Above is an image of Ellsworth Kelly's ultra-elegant solution to the problem of "developing" the WTC site. Papa Able has kept the clipping in his office since 2003, and I find I'm moved each time I see it. There will simply never be any buildings better-looking than the originals, perfect twin icons of a certain 60s/70s sensibility long gone (leave the new sorts to Shanghai and the Emirates). And, honestly, any effort to fill them up with offices, theaters, malls (?) would be a bit gross. However, an entirely spare, green, open field, a "collage" conceived by one of our greatest painters would be something rather holy, a clear reminder of the loss, the scale, as well as a point of renewal, pleasure, oxygen in the midst of grey Lower Manhattan.
Showing posts with label bureaucrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bureaucrats. Show all posts
May 11, 2009
On Liberty (II)
Above is an image of Ellsworth Kelly's ultra-elegant solution to the problem of "developing" the WTC site. Papa Able has kept the clipping in his office since 2003, and I find I'm moved each time I see it. There will simply never be any buildings better-looking than the originals, perfect twin icons of a certain 60s/70s sensibility long gone (leave the new sorts to Shanghai and the Emirates). And, honestly, any effort to fill them up with offices, theaters, malls (?) would be a bit gross. However, an entirely spare, green, open field, a "collage" conceived by one of our greatest painters would be something rather holy, a clear reminder of the loss, the scale, as well as a point of renewal, pleasure, oxygen in the midst of grey Lower Manhattan.
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