.92—dc21
2001003859
Printed in the United States ofAmerica on acid-free paper
The University ofMinnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Burt, my first and last reader, my partner in life
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xix
Prologue 1
1. Commission, Installation, Removal 21
2. Public Opinion 37
3. Reframing the Controversy 55
The Art (Historical) Context 56
The Public Art Context 73
The Public Space Context 88
The Public Policy Context 103
4. After Tilted Arc 121
Conclusion 147
Notes 155
Index 193
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Illustrations
All works are by Richard Serra unless otherwise noted.
Figure 1. Federal Plaza site before Tilted Arc. xii
Figure 2. Tilted Arc,1981. xiii
Figure 3. Pablo Picasso, untitled, 1967. 4
Figure 4. Alexander Calder, La Grande Vitesse,1969. 5
Figure 5. One-Ton Prop (House of Cards),1969. 8
Figure 6. Pulitzer Piece: Stepped Elevation,1970–71. 9
Figure 7. Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1981. 10
Figure 8. Sight Point,1971–75. 11
Figure 9. Terminal,1977. 13
Figure 10. T.W.U.,New York City, 1980. 15
Figure 11. T.W.U.,New York City, 1980. 16
Figure 12. T.W.U.,Hamburg, 1980. 17
Figure 13. St. John’s Rotary Arc,1980. 18
Figure 14. St. John’s Rotary Arc,1980. 19
Figure 15. Slice,1981. 20
Figure 16. “Speak Out” flier, 1985. 29
Figure 17. Removal of Tilted Arc,March 15, 1989. 34
Figure 18. Removal of Tilted Arc,March 15, 1989. 35
Figure 19. Strike: To Roberta and Rudy,1969–71. 60
Figure 20. The Drowned and the Saved,1992. 62
Figure 21. Primo Levi,1995. 63
Figure 22. Gravity,1993. 66
Figure 23. Circuit,1972. 67
Figure 24. Berlin Junction,1987. 68
Figure 25. Berlin Junction,1987. 69
Figure 26. Tot,1977. 71
Figure 27. Terminal,1977. 72
Figure 28. Berlin Block for Charlie Chaplin,1977. 73
Figure 29. Tilted Arc,1981. 74
Figure 30. Tilted Arc,1981. 75
Figure 31. Tilted Arc,1981. 76
Figure 32. Isamu Noguchi, Garden for Chase Manhattan Bank Plaza, 1961–64. 77
Figure 33. Isamu Noguchi, Red Cube, 1968. 78
Figure 34. Tilted Arc,1981. 79
Figure 35. Foley Square. 90
Figure 36. Jean Dubuffet, Group of Four Trees,1969. 93
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