Another corner art museum in an urban setting, similar to the five-story version of my first effort in program and size—about 110 x 110 feet, 80 feet high. See that post for description. Again, the interest is in creating a building that distinguishes itself and announces its function at a busy intersection. The L arrangement of windows breaks the cube and relieves the sides, as well as points to and highlights the corner, announced by a massive column. On the top floor, a canopy overhangs an open area for views, for air, for a break from exhibition, which could be used for outdoor sculpture and plantings.
The design was heavily influenced by David Adjaye’s Dirty House in London, a warehouse converted to studio and living space.
The flat black color, among other things, brings together the different textures of the former warehouse and unites them in a rough, expressive geometric shape punched with square holes, above which, in absolute contrast, hovers a pure white plane, a modernist benediction. Combined, the two forms make a stark and compelling image, wholly coherent.
Front.
Side.
From above.
I was also struck by artist Sue Webster’s refacing:
Sue painted the whole thing gloss white then had one of her free-styled Chaos Paintings put over the top. “I’ve been reading a lot of Charles Bukowski poetry, and it’s just like, if you’re going to do it go all the way. If you’re not going to go all the way don’t even start on something. And I just thought it was a great metaphor for everything that was happening at that moment in time. So I did it.”
From i—D.
And I had to give it a shot myself, with Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm.
I also had in mind OMA’s Galleria store in Gwanggyo, Korea, whose face represents a nearby park.
In color and treatment, the Galleria image is reminiscent of traditional Korean Sansu paintings with their flat, ethereal representations of mountain scenes.
Dirt, chaos, the spiritual realm, whatever Pollock conjures—there is beauty in all of this and whatever else we want to call it. We need to reach beyond ourselves, even if we don’t know where that takes us.
For centuries in Korea, a rendering of a mountain and river has always been more than a beautiful landscape; it is also a profound philosophical and spiritual statement. Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are represented, by the mountain, river, and human figures, respectively.
From the Korean Art and Antiques site.
NO CHAOS, DAMN IT!
Jackson Pollock
I experimented in many ways and settled on the borders around the painting. At this size, some kind of articulation is called for.
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Adjaye’s Dirty House photographs by Ed Reeve.
OMA Galleria photograph by Hong Sung Jun.