Goldberger on Libeskind
The New Yorker has an
annoying puff piece on Libeskind this week. There's only one, very mild jab:
The most awkward criticism of Libeskind's plans came from Eli Attia... Attia published a study suggesting that Libeskind's Wedge of Light, a plaza at Fulton Street, was based on a fraudulent principle. Libeskind had claimed that every September 11th the sun would shine on the plaza between 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit, and 10:28 a.m., when the second tower fell. But, Attia pointed out, this would be impossible, since the Millenium Hilton was in the way. When Libeskind was asked to comment on this by the Times, he rambled on about Stonehenge and the sun as a ball of fire, and said he believed his design "is about radiating light, reflecting light, the atmosphere of light. It's not about tricks of light but about how light behaves when you look at the sun in three-dimensional form." For the first time, he sounded as though he didn't know what he was talking about.
I wonder, what would Libeskind say if you asked him to make a public presentation of his portfolio? Would he wisely deny the opportunity, or would he suddenly rewrap all his nutty collages with populist nonsense? Then what would Eisenman lecture about, the original esoteric premise or the new Hollywood treatment?
* Ray, 9/12/2003 03:52:21 PM
