Richard Serra moving image survey at Dia Chelsea

Dia Chelsea in New York is presenting a survey exhibition of films and videos by the celebrated sculptor Richard Serra (1938 - 2024). Organized in collaboration with Electronic Arts Intermix, which recently brought Serra's moving image works into their distribution catalog, Richard Serra: A Film and Video Exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the artist's films and videos, made between 1968 and 1979.

Although Serra is more renowned for his sculptural work, his forays into the moving image are no less significant. Despite attempts by art critics to establish either a material or aesthetic link between these works and his sculptures, Serra denied any such association. Instead, his approach comprised a purely cinematic quality, in which he recognized the different material and conceptual capacities inherent in the medium. Apart from addressing issues of aesthetics, Serra often included a critique of political and social conditions.

Of particular relevance are his two works Anxious Automation and Television Delivers People. In the former, Serra takes a look at the artificiality of the editing techniques utilized by Hollywood, applied in such a fashion as to deliberately encourage a shorter attention span amongst viewers. In the latter, however, Serra is more vitriolic in his criticism of mass media, exposing the gullibility of ordinary people as they are led astray by its flashy promises. The aesthetic of Television Delivers People, with its white text on a blue background accompanied by “muzak”, has become a staple of bumpers on Adult Swim, Vimeo ads, insurance commercials, and many contemporary moving image works

Richard Serra was a celebrated visual artist who created large-scale abstract sculptures tailored to the landscape, the urban environment and architectural surroundings. He sought to emphasize the material qualities of his sculptures while simultaneously uncovering the relationship that connects the individual viewer, the site and his work. Richard Serra: A Film and Video Exhibition is on display at Dia Chelsea until September 14, 2024. A lecture by Whitney Museum curator Chrissie Iles will close the exhibition on the final day. For more information about this and other events at Dia Chelsea, visit their site.