Tilted Arc - Design

Design

Placed in the Federal Plaza, the work bisected the space, blocking views and paths of those who frequented the plaza. The sculpture was a solid, unfinished plate of COR-TEN steel, 120 feet long (36.6 meters), 12 feet high (3.66 meters), and 2.5 inches thick. As its name suggests, it was slightly tilted. Serra said of the design, "The viewer becomes aware of himself and of his movement through the plaza. As he moves, the sculpture changes. Contraction and expansion of the sculpture result from the viewer's movement. Step by step the perception not only of the sculpture but of the entire environment changes." The steel is self-oxidizing and is designed to develop a natural rust-like amber appearance over time. The work was site-specific. Site-specificity in art means the piece cannot be removed from its location without losing its meaning: the location of a site-specific work is one of its fundamental constituents. In this case, Serra said the sculpture was meant to interact with the commuter passing through the plaza, a location usually passed through quickly on the way to somewhere else.