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| CENTRAL BANK OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT - ANTHONY C LEWIS NOW ACLA WORKS |
IN
DEFENSE OF ARCHITECTURE -
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| INTERIOR CENTRAL BANK - FACING NORTH |
The
Central Bank Mural Project and its Offence to the Skin of ARTDesign.
Central Bank –
Architect : Anthony C. Lewis now ACLA WORKS .www.aclaworks.com
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| THE ASSUMPTION CHURCH OF MARAVAL - ANTHONY C LEWIS - AN ICON IN CARIBBEAN ARCHITECTURE |
THIS
IS ABOUT ART; NOT ARTISTS.
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| SYBIL ATTECK (LEFT), RALPH BANEY(LEFT). TWO OF OUR FOUNDING ARTISTS; BARNEY BEING A SCULPTOR, HOW WILL HE FEEL ABOUT THIS. |
Architecture
is SculpturE, I get the same thrill watching a well designed building as I get
watching a well formed sculpture. One of my fondest memories; was outside art
school, at the corner there was a Henry Moore sculpture, we will sit on it
while we waited for the tram car. I will witness lovers, children, people interacting
with the sculpture in very intermit and personal relationship. In this way; is
the wonder of architecture, it’s our second skin, wrapping us in a warmth of
confidence from a world that can be frightening.
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| IMAGE - WWW.SKYSCRAPERCITY.COM |
As
a young man; of primary school, I walked to the Tatil Building to meet my Dad;
who worked on the 8th floor, I always looked forward to the
adventurous time to be had on entering the building. At that time Tatil
building was the tallest building in Trinidad and Tobago, it stood there a
monolith to modern Trinidad and Tobago; a stature to my father. The Tatil
Building holds a special space in my heart, my memories of my life within the
building and how it played with my imagination; as I hovered over the city,
peering into the public lives of people as they went about their savannah
lives, or their bar lives, on their way home lives, I would sit there at the
window wondering; caught in magical dreams that large buildings or mountains
give us. Maybe that why there are always someone on the Mount St. Benedict
looking over the Central Plains, pulling something, making love or just
chilling with a bredren; pulling something.
Architecture
are our modern mountains an honour to capitalism , as much as they were
designed by one; they belong to the people, belonging not to the artists; or
the purchaser; but to the space that it holds. Architecture is meant for one,
but was designed from the very beginnings for pure functionality; to spark the
magical powers of the human form. The skin of architecture has been known to
revitalize cities, favalas, ghettoes, ignite the magical power of kings,
dynasties, to shout eternal love, to bury in magnificence.
There
is the argument to make our homes or building as conduits of cosmic energy.
“Most hospitals are big square boxes. In this one, 75 per cent of the
spaces have natural daylight,” says Ms. Reite, whose firm includes an engineer
who has researched Scandinavian hospitals. “The biggest impact on people in
hospitals is the natural daylight.”
Health-care design - Hospital
uses power of architecture to promote healing
There is well being
that you get after a day of stress to be in the comfort of your home, stretch
out on the couch, with a hot cup of tea to unwind. The modern world have
understood what the tribal man knew all along, our living spaces are alive with
energy and should be designed with that in mind. With these considerations,
buildings are alive!
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| THE HENRY MOORE SCULPTURE - OUTSIDE THE ONTARIO ART GALLERY. PEOPLE INTERACTION WITH THE SCULPTURE OPENED MY EYES TO THE NOBILITY OF ART. |
“The ideal is that favelas become
new neighborhoods, with different characteristics, but with all public services
functioning," adds Bittar. "We don’t want the favela to look like the
surrounding buildings, they have their own culture and history, their own
architecture. We don’t care if houses are different, but we want them to be
healthy, habitable. We want them to have quality of life.”
The Urbanization of Rio de Janeiro's
Slums, a Model for Sustainable Development – Paula Alvarado, treehugger
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| THE PICTURE SHOWS THE MINIMALISM OF THE ARCHITECTURE, THIS SOLIDITY, TAKES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF HOW YOU WILL INTERACT WITH THE BUILDING. IT WILL TAKE ANOTHER SOLID FORM TO BLESS OR SOFTEN THIS STRUCTURE. |
Brazil, Columbia
are two spaces where we can see how architecture can revitalize space, one
other example is the Bilbao effect, with the construction of the Guggenheim
Museum in Bilbao, Spain, by architect Frank Gherry. it’s been hailed as one of the 21st century major
architectural projects, that has led to the redevelopment of the city of
Bilbao, which went through major financial challenges. The data, from Columbia,
Brazil and even Nigeria in there urban development efforts at proves that
architecture holds one of the keys to the issue of improving urban and rural lives.
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| AS YOU ENTER THE SPACE THERE IS ONE TO THE LEFT AND THEN TO YOU LEFT (BELOW PICTURE) AND A LEROY CLARKE TO THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT |
RESPECT – to the Central Bank
All this is to say that we need to have
manners for the line, breath, depth and form in the elements inherently present
within the DNA of a building. There is a formality that needed when one
attempts to interfere with this. When these formalities are not recognized or understood
you erode the magnificence of the buildings. As much as we have this love hate
relationship with NAPA, if management attempts to sticks posters onto its skin,
you will automatic see that it won’t work.
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| EVEN THE NEWLY ADDED AIRCONDITION UNITS SITS INTERESTINGLY. BUT IT STILL RUBS IT THE WRONG WAY....BUT IT DOES POINT TO THE DIRECTION OF WHAT CAN BE DONE. |
This is what has
happened at the Central Bank Building, it has been traumatized and shocked out
of its true magnificence by a project that considered their own egos rather
than empathizing with the design, form of the building they inhabit. This implores
a certain amount of arrogance and ignorance by an elite power that is unaware
of the cultural language, needed to carry us into the 21st century.
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| FACING NORTH |
The Governor of
the Central Bank, Mr. Jawal Rambaran, loves art, but has missed a great chunk
of what art means and how it should be treated, managed, cradled and nurtured.
All these things happen in dialog with other people who may know, I’m not sure
if he consulted the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects or even the
architect who designed the building.
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| HOW SWEET WILL IT BE TO SEE A SCULPTURE WRAPPING AROUND. |
“Buh for sure
someting happen for he to buss dong a project, who dem was he taking to, me ent
nah, buh dem is bald head an dey stear de man wrong boy!”Dat wha Johnny say .
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| AS I LOOK AT THE PRINT, THEN BEHIND, YOU SEE THE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, COAT OR ARMS. YOU IMEDIATELY SEE HOW THE RAISED FORM SITS ON THE SURFACE A LOT BETTER THAN THE PRINT. |
I wish the day
when I myself will gain the ability to be a little more humbled, I understand
where the arrogance comes from, as men we sit at our portal, alive with our
power and all else seems far away, even when the voices are that close to us,
we fill our internal self with the voice that we’re
doing this for the best of the child, even when the child screams, N0! I want
that other.
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| LEROY CLARKE...WHAAAAA |
THE OTHER NOTE
TO CONSIDER –
NO COMMISSIONS OF ORIGINAL ART;
since the Oval Mural
Project, there has been little commissioning of artists work; even in the
amazing spending frenzy in development projects that have been happening around
Trinidad and Tobago; there has been the mural at outside Parliament. But worse
in that scenario is the obvious absence of voice from the cultural
organizations that should be there to protects art and design legacy in
Trinidad and Tobago.
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| ART BEHIND BARS. |
Where is the
Artists Society of Trinidad and Tobago; who initiated the Oval Mural Project
and had their hands in others. The plastic revolution is an abominable after
effect of illiteracy by artists; who have willingly placed the gun nozzle to their
heads and pulled the trigger.
The valiant
artists struggle to pull canvass, sit for hours to settle brass, to carve
out wood in form, to press print, sturdy rock steady concentration to
stay alive, bread and tea sustaining hours that pass. All this
is a waste; as by the hands of artists we have been killed in this moment...what
for, a few silver coins, ah blue note; not to the artists, but to a machine, oiled by
some friend...
I HAVE HEARD ARTISTS SAY THESE HAPPENING ARE GOOD FOR ART...
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| THIS RECENT PHENOMENON OF PLASTIC ART, CAN BE TRACED BACK TO THE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO ARTISTS SOCIETY- HAVE THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT THEY HAVE DONE? WOULD THEY PUT OUT A STATEMENT ON THE PROLIFERATION OF THESE PROJECTS; WHERE ARTISTS SEEM TO BE OUT OF COMMISSION'S. |
CONTRACT
RIGHTS?
FOR ARTISTS?
OR
RIGHTS FOR
THE ARTS?
“ALL ARTISTS RESERVE ALL RIGHTS OF REPRODUCTION AND ALL COPYRIGHTS IN
THE WORK, THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN, AND ANY INCIDENTAL WORKS MADE IN THE CREATION
OF THE WORK. COPYRIGHTS NOTICE IN THE NAME OF THE ARTISTS SHALL APPEAR ON THE
WORK, AND THE ARTISTS SHALL ALSO RECEIVE AUTHORSHIP CREDIT IN THE CONNECTION
WITH THE WORK OR ANY REPRODUCTION THEREOF.”
“NON DESTRUCTION, ALTERATION AND MAINTENANCE. THE PURCHASER AGREES THAT THE
PURCHASER WILL NOT INTENTIONALLY DESTROY, DAMAGE, ALTER, MODIFY, OR
CHANGE THE WORK IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. IF ANY ALTERATION ON ANY KIND OCCURS
AFTER RECEIPT BY THE PURCHASER, WHETHER INTENTIONAL OR ACCIDENTAL AND WHETHER
DONE BY THE PURCHASER OR OTHERS, THE WORK SHALL NO LONGER BE REPRESENTED TO BE
THE WORK OF THE ARTISTS WITHOUT THE ARTISTS WRITTEN CONSENT. THE PURCHASER
AGREES TO SEE THAT THE WORK IS PROPERLY MAINTAINED.”
The last line is
important o “The purchaser
agrees to see that the work is properly maintained”
even under the artists agreement to allow their work to be part of a project
that is ill advised it is up to the institution; with their resources to seek
certain advice from the relevant expertise; to advise them of the best course
of “ maintaining”
the “proper”integrity
of their collection.
THIS IS
ABOUT THE ART WORK, NOT THE ARTISTS.
