Richard Serra's Tilted Arc

Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, located smack-dab in the middle of Federal Plaza in Foley Square, will probably the most controversial piece of rusted steel you will ever lay your eyes upon. Standing at 120 feet long and 12 feet high, this wall-like hunk of steel is intended to serve as art funded by The Percent for the Arts program of New York City. Serra's intentions were to build an installation that changes the viewer’s perception of their surroundings as they travel through the plaza, and in result the audience are supposed to becomes aware of their moment as they navigate through the plaza. Instead, with the erection of Tilted Arc in 1981, the perception of the people of New York's changed, but in a very negative sense. The blockage that …show more content…
In fact, there were hearings that took place amongst museum curators, art critics, local and state employees, politicians, lawyers and judges, just to name a few. During these hearings the various faces of Serra's intended audience expressed their deep dismay with the project. Hank Perveslin, employee for the U.S department of education states, "From the time it was built it was hard to see just what it was supposed to be...it has dampened our spirits everyday. It has turned into a hulk of rusty steel and clearly, at least to us, doesn't have any appeal." Employees of the Federal Building itself had an opinion towards the sculpture as well, "I believe in freedoms of artistic and other expression as passionately as anyone, but I have always been taught that with freedom come responsibility. That an individual is free to express himself up to the limit of doing damage to others." Serra's responsibility as an artist serving the public is to appease the public, when the purpose of the artwork is a failure then what purpose does it serve

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