for as long as i can remember, I've been fascinated by the work of artisans and architects of antiquity - the monumental scale, resources, and knowledge required to accomplish their visions - a collaborative effort indeed - and you better get it right, because your life was probably on the line - now that's a commitment to life and art ...
similar projects are still undertaken, but probably not with the same expectation and understanding of longevity - except museums, palaces, places of worship, and landmark government buildings [but then again, look what happened to Baghdad - and was there really any reason to ruin the libraries ?] ...
the comparison between works of history and the present deliver interesting associations: Giotto's Arena Chapel commissioned by the Scrovegni Family, the Rothko Chapel developed by the de Menils' - the obelisk and sculpture at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA ...
beyond the earthworks of Robert Smithson, i don't see anything comparable to Stonehenge in the UK - except perhaps, some of Robert Irwin's and James Turrell's work - maybe ? - and that has troubled me since i was an undergrad, especially because of our increased astronomical acuity, access to heavy equipment, materials, etc. - and the fact that the earth is still where it always was, kind of ...
but i guess the question could be raised: why bother with the expense and effort when we could G.P.S. or Google our coordinates? - because it's less reverential, spiritual, or physical ...?
Things usually get made because they're a testament to what people or a culture believes in ...
rather than wait to be commissioned, I've been working pro bono on a project in bits and pieces since 1974 - thinking that i might be able to see it come to fruition one day - I'm at the model development stage and recently encountered a few prospects i might present it to ...
it's an outside chance, but so was Sagrada Familia when Gaudi pan-handled through Barcelona to keep his ideas alive ...
as always, in service to inspiration ...
