Photo by Barry Wallace
Another year has come and gone and once again Richard Serra's monumental sculpture 'Shift' languishes, mostly undetectable, on land owned and fenced-off by Hickory Hills Investments (Great Gulf Homes) in King City. Shift was commissioned in 1970 (completed in 1972) by art collector Roger Davidson and appeared on his family property, south of the village. 45 years later, Wikipedia states: "Serra's studio estimates that a commission of this nature would now be valued at between US$7 and US$8 million". One can't help but wonder, as Shift's concrete body cracks and crumbles, how many years it has left, particularly if nothing is done to formally preserve and protect it in a legal and financially-sustainable fashion. A critic once described Shift as 'brutalistic', but art appreciation aside, what is truly brutal are Shift's dim prospects.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace
Publicly available artworks have no heritage protection. A while back we got around to trying to designate some of our best buildings to help us visually recall our past, but this has yet to get as far as heritage art. Could it be worth trying to see if King Township Historical Society will take up the cause?
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