Richard Serra: Thinking on Your Feet offers little insight into the life and background of noted sculptor Richard Serra, but it affords the man ample opportunity to wax obnoxiously about topological problems, material in response to verb action and manipulation in the residue of that verb, instability, objectness, perception, configuration, process before completion, the axiomatic and the functional, and his Proustian vitality. A revered crafter of ginormous steel pieces, Serra has the intellectual capacity of a physics scholar (or Ignatius J. Reilly, only without the John Kennedy Toole proxy’s sense of humor), and Maria Ana Tappeiner’s documentary profile is content boringly interrcuting between the arduous buildup to the inauguration of Serra’s “The Matter of Time” installation at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain with the man’s ramblings about the methodology behind his art. The film ends welcomingly with Serra stating that he creates artwork that positions the spectator as the subject, but for those suspicious of modern art, the film’s focus on Serra’s obsession with symbolic iconography, the lexicon of geometric spheres, articulating spatial problems, and creating forms that have never been seen before in nature mostly confirms how closely entwined more modern contemporary-art practices are with intellectual wankitude.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
