ARCHITECTURE?

When I put my purist architect's cap on, I have to laugh. The building is poorly scaled, poorly sited, poorly constructed, and the historical references are absurd. Metropolis, Superman's home, aptly describes where one might expect to see a structure such as this - a comic book. The labored attempt at symmetry, the oversized balconies and curtain wall windows, and last but not least, those gargantuan gargoyles, conspire to create a farce of the historical references Davis claims. I keep wondering what the inhabitants think about their homes. Do they recognize and revel in the comic book references, or, do they think this place has some historical legitimacy? Reportedly, all 32 units, priced at $200,000+, have been sold. Architecturally, I can't imagine what these presumably well educated people see in this place. From my perspective, the attraction of city life is the interaction of a culture at street level, witnessing the daily activities of an active world. The building is mounted above a large gated parking garage which is surrounded by a tall dense wall. More like a fortress than anything, it avoids interaction with the street or its neighbors; and this is in one of the better neighborhoods in Houston. Metropolis is more like a gated community or suburb plopped down in the middle of nowhere. The factors that produce a livable, active, exciting city are wholly ignored. The very thing that attracted people to SoHo or other urban villages has been lost. All that remains is a vague visual reference to the architectural styles associated with urbanity.

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Cleft Palette
Metropolis-June'98
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Credits
This issue of Cleft Palette is made possible by a Creative Artist Grant funded by the City of Houston through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County.

ART?

This project brings up many issues, two of which especially interest me: the transitory nature of meaning and the power of visual imagery. The ideas we consciously, or subconsciously, associate with objects or the environment around us constitute "meaning". Obviously, meaning is informed by history, intellect, environment, and many other factors. Establishing meaning in art is difficult. Meaning to a culture or an individual at one point in time, is something different (or nothing) in short order. This is just the nature of memory. The visual representation of an idea has more stamina, and offers the viewer the possibility of assigning their own personal meaning.

I would suggest that once an object ceases to contain meaning, it no longer contributes to the dialogue we call "art". Art is dynamic. Objects flow in and out of relevance. The only thing of significance is what an object communicates to an individual now. What something used to mean is only important from an academic point of view. Issues like timelessness and universality only serve to blunt the incisiveness of communicating an idea that cuts to the quick now.

What Metropolis says about society is something that is said every day by English Tudor tract homes or '98 Volkswagen Beetles. They all communicate the ideals of a society which is struggling with what it wants to be. The interesting thing , and what elevates Metropolis to the level of "art", is that the freedom and creativity the public associates with the "artist" (i.e.. the meaning) has been transferred to the artists' "loft" or studio. Whether aware or not, the public attaches meaning to objects. In this circumstance, they have attached the meaning of "artist" to the word "loft" and then transferred this meaning to a building which bears little resemblance to the original. The public seems to value freedom and creativity, but only on a superficial level. It's all a part of the same process which homogenizes "punk" or "rap" culture into the mainstream. Consumerism seems to strip away the meaning so quickly we're just left with a shell.

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