Public Art
Edited by Florian Matzner.
Published by Hatje Cantz Publishers
Now in Paperback Everyone is an artist....I am really convinced that humankind will not survive without having realized the social body, the social order, into an artwork. --Joseph Beuys
Few topics in the visual arts in recent years have created such controversy as the debate surrounding the significance and potential of public art. In this massive book, over 50 authors take a critical look at the theme; the result is a fascinating compendium of opinions and statements, experiences and reports. The wide-ranging material by curators, art historians and artists--including Vito Acconci, Daniel Buren, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Ilya Kabakov, Kasper Konig, Joseph Kosuth, Richard Serra, Harald Szeemann, Lawrence Weiner and many more--is divided into sections entitled "Art and the City," "Art and Architecture," "Art and History," "Art and Society" and "Art and the Public." First published in 2001 in a bilingual German/English hardcover edition, and now available in an English paperback, Public Art presents an unprecedented abundance of both written and visual information on a vital topic in contemporary art.

In this volume, four distinct works by the important American sculptor Richard Serra are linked by a common theme: each is based on the relationship between the viewer and a horizontal or planar elevation on eye level. Elevations, Repetitions is a complex of 16 elements of different heights; Equal Weights and Measures is composed of six equal blocks of forged steel, rotated such that it's difficult to confirm that sameness. No Relief consists of two 60-foot, six-inch-thick horizontal slabs flush to the wall on opposite sides of a narrow room, compressing the elongated space. And Round is a forged steel work with a diameter of 84 inches and a weight of 50 tons, set on an unnerving slope. Serra's other recent projects include an eight-part permanent installation at the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao and a Spring 2007 survey at The Museum of Modern Art.

Best known for site-specific sculptures in steel, Serra has much to say about the relation of sculpture to place, whether urban, natural or architectural, and about the nature of art itself, whether political, decorative or personal. In interviews with writers including Douglas and Davis Sylvester, he discusses specific installations and offers insights into his approach to the problem each presents. Interviews by Peter Eisenman and Alan Colquhoun elicit Serra's thoughts on the relation of architecture to contemporary sculpture, a primary component in his own work. From essays like "Extended Notes from Sight Point Road" to Serra's extended commentary on the "Tilted Arc" fiasco, the pieces in this volume comprise a document of one artist's engagement with the practical, philosophical and political problems of art.