Charles Ray with Fall '91

Big Clay #3 (2008–2011), an outdoor sculpture by the Swiss artist Urs Fischer (b. 1973), is a mighty impressive sight (fig. 1). Ten meters high and rendered in dull gray metal, it towers over its viewers. Yet it began as a gesture of remarkable slightness. The artist simply squeezed a lump of modeling clay in his hand, creating an impromptu maquette....