7 (sculpture)

Richard Serra was commissioned by the Qatar Museums Authority to create the 7 sculpture based on the personal recommendation of I.M.Pei – the architect who built the adjacent Museum of Islamic Art. According to Pei, he wanted an artist that would complement the museum and, “connect the aesthetic content of the museum to the possibility of building a public space for the people. ==Design==

The original concept for the sculpture was an eight-sided, tall model. This was amended later following discussions with Sheikha Al Mayassa, who was not convinced with the model. A distinctive architectural feature of mosques, these tall spires date back to the seventh century. It is particularly the Ghazni minaret in Afghanistan that was the key inspiration for Serra. Richard Serra also found inspiration in the Quran's repeated use of the number seven and the fact that Persian mathematician and astronomer Abu Sahl al-Quhi was the first person to build a seven-sided heptagonal shape. The sculpture's steel slabs are made from Shanxi Black Granite and are designed to be naturally bronzed by the elements. Over an eight-year period the colour is expected to change from orange to a uniform dark shade via a process of oxidation. Each of the seven steel plates is eight feet wide (2.4 metres) and four inches thick. Visitors are able to walk inside the structure and look up at the sky above. ==Construction and location==

Taking more than one million man-hours to construct, the sculpture stands on a small plaza from the shoreline. When Serra first arrived in Doha to find a site to build a sculpture, he found a barren parkland along the city's corniche, as well as rocks, earth, and rubble from the building of the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art and its adjacent parkland. ==Unveiling==

The unveiling of 7 was attended by Sheikh bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, other royals of the House of Thani, and more than 700 guests. At the ceremony, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra performed Hughes de Courson's "The Magic Lutes" and Serra spoke about its origins and his own research. ==See also==