Richard Serra

Who are your favorite New Yorkers?
Richard Serra: Louise Bourgeois, Robert Ryman and [MoMA chief curator-at-large] Kynaston McShine.

Why?
Richard Serra: Because all of them have been around for 40 years or longer and still manage to contribute to the city’s culture. They’re survivors.

What do you think is the biggest thing that has happened to this city in the past 13 years?
Richard Serra: Well, since 9/11, New Yorkers have really been able to relax and get along with one another. I don’t think that was the case before.

What’s your favorite place or thing in New York?
Richard Serra: The Brooklyn Bridge.

Do you walk it across it?
Richard Serra: Well, I used to, but I don’t anymore. I’ve had knee-replacement surgery. [Laughs]

What was your personal favorite moment in New York. Where were you and what was happening?
Richard Serra: Hanging out at Max’s Kansas City, where I got to meet and know people like Andy Warhol and Robert Smithson. It was the kind of place where you could really go and have a dialogue.

Do you think there’s any place like that in New York today?
Richard Serra: I hope so. I think that every generation should find its watering hole.

What do you think the future of New York will be? What are your hopes? What do you think needs to happen?
Richard Serra: I think the future is already here, and always will be in New York, because it’s the place for reinvention. It’s where you have your finger in the light socket.

If you could have a drink with anyone else on this top 40 list, who would it be?
Richard Serra: Tony Kushner. Because he’s the kind of artist who can put his politics into his aesthetic in a way that’s very hard to do. I really admired Angels in America.

Next: Michael Bloomberg >

The New York 40: