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Weights and Measures

A work made of hot-rolled steel.
© 2018 Richard Serra / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of hot-rolled steel.

Date:

1987

Artist:

Richard Serra
American, 1938-2024

About this artwork

Capturing the raw, muscular energy required to work with lead and steel, Richard Serra began utilizing these materials in the late 1960s to explore the fundamental properties of sculptural tension. In 1968 he created his first “props,” consisting of plates and tubes, which fall into one of four categories—wall, corner, freestanding, or post-and-lintel. These sculptures entail a stable but unnerving performance of balance. A wall prop made of steel, Weights and Measures is not only visually striking but also physically imposing, experienced as much through the viewer’s sense of his or her own body as through vision. This work is a monumental form created from dense sheets that are not welded or joined; the result is a disquieting, even aggressive sculptural experience. Physical proximity and the sense of precariously balanced weight create a remarkably immediate relationship between space, object, and viewer.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Richard Serra

Title

Weights and Measures

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1987

Medium

Hot-rolled steel

Dimensions

Three plates: 160 × 213 × 5 cm (63 × 84 × 2 in.); 160 × 213 × 5 cm (63 × 84 × 2 in.); 160 × 160 × 7.6 cm (63 × 63 × 3 in.); 337.8 × 528 × 7.6 cm (133 × 208 × 3 in.), installed

Credit Line

Gift of Camille Oliver-Hoffman

Reference Number

2007.636

Copyright

© 2018 Richard Serra / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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