Art Installation – Westport MA

I have been taking photos of the fire connections on the sides of buildings since approximately 2005. Recently, at the invitation of founder and curator Linda Rogers, I participated in her Second Annual Installation Yard Party art event (8/26 – 8/27/2017) in the backyard of her house in Westport MA. Karen assisted and contributed mightily.

Our installations, “Along The Way 1, 2017 from Fire Connections, 2005 to the present” by me and “Portrait of the Artist, 2017 from Mr. Wonderful Takes a Break” by Karen, were presented on large vinyl banners staked out in the yard. My banner was 20 ft. long by 3 ft high. Karen’s was 4 ft sq. This captured the most attention.

Karen also presented another work by her, “Aidila 1912 to 1998”.

Other Work at the Installation

Ugly Buildings

Ugly Buildings

I have been observing ugly buildings for years. Some are clearly architect designed, others are the work of real estate developers, some of institutions too lazy to implement a reasonable solution to some problem or caught up in an architectural style required to meet the needs of donors and others’ expectations.

DSCN0880-1024x768

Worcester MA

Super markets are sui generis pedestrian commercial buildings – architecture hardly applies. Here is one whose “street presence”, or maybe it should be “parking lot presence”, is shockingly depressing. The entrance and exit are hidden and one is greeted with more brick than glass.

042703_1 01222015-1 DSCN0880-1024x768 DSCN3053-1024x768 IMG_0800-1024x767 IMG_1209-1024x768 IMG_2089-1024x768 OneWesternAve-HBS-540957 OneWesternAve-HBS-detail-540958 IMG_7795-1024x768

 

Columbia County addition on Sixth St. Hudson NY

IMG_2091

Hudson City Centre, Green St. Hudson NY - detail of entrance
Harvard Law School

This building built right on Mass Ave in Cambridge must have been designed to ape the monumentality of Washington DC. Heavy, ponderous, thuddingly boring…..
Harvard Law School Student Union on Massachusetts Ave just noprth of Harvard Sq,

042703_1

DSCN3053

IMG_1209

IMG_2089

IMG_0800

One Western Ave Brighton – Harvard Business School student housing.

This building is so ugly that no B-school plutocrat has bought up the naming rights since the building opened in 2003. The architects are on the faculty of the Harvard Design School. Machado is the architect for the Honan-Alston branch of the Boston Public Library, which in contrast is a nice enough looking building that functions very well as a library. What were they thinking with this B-school project? Maybe drinking too much academic architectural kool-aid.

DSCN1574

OneWesternAve-HBS-540957OneWesternAve-HBS-detail-540958