The Modern Art Notes Podcast

Richard Serra is best known for his massive sculptures made out of cor-ten steel, but early in his career he concurrently made two of the most important earthworks: Shift, outside Toronto, and Pulitzer Piece, outside St. Louis. Alas: For years Shift (1970-72) has been endangered by encroaching exurban development. Today the Globe & Mail’s James Adams reports that an important Ontario government review of the sculpture formally began yesterday and the result could be an official ‘heritage property’ designation that saves the sculpture — permanently. 

Richard Serra joined me on Episode No. 18 of The Modern Art Notes Podcast. We discussed at length his pioneering earthworks — and the future of Shift. The program was recorded at The Menil Collection, just outside the galleries where Serra’s drawings retrospective was being installed. 

I’ve just uploaded a new, re-mastered version of the Serra episode, so the show’s audio quality is significantly improved from the initially broadcast version. Download it directly to your PC/mobile device. Subscribe to The MAN Podcast via iTunes, RSS. See images of artworks discussed on the program.

Image: Richard Serra, Joe, 2000. Collection of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, St. Louis.