Monday, November 19, 2007

"Next to MoMA, a Tower Will Reach for the Stars"


Is this the new trend in architecture? Is it that people like seeing others or they like being seen by others?
A new 75-story tower designed by the architect Jean Nouvel for a site next to the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown promises to be the most exhilarating addition to the skyline in a generation. Its faceted exterior, tapering to a series of crystalline peaks, suggests an atavistic preoccupation with celestial heights. It brings to mind John Ruskin’s praise for the
irrationality of Gothic architecture: “It not only dared, but delighted in, the infringement of every servile principle.”

Commissioned by Hines, an international real estate developer, the tower will house a hotel, luxury apartments and three floors that will be used by MoMA to expand its exhibition space. The melding of cultural and commercial worlds offer further proof, if any were needed, that Mr. Nouvel is a master at balancing conflicting urban forces.

To read more click here

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

"Yours for the Peeping"



Usually people in New York City thrive on the anonymity that urban life has to offer. Yet, this new wave of architecture goes against this idea by publicly displaying oneself. Why is this so popular?
Check out this NY Times article here.

Bird Gerhl

At first I found this video very disturbing because a teenage boy appears to committee suicide. However, I have come to really love this because I now interpret on a different level. I see it as rejecting societal constrictions and embracing ones true self. The building that the boy jumps from is a school building, which symbolizes conformity. By jumping from it, the boy is allowing himself to be who he is. This tension between one's actual identity and one's societal appearance is further highlighted by the contradictions between the imagery of falling and the liberating imagery of birds and lyrics.

Here are Antony and the Johnson's Bird Gerhl Lyrics
I am a bird girl now
I've got my heart
Here in my hands now
I've been searching
For my wings some time
I'm gonna be born
Into soon the sky
Cause I'm a bird girl
And the bird girls go to heaven
I'm a bird girl
And the bird girls can fly
Bird girls can fly