Richard Serra’s "Viewpoint" for Dillingen

For years Richard Serra has been working with the plates and the know-how of Dillinger Hütte in order to produce its big sculptures that are exhibited and erected worldwide. Thanks to the trustful cooperation Dillinger Hütte was able to win the artist for designing a sculpture for Dillingen that Dillinger Hütte gives to the City of Dillingen as a sign of unity between the company and the city. Serra’s sculpture made for Dillingen’s roundabout consists of two elements parallel bend to each other which consist of 3 plates each. The plates are 9 m long; this corresponds to the height of the finished sculpture. The real width is 13 m, the total weight amounts to 104 t. According to the artist’s drawings, the plates are formed under a 2,500 t-press in the heavy fabrication division of Dillinger Hütte, then cut to size with the help of gas cutting . Finally, the two elements are put in the exact final form with “after truing”. The sculpture is then erected in the workshop for trial. “We are proud that, thanks to our good relationship and long cooperation, we won this world-famous contemporary artist to design a sculpture in Dillingen. Richard Serra makes you experience steel art throughout the whole world”, says work director Dr Karlheinz Blessing of Dillinger Hütte. “Dillingen’s inhabitants can experience this work and its creation gradually and at first hand: We will invite the inhabitants of Dillingen to public visits in our plants, show them how our steel is manufactured, how and where such a piece of art is developed”, Blessing continues. Works such as “Torque” on the campus of the Saarland University, “Exchange” on the Kirchberg Plateau in Luxembourg, “Snake” exhibited in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao or works such as "Canyon" and "Lancet” that can be seen in the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, New York, were produced in Dillingen. The city of Dillingen joins the list of international locations for Richard Serra’s steel sculptures. “Richard Serra’s steel sculpture builds an important link between Dillingen as steel city and Dillingen as city of culture. Dillingen gets a piece of art of a world-renowned artist and establishes itself as art city", says Franz-Josef Berg, mayor of Dillingen. “With this sculpture Dillingen places itself definitely on the axis “Luxembourg-Saarbücken” with regard to the 2007 cultural capital “Luxembourg and the Greater Region”. “The brilliant quality of Dillingen’s steel as well as the excellent work of Dillinger Hütte is exemplarily shown in the fact that the artist from New York has its steel sculptures produced in Dillingen", Berg continues. "The city of Dillingen thanks Dillinger Hütte for the great gift to the citizens of Dillingen. This shows the close relationship between Dillinger Hütte and the city and its people. I am looking forward to meet Richard Serra and to be able to witness the development process of a piece of art that will receive due attention beyond the borders of Saar-Lor-Lux." At the occasion of the official handing over of the sculpture the mayor Franz-Josef Berg welcomed hundreds of spectators and numerous guests of honour. The Saarland Premier, Peter Müller, state secretary Dr Susanne Reichrath, numerous delegates, the management board of Dillinger Hütte and representatives of local committees came to show their esteem for the artist and the piece of art. Alexander von Berswordt read a message from Richard Serra in which the latter expressed his firm intention to visit Dillingen after his recovery. After the sculpture was released, general enthusiasm for the piece of art could be felt and heard. The visitors were impressed by the aesthetics and the plasticity of the steel sculpture. Mayor Franz-Josef Berg and Premier Peter Müller emphasized the national significance of the piece of art in their speeches. Dr Karlheinz Blessing of Dillinger Hütte highlighted the commitment to the location Dillingen and the pride of the quality and precision of Dillingen's steel, in which can be found the basis for decades-long cooperation with the artist.