Richard Serra Philip Glass Meeting City |best| -

"Come on," Serra said, turning back toward the warehouse he was using as a studio in the Meatpacking District. "I have a lead block I need to move. I want to film it falling. I need you to listen to the sound it makes when it hits."

Serra’s famous dictum is: “To remove the work is to destroy the work.” A meeting city is site-specific—it cannot be moved; you must travel to it. richard serra philip glass meeting city

They walked downtown, two unemployed visionaries cutting through the smog and the noise. They didn't have money, and they didn't have fame. But they had the city, and they had each other's eyes. Serra would strip the illusion from the physical world until it was nothing but weight and gravity, and Glass would strip the illusion from time until it was nothing but rhythm and breath. "Come on," Serra said, turning back toward the

The city was tearing up the pavement to lay new pipes. A massive plate of steel was propped up against the side of a building, waiting to be lowered into the trench. To anyone else, it was an eyesore. To Serra, it was a revelation. I need you to listen to the sound it makes when it hits

"It’s not just metal," Serra grumbled, his voice low and intense. "It’s a verb. It’s an action. To lift. To lean. To prop. The material doesn't lie. It does exactly what it says it’s going to do."

"Philip and I shared a desire to challenge the status quo, to create something that would speak to the city and its inhabitants in a new way. Our collaboration was a natural extension of our individual practices, and it opened up new possibilities for both of us."