By Dan Nolin on April 05, 2022 Image Sculptures by Richard Serra—Left: Five Plates, Two Poles in Minneapolis; Right: Wake in Seattle Two cities, but not the Twin Cities. Sculptor Richard Serra has a handful of sculptures in both Minneapolis, MCAD’s hometown, and Seattle, where I am currently based while attending school online. In Minneapolis, he has Five Plates, Two Poles located within the Walker Art Center's Sculpture Garden. Five Plates come with the overall dimensions of 96” x 276” x 216”. You can find this piece at the corner located off the path from Selections from The Living Series. It is also across the pathway from the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry. Made of Cor-Ten steel (who knew this was a type of steel?), Five Plates was constructed in 1971 and later donated to The Walker Art Center by the Dayton family in 1984. Some fellow MCADians by Five Plates, Two Poles. Photos by Riley Wright Located at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, Washington is Serra’s Wake. This piece comes in the form of 10 steel plates; also made of weatherproof steel with the overall dimensions of 14 ft. 1 1/4 in. x 125 ft. x 46 ft and a 2” thickness. Wake is more of an interactive piece where one can walk in between and around the piece. There are so many shoe prints from viewers enjoying the piece, not even the rain can wash them all away. Wake was purchased by the Seattle Art Museum in 2004, shortly after being made in 2002–2003. If you find yourself in Seattle, it is located down the steps North of the Gates Amphitheater. After moving to Seattle, I knew Richard’s piece without having to look at the title card. It was a sense of familiarity seeing this piece. Both structures have a sense of warmth— even a protective vibe from the surroundings. If you reside outside of Minneapolis or Seattle, a few locations Richard’s pieces can be found at the MOMA in NYC, the LACMA in Los Angeles, and the SF MOMA in San Francisco to name a few.
Image Sculptures by Richard Serra—Left: Five Plates, Two Poles in Minneapolis; Right: Wake in Seattle