Since the early 1980's, on the streets and squares of European and American cities sometimes appear rusty zhelezyaki great. Now the citizens have become accustomed to them, but a quarter of a century ago when their creator, Richard Serra (Richard Serra) has not yet been a star of contemporary art, many such aesthetics are not perceived, and even threatened to kill the artist, to decorate their cities, create a giant steel blocks. But the efforts of critics and curators, the passion of love all the unusual, creative Serra is very pochitaemo. Last year retrospective of the artist in the New York Museum of Modern Art was a huge success, and its installation maze Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao enjoyed great success with the tourists.

The following year, Richard Serre has been 70 years. He was born in San Francisco, where, apparently, has acquired the taste of the entire giant. Richard's father, comes from Spain, worked at the shipyard, and a four-year-old boy had to witness launched the ship, which built the Serra Senior. Huge carcass ship similar to the debris on the side skyscraper, has made an indelible impression on the future of the artist.

San Francisco - the city's liberal-minded people, and Serre's family was no exception. Richard was a radical artist, while his brother Tony (Tony Serra) - radical lawyers, in particular, the leader of «Black Panthers» Hyui Newton (Huey Newton). Richard Serra does not like pobesit American right, and he does so not only with a strange installations: a few years ago he created the posters, kleymyaschie the Bush administration and the violence in the prison of Abu Ghraib, which are dispersed on the Internet thousands of copies. «America - a country the right, and I am an old leftist», - he says proudly. Recently, Serra was one of thirteen artists, providing work for the portfolio, published by Gemini GEL; all the proceeds from the sale will go to support the publication of the election campaign Barak Obama (Barack Obama).

«Old leftist» buntovskim different character from his early years. Thanks to its talented figures he entered the Yale School of Art, where he studied painting and talk with renowned artists Frank Stella (Frank Stella) and Chakom Klouzom (Chuck Close). Once Serra nearly expelled from the Institute for bullying over the masters of modern art, Robert Rauschenberg (Robert Rauschenberg). A young artist Rauschenberg to put a box, opened that, Maître was nose to nose with a furious kvohchuschey bird. Rauschenberg at the monkey is not обиделся, but the harsh administration of the institution voznamerilas deleted it, and then eased, and decided to just remove him from school for two weeks. Years at Yale heavily influenced by the attitudes of the young artist. His favorite teachers were the painter Philip Gaston (Philip Guston), a prominent representative of the New York School, and the composer Morton Feldman (Morton Feldman).

How to come to the Serra sculpture and installation? In his youth, to pay for their education in college, he worked at the steelworks, where he met with such materials as steel and lead. After Yelya he went to Europe, where for the first time to see live classical works of art. Michelangelo (Michelangelo) he did not like: «Too many steroids, too on-Shvartsneggerovski», but «Menin» Velasquez (Diego Velázquez) made him the impression that Serra threw all his institute picture into the river Arno in Florence. He said that it was thanks to «Menin» he came to the idea that the viewer is the continuation of works of art, and this idea is still one of the key in his creativity. According to him, the picture is not so much transform the space as a sculpture, and so he became interested in the creation of three-dimensional objects. In 1964, Serra visited Paris, where he walked into the studio Brankusi (Constantin Brancusi) and sat night in the cafe La Coupole, where waiting for his chief idol Alberto Giacometti (Alberto Giacometti). He remembers that Giacometti came in a cafe late at night, with crumbs of gypsum entangled in their hair.

In the late 1960's Serra settled in New York. There he socialized with many artists, dancers and musicians. Of course, everyone was «creative Bohemia» and nothing for the soul does not have. Serra's friend Philip Glass (Philip Glass), later became the most famous in the world-minimalist composer, worked with artist's assistant. Serra says that if such a thing as «art market» they do not even think. «We are denied the mainstream - he said." - [We felt that. - Ed. ] if you sold the show, you are selling itself ». He never built illusions about the commercial potential of their installations: in the end, where they raise and how they carry? Nevertheless, his interest in the works of some collectors who might sponsor his work. At that time, Serra made objects made of rubber and lead, as well as installation of stuffed animals, and experimental films. He served in minimalist terms, and land-artists and in 1970 even helped build a canonical work of land art «Spiral jetty» (Spiral Jetty), Robert Smithson (Robert Smithson). But neither minimalist nor a land-artist Serra himself does not believe. According to him, his work is the closest to a radical Abstractionism Kazimir Malevich .

In the 1980's radical abstractionism, embodied in a huge steel sculpture Serra «Turn arc», aroused a storm of protests from residents of New York. «Arc» was set to one of the area of Manhattan in 1981 and prostoyala there for eight years until it was removed under the pressure of public opinion. In 1985, the jury decided that the sculpture Serra should be destroyed. The artist filed a retaliatory lawsuit, but its creation to save him failed, and in 1989 it cut into three pieces and taken to the New York warehouse. All the eight years that «Turn arch» standing in the square, it does not cover tired insults. Once, some opponents of the sculpture zakleili entire surface of posters with images shot in the head and Vietnamese threats «Kill Serra».

However, over time, residents of big cities are accustomed to the Serra sculpture. This was facilitated by critics of leading newspapers. The famous art historian Robert Hughes (Robert Hughes) called Serra «not only the best of living artists, but the greatest of those who are in the XXI century, creating works of art», a Guardian columnist, Jonathan Jones (Jonathan Jones) said: «If you do not like Serra, then you do not like modern art ». Indeed, creativity Serra in a sense, can serve as the personification of all the innovation that has brought the art of the twentieth century. The works of famous masters of postwar art, such as Mark Rothko (Mark Rothko) , above all, imply the presence of the viewer. When we look at reproductions of paintings by old masters, we, in principle, we can come to a superficial understanding of what it is, but this photo canvases Rothko or steel sculptures Serra did not even give us any account: to «talk» to such works of art and try to hear what they want us to say we should see them live. Serra argues that the main element of his sculptures is a space which he organizes through his semi steel, «snake» and spirals. As an artist, his sculptures offer a completely new reading of space in which they are located. He likes to watch as people wander in his labyrinth, where no steel «wall» is not clear: some hovering over the audience, which is, by contrast, rejected earlier. Serra sculptures like children: they fascinate giant size and interesting shape.

Serra method involves a departure from the «classical» sculpture, to which the artist belongs to art and Picasso (Pablo Picasso), and Kaldera (Alexander Calder), and the other great modernists. Pedestal on which are their figures (no matter how improbable they may be), plays the same role as the frame for the picture: accent image (flat or three-dimensional), which should look. That is to say «classic» approach implies some sort of figure or phenomenon, and the spectator, who is on his side, and the creations of Serra, in contrast, placed the viewer at the center of works of art. He cites the example of a still life of Cezanne (Paul Cézanne) with the image of apples: as said Serra, the chief «hero» paintings of Cezanne - Apples, a hero of his creations - the viewer. A similar principle in its work be guided by some young artists such as Olafur Eliasson (Olafur Eliasson).

According to Serra, the primary function of art - to help people think in a new way and to see in a new way. He said that art should not be utilitarian, and therefore does not like when architects equate to artists. Serra lamenting over the new museums that build such architects as Frank Geri (Frank Gehry): buildings with their insane take on architecture in the eyes of critics and the public more important than works of art that are exhibited in these museums.

Nevertheless, the new museums Serra love. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which was built by the same Frank Geri (who, incidentally, is a close friend of the artist), gave him a large room, where Serra has posted one of the world's largest installations. Recently, «man of steel» brought three of their installations (weighing more than 300 tons) in London, which opened on October 4, his solo exhibition in the Gallery Larry Gagosyana. In order to drag whopper of a building, it was necessary to destroy the wall. In another building of the gallery Gagosyana Serre's graphic works are exhibited. Exhibition graphics last up to 22 November, and the exhibition of sculpture - up to 20 December.

What can I say about the investment potential of Serra? Of course, the huge sculpture at auction are not sold, but the work of steel small size does appear on the bid, an average of two to three times a year. According to Artprice.com, since 1988 at public auction there were only 50 sculptures and installations of Serra, the most expensive of them had 1.3 million dollars. Serra is not a fruit, and his work is rarely to be found in auction catalogs, but despite this, the bidder is not all his works. Most likely, this can be explained by the fact that sculpture and installation artists are not decorative. Most of the time at public auction can be found prints Serra (average for the price of 2 to 9 thousand dollars), a graphics and paintings appear at auction is almost as rare as a sculpture. Recently, prices for works by Serra are increasing: in 2007 they jumped as much as 56 percent, although in the future growth rate strongly decreased. 100 euro, it is invested in its work in 2005, 2008, would become the 190 euro.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: guardian.co.uk , bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru