Calatrava in Milwaukee
Finally drove up to see the new Calatrava sculpture in Milwaukee (which also serves as the entry hall to the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Is it a building ? -- or a ship that's been driven aground ?
I love to look out from the bridge of a great ship -- with the light pouring in from the windows -- and see nothing but sea and sky
Maybe it's less a sea-ship, and more of a star-ship --- patiently waiting for other space birds from distant galaxies to roost beside it.
Here we are - looking down the spine of the great beast - (and that's Beth having fun on the field trip)
The long hallway to the museum entrance also serves as a sculpture court -- with regularly spaced niches along the wall -- each with its own skylight - but not really enough light - so multiple spotlites are needed as well.
Fun for a first-time visitor ? --- Definately
Civic show-piece ? -- Yes - for now.
Beautiful like a fancy yacht -- definately
But beautiful like a French cathedral ? --- I --- don't --- think ---- so.
Remember when we used to have World's Fairs ? That's where it belongs -- or maybe in the "Future World" area of Disneyland. (The Calatrava structure includes an auditorium -- and as we stood in its vast emptyness, I flash-backed to the space-travel ride in the old Disneyland -- where the seats vibrated to simulate take-off -- and the star-clustered universe was projected on the screen in front. I liked "Future World" back then - c. 1957 -- but I really preferred the Pirate Ship)
posted by chris miller at 9:20 PM
3 Comments:
Was it pleasant to stand in that space? It was surprisingly pleasant to stand at the bottom of the IM Pei's triangle at the Louvre -- but only because, i think, it afforded a nice perspective on the wings of the building above one's head. On ground level it is a disaster -- it makes looking at the courtyard of the Louvre TIRESOME -- it obstructs the view, you keep trying to look around it.
Buildings feel differently experienced from outside and inside.
This thing from outside has a forbidding and tiresome look -- it puts me on guard, as if its numerous spikes could cut my fingers if I weren't careful. But what about the inside -- what was it like to be in that space?
It was thrilling to stand beneath the great, vertical canopy -- and the galleries were pleasant to walk through.
But from the outside ? Well -- ships aren't designed to fit into their space at port -- and fortunately this one has not been docked next to a Renaissance palace.
Calatrava has built such an airy sculpture, I mean the train station in Lisbon, for the 1998-Expo.
Inspiring, it's true, and terribly windy in Winter for those who have to stay there and wait for a train !
But it's a masterpiece when you see it.
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