Out-of-round IX
1999

In his later work, including drawings such as Out-of-Round IX, Richard Serra has continued to emphasize the physical properties of materials through his method of working. For the Out-of-Round series, he applied layers of oil stick, through a window screen, to paper he had placed on the floor. Working on the floor allowed him to make use of gravity. As he explained, “the compression of the materials is achieved with a gravitational load that is bearing down on them.” This compression lends the drawing its uneven, tactile surface, as does the accumulative process of oil stick application. “You become the audience in reconstructing the process of their making,” Serra noted, “that becomes part of the issue when you look at them.”