Episode #170: Filmed in 2000 at Richard Serra's Manhattan studio, the artist describes the various tools and conceptual strategies he has used throughout his career when working with lead and steel. Serra discusses his early focus on the nature of the art production process itself which resulted in his writing a "Verb List" (1967-68). Multiple lead works that resulted from Serra acting out the "Verb List" are shown through archival images. Serra's invention of a tool that twisted sheet metal around a wheel enabled him to shape steel in a new way--from the inside out. "Torqued Ellipses" (1996-97), which resulted from this process, are shown at Dia:Beacon in 2004.

Richard Serra's work since the 1960s has focused on the industrial materials that he had worked with as a youth in West Coast steel mills and shipyards: steel and lead. Serra's work is known for it's immense physicality, compounded by the breathtaking bends and curves of steel plates that carve private moments out of public spaces.

CREDITS: Producer: Ian Forster. Consulting Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Susan Sollins & Catherine Tatge. Camera: Ken Kobland & Pete Shanel. Editor: Morgan Riles. Artwork Courtesy: Richard Serra / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York & Dia Art Foundation. Theme Music: Peter Foley.

Thanks to the following volunteers for providing subtitles:

ARABIC
Maloka
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/91144/

FRENCH
Karen Lafuste
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/90546/

Frenchie4ever
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/90392/

GERMAN
Barbara Mauchle
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/55013/

GREEK
KATERINA KOLOKA
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/57616/

HEBREW
Elinoar Almagor
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/90306/

INDONESIAN
Dwi Rianto
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/269/

Pitra Ayu
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/50591/

ITALIAN
Emanuele Caccia
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/47985/

JAPANESE
Eri Nakamura
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/91874/

KOREAN
Ji Hyang Jeong
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/91139/

PORTUGUESE
Fernando Lombardi
www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/92243/

SPANISH
Isabel Pozas González
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/80153/

Carolina Tamara
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/74560/

THAI
Tina Ka
http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/91660/

Become a volunteer translator by joining the Art21 Translation Project team:
http://www.amara.org/en/teams/art21/