02 March 2010

city crevasses + ephemeral beauty

Pete Dungey beautifies small portions of city streets which require attention with Pothole Gardens via Bird to the North.
Dungey's gardens reminded me of Charles Simonds' miniature architecture and landscapes. In the 1970's Simonds roamed the Lower East Side and built, brick by tiny brick, miniature imaginary civilizations in the cracks of walls of dilapidated buildings, doorsills, and along the curbstones. He eventually traveled around the world creating these installations using unfired clay... making them temporary, like their surroundings...

photos via La Barbotina

I always look forward to taking the stairs (designed by Marcel Breuer) at the Whitney Museum to peek in on one of Simonds' "Little People" dwellings.

5 comments:

  1. Glee! What a delightful way to make the necessary point.

    Those tiny buildings look hauntingly like the Canyon de Chelly cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area of the US Southwest.

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  2. 'City crevasses + ephemeral beauty'... cool phrase! Love seeing plants creep through the concrete too.

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  3. This guy makes street art with tiny figurines and trash.

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  4. Thanks, Courtnee... those 'little people' in London are darling!
    Particularly like the one in spilled milk.

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  5. Emma, the Canyon de Chelly dwellings are just incredible!
    Now on my must-see list.

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