Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Site-specific sculpture, Gravity, designed by Richard Serra, in collaboration with the architect, James Inigo Freed, to create a metaphor for the rupture of civilization that would exist in a harmonious relationship with its architectural context. The monolithic twelve foot steel slab, weighing nearly thirty tons, is inserted into the bottom of the Concourse stairs near the black granite wall in the western corner of the Hall of Witness, the Museum's central gathering place. The work, angled from the black wall and anchored to the last three stairs, cuts the space asymmetrically, disrupting the sense of continuity and acting to destabilize the space. The artist has intentionally left the finish on the steel in its raw, industrial state, reinforcing the work's connection to the space and the architect's use of materials.
- Artwork Title
- Gravity
- Date
-
creation:
approximately 1991
- Geography
-
use:
Hall of Witness, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum;
Washington (D.C.)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
- Contributor
-
Artist:
Richard Serra
Physical Details
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Sculpture
- Object Type
-
Site-specific sculpture (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Single plate of Cor-ten steel sculpture weighing nearly 30 tons (58,807 pounds), with manufacturer's markings stenciled in white. The site-specific work is wedged near the southwest corner of the Hall of Witness. It is angled from the black granite wall and anchored to the last three stairs at an asymmetrical angle. The finish on the steel has been left in its raw, industrial state.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 144.000 inches (365.76 cm) | Width: 144.000 inches (365.76 cm) | Depth: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm)
- Materials
- overall : Cor-Ten steel (tm)
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Site-specific sculpture--Washington (D.C)
- Personal Name
- Serra, Richard, 1939- 2024
- Corporate Name
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The sculpture was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-04-17 16:10:46
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn5591
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
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