A New Perspective

Last week for the Visiting Artist Lecture Series at SFAI, Geoff Manaugh, writer of the BLDGBLOG, spoke about issues such as animal urbanism, sound in the city and urban weather control. Geoff’s perspective on the role of architecture in our daily lives is refreshing in the sense that he is realistic, creative and energetic, about sharing ideas and building a platform through his blog site and Studio X, to initiate dialogue about otherwise overlooked topics that should be discussed in the mainstream. Recently, Geoff taught a class at Columbia University in NYC called, Glacier/Island/Storm, where the class investigated the design element of large-scale natural processes, asking questions such as, where do the structures stem from, what causes them and how do they exist over time. The class reviewed specific case studies of how man is attempting to cultivate these natural phenomena in order to reverse the effects of human civilization on our natural environment. One example that was mentioned in the article that I found interesting was how in the Himalayas they are growing glaciers in order to produce sources of freshwater for the drought seasons. Wow, how fascinating. If people are able to grow actual glaciers and create new rock formations , just imagine what future problems we can overcome. One of Geoff’s passions is fiction writing, especially the work by JD Ballard, who I have to admit, I am curious to look into, especially after another artist last week also mentioned this fictional writers influence on her work. In addition to attending this lecture, I was fortunate to have set up a studio visit with Geoff. From our conversation, I began to further realize how small the world really is in terms of our connectivity as a civilization, with the issue of architecture playing a significant role in shaping our daily lives. Our conversation inspired me to begin a mind map that illustrates the subjects that have influenced my identity as an artist and in more than one instance architecture has influenced my cultural make-up. I think Geoff Manaugh is on to something.