The Groove 186 - How to Chart a Different Course
HOW TO CHART A DIFFERENT COURSE
In a world defined by conformity and conventionality, the path to success often appears predetermined, constrained by the limitations of tradition and expectation. Yet for ambitious artists, entrepreneurs, and businesspeople alike, the desire to chart a different course and to break free from the confines of the status quo pulses with an undeniable urgency.
I've long contended that achieving absolute originality is a lofty ambition, as we can’t help but inevitably tread upon the ground laid by those who came before us. Yet in the realm of creativity, Richard Serra stands as a rare exception; a towering figure who ventured closer to the elusive realm of true originality than most.
An artist unlike any other and one the greatest sculptors of the last 100 years, Serra was born in San Francisco in 1938 of immigrant parents from Spain and Ukraine. His innovative approach to sculpture challenged traditional notions of form, material, and space, redefining the possibilities of the medium. He influenced generations of artists, architects, writers, and those who were moved and astounded by the works he produced during his almost 60-year career. Here are three things that were crucial to Serra’s success:
Start with a List
Richard Serra in 1969 photographed by Henry Groskinsky.
A simple list possesses the remarkable ability to serve as the genesis of enormous projects. Within its seemingly mundane confines lie the seeds of creativity and innovation waiting to be cultivated. Each word in the list carries with it the potential to spark inspiration, evoke emotion, or provoke thought. As the mind delves into the depths of these words, connections begin to form, ideas take shape, and visions emerge.
Originally trained as a painter at Yale, following a deep dive into English literature at Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara, Serra then moved to New York in 1966 and immediately began experimenting with materials like latex, neon, lead, and rubber. But in 1967 he did something that would jumpstart his career: a handwritten list of transitive verbs in his perfect cursive.
Each verb on “verblist” reverberates with vitality, suggesting tasks or processes waiting to unfurl: from "to droop" to "to surround" to "to distill." These verbs aren't static; they hum with the promise of movement, echoing the vibrant energy of the '60s downtown New York scene. Inspired by Serra’s friends, the dancers Yvonne Rainer and Simone Forti, he compiled a series of what he called "actions to relate to oneself, material, place, and process."
Richard Serra, Verblist, 1967. Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
That simple list became the foundation running through Serra's artistic endeavors across various mediums, spanning from his early sculptures to his later colossal works. These pieces not only twist and curve but also encompass, envelop, and encircle, suggesting a cohesive thematic thread in Serra's body of work.
“I wanted to reduce things to pure process and activity. So I wrote down a list of verbs: to lift, to curl, to roll, to bend, to tie, to curve, to inlay, to splash. There are probably over sixty or seventy of them.” Recollecting how looking at the list helped Serra come up with the idea for one of his early sculptures titled “To Lift” in 1967, he said: 'Isn't this curious? All l've done is followed the action of the verb, lifted the thing up, and I have what I consider to be a sculptural form.'
Writing a list of words that excite you can be a powerful catalyst for creative projects. What starts as a humble collection of words can gradually evolve into a blueprint for grand endeavors, guiding the trajectory of projects that transcend imagination.
Play!
Richard Serra, The Matter of Time, 1994–2005, weathering steel, Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, Spain.
The thing that children do the most is play, and children are the most creative people. Approaching work with a mentality of play infuses the daily grind with a sense of joy, curiosity, and fun. Rather than viewing tasks as burdensome obligations, adopting a playful mindset encourages experimentation, spontaneity, and exploration. Embracing the spirit of play allows you to tap into your innate sense of wonder and imagination, transforming mundane routines into opportunities for discovery and growth.
Soon enough, Serra ventured into large-scale works with his “Skullcracker Series”, a breakthrough moment catalyzed by the "Art and Technology" exhibition at LACMA in 1969. Over the span of ten weeks, he immersed himself in crafting ephemeral marvels at the Kaiser Steelyard. With a crane as his tool, he delved into the intricacies of counterbalance and gravity, erecting towering steel edifices reaching heights of 30- 40 feet and weighing a staggering 60- 70 tons. Through this monumental endeavor, Serra transcended the confines of traditional gallery spaces, setting his sights on the vast expanse of the world beyond.
Like Play Doh in the hands of a kid, Serra used lead in many of his constructs because of its adaptability. Lead is malleable enough to be rolled, folded, ripped, and melted. For him, “these pieces were involved with experimentation and play. And play, I think, is a big factor in a lot of the early work. And it continues to be in my studio, because that's how one allows oneself to move in directions which one could not have foreseen.” And while he took his job seriously, he also stripped it from the sanctity that artmaking sometimes conveys: “When you're experimenting on that level, the idea of quote 'art' really doesn't enter into your head.”
Young children don’t have a lot of expectations or big agendas when they are playing. Similarly, Serra had rid of himself of preconceived paths when dreaming of a project: “I never begin to construct with a specific intention. The structures are the result of experimentation and invention. I never make drawings beforehand. The work is not goal oriented. I do not assume that someone is going to learn something from my work.”
Tackling your work with a playful attitude and starting a project with loose parameters opens the door to innovation, problem-solving, and out-of-the-box thinking. This attitude encourages a willingness to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from failures. Just as children learn through play, adults can unlock their full potential by infusing their work with a sense of lightheartedness and adventure.
Break Up with The Past
Richard Serra, Te Tuhirangi Contour, 1999/2001. 56 Corten steel plates. Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand.
Breaking up with the past can only be done by someone who understands what happened before us. Serra, who had profound knowledge of art history, didn’t arrive at his breakthroughs by happenstance but by dedicating a serious amount of time to reading, writing, and thinking, followed by doing.
Rejecting traditional methods like carving and welding, which typically define volume and anchor mass, Serra ventured into creations that defy gravity, relying solely on equilibrium for support. These sculptures teeter on the brink of imbalance and their construction is laid bare, a testament to the tension inherent in their creation.
In the late 1970s, Serra embarked on his inaugural foray into landscape art, spurred by a commission from art patrons Joseph and Emily Rauh Pulitzer. Their property outside St. Louis, Missouri became the canvas for Serra's monumental vision. This pioneering work stretched across approximately 3 acres, anchored by three towering plates standing 5 feet high and spanning 40- 50 feet in length.
The monumental started to take precedence in Serra’s practice as he became more ambitious in scale, shapes and materials. Then his urban works emerged, with the objective of being more accessible to the public. Starting in the Netherlands at the Stedelijk Museum in 1972, he generated hundreds of site-specific sculptures until he conceived his famous and celebrated “Torqued Ellipses” in 1991.
The concept of a torqued oval dawned on Serra through a hands-on experiment. He fashioned two wooden pieces into ellipses, secured them with a dowel, and twisted them to visualize the form. Translating this vision into reality, he crafted a lead model. With the aid of an engineer from Frank Gehry's office, he harnessed the precision of computer programming to refine the design. The search for a fabricator led him to a shipyard in Maryland, home to a rare relic from World War II—an industrial marvel primed for bending 16-foot steel plates to his exacting specifications. These ellipses were clearly something new in sculpture. They hadn't existed before. They are a form that's not in nature and not in architecture: a true invention.
“What got me past all that was reading The Anxiety of Influence by Harold Bloom. He talks about precursors, and he gives you about seven different ways of overcoming your precursors. Bloom and The Shape of Time by George Kubler. Those two books made me understand that if you wanted to do something, you had to break the chain of the hand-me-downs of art history,” Serra said.
By shedding the shackles of tradition and daring to twist established norms, you open yourself up to boundless possibilities and pave the way for true change. Infusing work with a playful spirit injects joy, spontaneity, and curiosity into the creative process, transforming mundane tasks into exhilarating adventures of exploration and discovery. And through the structured organization provided by lists, you can effectively channel different energies, distilling chaos into clarity and turning dreams into actionable plans. As we bid farewell to the constraints of the past, let us embrace the spirit of play to unlock the extraordinary potential that lies within each of us.