Richard Serra's Legacy: A Hero Under Scrutiny?

A symposium in St. Louis on museums revealed a troubling reverence for Richard Serra's work, with art professionals treating his sculptures with forced deference and avoiding critical discussion. The event, held in a city boasting one of the largest Serra collections, highlighted how the artist's early works—including a unique rubber piece, lead and steel "props," three major site-specific works, and a large steel ellipse at the Pulitzer Foundation—are now treated as untouchable icons. Participants deflected questions about the social dimension of Serra's art, such as the problematic placement of his outdoor sculpture Twain in an under-maintained park, or the overgrowth overwhelming another private work. The author argues this reflects a growing conservatism among aging post-modernists and a premature institutionalization of artists who once challenged formalism, now shielded from critique. The ghost of Clement Greenberg, whose formalist theories Serra helped overturn, lingers as contemporary art's eclecticism and weak thinking create a desperate need for heroes to reassure the faithful. Serra, with his immense ambition and uneven achievement, deserves better than uncritical praise.