T.W.U. Richard Serra, An Unsolicited Video by Michel Auder
1980-82, re-edit 2002, 14 minutes
Before Titled Arc, there was T.W.U. On a beautiful
morning in 1980, Auder awoke to the sudden sound of construction. Eager
to find out what was going on, he rushed out of his apartment with camera
in hand. He arrived in time to catch the installation of T.W.U., a monumental
work by Serra being installed at Franklin Street and West Broadway.
The footage captures Serra and dealer Leo Castelli
amongst a crowd of by-standers observing the crew as they hoist and
mount the final slab of steel. Two years later, Auder is awoken by similar
sounds. Again, camera in hand he witnesses the de-installation of T.W.U.
with its bolts being removed from the final slab which is then lowered
onto a flatbed.
Although the circumstances leading to the work's
dismantling are unclear, a prominent layer of flyers plastered to the
work's exterior is telling of the work's ultimate fate as a degraded
and forgotten monument alienated from the positivist spirit surrounding
its installation.