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Monday, January 13, 2014

Living Cities - Lance McDowell

What struck you as creative?

The words were never still. Even though they came together to form structures they were never stationary; rather, they gently rippled and pulsed. The cities seemed to be breathing, alive.

I liked that the various landscapes would linger only a short while then disappear bit by bit. While I studied the work, I felt like I do when I awake from a dream. It seems so real, then it begins to fade. You try to hang on to the images, but they slowly disappear.

I thought the space around the sculpture was creative. The room had two stools, one in front of the sculpture and one in back. Otherwise, it was empty. This allowed the viewer to have a deeply personal experience with the art. In the quiet, dark room I sat and listened to the art speak to me.

How do you think the author came up with these ideas?

Bravo states that she wanted to “create a parallel between literature and architecture…” Literature and architecture are both stationary; printed words on a page, stone and wooden structures. Yet, there is life in each. Perhaps Bravo read a book, and the words spoke to her, beckoned to her, gently took her hand and led her into a metaphysical world. Is that literally possible? No. But does it happen? Yes.

Architecture also speaks. It tells us about people and their history. It tells us about culture.

Then Bravo took the next step. How could she take the metaphysical and make it into something with substance? Architecture could literally have a voice if it were constructed of words. It could literally tell us something.


Bravo also brought the city to life with three glass panels. This layering creates a ghostly light around the city, almost like a halo. I saw the physical city but I also felt I could see its spirit.

4 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you about the ghostly effect, that's like the perfect work to describe it! Esp. when there were birds flying around the cityscape.

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  2. Dude there was a mysterious or sort of eerie, kind of feel when I first got there and the idea that the lighting made it ghostly was something that I definitely felt. Just it being in a dark room added to that affect. Shoot I wanted to get out of there haha.

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  3. I was really curious about why she had three panes of glass, because it seemed to me like you got the most clarity and definition from just the first one, and my view of the piece found the extra panes superfluous and distracting. So I really enjoy your idea that the added panes with their diminished clarity are adding another level of life and meaning to her message.

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  4. I enjoyed a similar comment shared in class about the moving text (it may have been from you). It is interesting to me to imagine it as a city that is breathing with movement. I kinda thought about it while in the exhibit but connected with your comment.

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