In a desparate attempt to educate us engineers about art, it seems that some framed pieces of colored glass or plastic have popped up along the sidewalk outside of Cupples II, just East of the library.
To show my ignorance of the subject of art, I'll try to guess what it is about this display that is art.
- Perhaps the color of the glass or plastic is the artistic element. The colors aren't bad, and maybe their saturation, hue, or chromosity is the artistic element on display. Or maybe it's the way the colors are arranged---their juxtaposition or order.
- I don't think it's the wooden supports or holders. These I did examine in some detail, having worked some with wood myself. The joinery is very sloppy, involving ugly screws. There was no craft in fastening the pieces of wood together, and the wood itself is not particularly nice. It looks like construction-grade lumber that has already started to yield to the elements.
- I tried to find some meaning to the assorted sizes of the display, or their various shapes (rectangular). I didn't come up with anything particularly meaningful.
So after spending some time looking over this display, my conclusion was that it inappropriately hid the nice shrubs and plantings behind it. Perhaps the message of this art is to help us appreciate nature and shun that which tries to obscure our view of nature.
Funny, because Chris and I were discussing that same piece of "art" earlier today. I've often wondered what its purpose was, but since I rarely travel to the other (south) side of campus nowadays, I've always been too lazy to walk those extra 20 feet outside Cupples and examine what the sign next to the "art" had to say for itself.
Now, however, I no longer feel the need to, since I'm pretty sure your interpretation is a lot more understandable to us CS folk than whatever's written on that sign anyway.
Posted by: Lucas at May 9, 2003 12:21 AM