Richard Serra's Verblist
In the mid-1960s the American artist Richard Serra began experimenting with nontraditional materials, including fiberglass, neon, vulcanized rubber, and, later, lead. He combined his examination of these materials and their properties with an interest in the physical process of making sculpture. The result was a list of action verbs—"to roll, to crease, to curve"—that Serra compiled, listed on paper, and then enacted...