----- Original Message -----
From: Howard Ray Lawrence
To: DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 12:06 PM
Subject: Facades, Masks, and Real Faces.
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I see them, but are they real? Such a question imparts a concern to avoid a perspective of niave realist. That is, are the faces seen on architecture really an expresion of the essence of their spirit, their soul? The same question could be asked about viewing the faces of flora and fauna. But then truth is present in the work of The Creator---even in false faces of persons. That is, the character of the person shines through in the face.
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There is both the reality of the face/facade and the enhancement of that face/facade by the decorative arts. However, the face/facade, at its best, should reveal the true character of the person or architecture. And, masks either cover this reality, or express an underlying concept of the masked.
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.H.
coming too late in this facelifting discussion... why not showing a face of divinity in wich many see the real truth ? and why then ?of course each religious group goes for his own image/concept/facade/presence/representation/reenactment... in wich they look for their truth. They can see them , but are they real ....>>>>>>>>>>>>>>if I see a face, any kind, human, a building (supposing such has one face when generally they have 4 facades if squared or a kind of continuous one if rounded like a lighthouse in the Nantucket area) or an object ( becoming squared if seen by a Cartier Bresson , or rounded if seen trough a boat "hublot") or a flower (where is the face of a flower or a oak tree: I suppose it's the vision of this object , like trough a train window, or trough a reference like a picture or a steamship hublot...wich defines the aspect of that face)then what is a face without someone to look at it ? does a face exist if nobody looks at it ? (does a divinity exist without someone to believe in her)is there a reason for the Protestant or Muslim refusal to show/present/ a divine face, supposed perfect ? So then are the roman catholic representations of their divinities a kind of lie ? or just a lack of abstraction, if we suppose they accept the need of an image of themselves represented as divinities (if not of those divine concepts re-presented as humans..)what do think some "primitive" tribes in the Amazon basin who never used a mirror to see their own face ?what did the people living in urban areas have in minds a century or so ago,, about architecture, before fidelity of reproduction was attained by engravings, pictures or more recently precise photography and digital media ? did they care ? or do we NOW care too much of those face/facades instead of the abstarction or reality they represent in our daily life?Could a drawing of a face becomea good, real reproduction ? and even a better one than a digital photography ? Do we need and interpretation when producing and when seeing a FACE on some art canvas or some Facades in a building...P.
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