The Unexpected Logic of Art Economics: Arts and Inequality in 80s NY (2020)

https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/unexpected-logic-art-economics

by hyperific • 6 months ago

8 1 6 months ago

mmooss• 6 months ago

Tilted Arc was a 120-foot long, 12-foot high curved wall of rusting steel that, according to its creator, was intended to “dislocate” the plaza’s “decorative function.” But the office workers of Lower Manhattan were unmoved by Serra’s abstract claims. Within just a few months of Tilted Arc’s unveiling, some 1300 employees who worked in the Federal Building that faced the plaza had signed a petition asking for the sculpture’s removal, .... In a GSA hearing in 1985, the petitioners complained that Tilted Arc “brutally destroys the plaza’s vistas and amenities,” and called it “the Berlin Wall of Foley Square.”

It sounds like Serra's abstract intentions hit the bullseye. Serra wanted to “dislocate” the plaza’s “decorative function.”, and the office workers said it “brutally destroys the plaza’s vistas and amenities,” and called it “the Berlin Wall of Foley Square.”.

For art, unmoved would be failure. Love or hate are successes; they demonstrate an impact.

The Unexpected Logic of Art Economics: Arts and Inequality in 80s NY (2020)

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