Richard Serra’s choice of the Brouq Nature Reserve in Qatar for his steel monuments is a rather unique choice on his behalf. While his audience would expect that his decision to base his art in the desert was undertaken because of the significance of that ecosystem to Qatar’s culture, especially with their economic reliance on natural gas and oil of which they get their riches, this was not the case. He did not actually consider any cultural or social narratives when sculpting his masterpiece as the location of the artwork was chosen by Her Highness Sheikha al-Mayassa Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani[1]. Because of this, we are unable to infer much information about what the art could represent from the artist’s perspective, specifically due to the fact that he was solely searching for opportunities to engage in art-creation. Despite this, we can still investigate the importance and significance of the artwork from the perspective of the authority behind it. This is clear because Richard Serra would not be able to carry out the creation of his art without the authorization from the museum/art society in Qatar, through such a powerful figure in the art scene like Her Highness.
“The petroleum infrastructure has become embodied memory and habitus for modern humans,” says Stephanie LeMenager in her article discussing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[2] She argues that the oil spill revealed “a humiliation of modernity as it was understood in the twentieth century, which is largely in terms of the human capacity to harness cheap energy.”[3] Qatar’s economy also largely relies on oil and gas exports which are significant sources of carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. In addition to this, the quantity of fossil fuels that Qatar can procure is limited; it will run out at some point. Now while they haven’t had such a disastrous event like the BP oil spill, in order to maintain its powerful economy, Qatar needs to stop relying on fuel exports and invest in other profitable outlets. Thus, Qatar invests millions of riyals annually towards the development of artwork and museums, including two Richard Serra pieces, 7and East-West/West-East.
I believe that the artwork represents the State of Qatar and its values in two ways. First, the significance of the location lies in that the natural terrain of Qatar is not unique and is not, at least conventionally, attractive. Therefore, the artwork being placed in a place of insignificance could express the idea that although Qatar may seem insignificant, it has unique qualities and values that make it special. Second, the nature of the artwork in which the steel monuments are made to be altered by natural causes. Despite the harsh nature of its surroundings, the steel monuments stand tall and simply adapt by reacting to the environment. This could represent Qatar in which although the world is constantly changing and evolving, it still manages to adapt and persevere through it. Countries that lie outside the Western sphere are usually looked down upon which places extra pressure on them to show up. Hence, the pressure that they are subjected to be extraordinary is represented by the harsh environment within the desert. As mentioned previously, Serra stated that the social and political environment did not matter in the creation of this piece, so the intentions of outside actors should also be considered.
Bibliography
Lemenager, Stephanie. “Petro-Melancholia: The BP Blowout and the Arts of Grief.” Qui Parle: Critical Humanities and Social Sciences 19, no. 2 (2011): 25. https://doi.org/10.5250/quiparle.19.2.0025.
Niarchos, Nicolas. “Richard Serra in the Qatari Desert,” June 18, 2017.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/richard-serra-in-the-qatari-desert.
[1] Nicolas Niarchos, “Richard Serra in the Qatari Desert,” June 18, 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/richard-serra-in-the-qatari-desert.
[2]Stephanie LeMenager, “Petro-Melancholia: The BP Blowout and the Arts of Grief,” Qui Parle: Critical Humanities and Social Sciences 19, no. 2 (2011): p. 25, https://doi.org/10.5250/quiparle.19.2.0025, 26.
[3] Stephanie LeMenager, “Petro-Melancholia,” 26.
