Snarky note to Frank Gehry, justified

My wife and I visited the AGO (about half a block away from our place) on X-Mas Eve. I made a snarky little note on one of the public feedback/artback kiosks. My wife rolled her eyes and we went on, until we saw…

Snark vindication!

I have to admit that I really like the new building, although I am disappointed that an architecture-pleb like me called this one while sitting at a kiddie table drawing smiley faces. I feel that fashion aside, a buildings first priority should be to keep the elements out, and in the name of A-R-T especially.

Regret: Not having photos of the completely shut down main staircase in the Daniel Libeskind designed Denver Art Funnel (which I don’t have to admit that I like, as opposed to the AGO).

(re-posted from my old blog, originally posted 01-12-2009)

80126, urban Superfund

The 80216 area code has been called the most polluted zip code in Denver. Residential neighborhoods sit next to (and on top of) smelting plants that have been in operation for over one-hundred years. ASARCO’s smelting facility in Globeville had been operating since 1886. Taken to court in 1983 by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, a settlement was reached in May 1993 and the area was put on the EPA’s National Priorities List that July. Residential clean-up, which included digging up and replacing yards, was completed in 2002.

Waiting for an influx of ____________

Sometimes there are projects that are maddeningly obtainable. I know the right people, I have researched all of the locations. There is a rough plan in my head to get around without spending a terrible amount of money—actually, a reasonable amount of money. For the usual reasons, though, I am short a resonable amount of money.

That doesn’t stop relevent information coming to me on a regular basis, or worthwhile connections popping up, reminding me that I am just not in a position to move forward right now.

It is—as always—clouding my ability to see the projects that are right in front of me, that I would have been working on had I not started to wrap my brain around something just slightly out of reach.

I always say that there is really no good reason not to make work, no matter what the obstacle is—whether it is time, money, etc.—you can always find a way around it, find another topic, another angle, another medium. Every limitation is just another parameter to be considered, not something that can destroy an idea.

And the cliché of the backburner exists for a reason—sometimes things just need to sit and wait a little while for an influx of cash while you are busy doing other things. Notebooks can fill up and phone calls can be made and permission can be requested/denied/granted before the money is there, before the time is there.

With that in mind I am going to redevelop my productive rut, and enjoy it. I am going to persue the little/big/long/boring/interesting/brief/collaborative projects that are 100% available to me, and maintain a long-distance relationship with the ones that aren’t.