Art went on trial in 1985. The accusers were the people of New York, the crime was a 120ft-long leaning wall of rusting steel and the defendant was its creator, Richard Serra.
To Serra’s many detractors, Tilted Arc (1981) was the most egregious example of what became known as “turd in the plaza” art in public spaces. After the erection of the slightly curving wall in a square in front of a federal building in Lower Manhattan, “Kill Serra” posters appeared in the surrounding streets from those who objected to public money being paid to someone who was “despoiling” the landscape.
Four years after its installation, the General Services Administration, which had commissioned the piece, convened a public hearing that listened to arguments for and