In this reflection log, I’ll be drawing parallels between Fried’s view on sculpting and the work of Morris. In section IV of the article, Fried states that
“Something is said to have presence when it demands that the beholder take it into account, that he take it seriously – and when the fulfillment of that demand consists simply in being “aware of” it and, so to speak, in “acting accordingly”.
When Morris displayed his sculptures in galleries, he didn’t place them on pedestals to denote that this was a place for art, seperate from the normal, outside world.
In some cases (i.e: “L-beams”), he would put them directly on the floor, causing people to walk around them. He would force his viewers into acknowlegeing his art pieces using sheer size of the piece. In “Site”, he included a soundtrack as he constructed and deconstructed his sculpture around another performance artist in the guise of Olympia. Morris was not the kind of person who would bend to make others comfortable with art, and seems to be the kind of person who would argue that good art was meant to make people uncomfortable.
