This video, made in 1986, documents some of the testimony given in the Trial of Titled
Arc. The artwork on trial is Richard Serra’s public sculpture, Tilted Arc, commissioned
and installed by the U.S. government in 1981. Four years later, a public hearing was held
to consider the removal of the sculpture from its site in Federal Plaza in New York City.
Richard Serra and other artists, politicians and community members speak in defense of
Tilted Arc, on public art, and the role of the government and the of the
people in shaping the public’s visual environment. Featuring Judge Re – US Court of
International Trade Richard Serra and other artists, politicians and community members speak on the role of public art.