The Great Temple of Fallen Civilization
2009, Charcoal, ink, tape and climbing holds on wall, 40 x 17 feet
Permanent Installation at Warehouse 21, Railyard Art District, Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Great Temple of Fallen Civilization observes the urban structures of the 20th Century from a distant future gazing back at our moment in time. This drawing questions the validity of skyscraper architecture and the impetus for the ever-growing density and rigidity of the contemporary built environment. The work also questions the prevalence of this form of architecture in the deployment of future systems. I imagine a world of densely layered urban dwellings. Skyscrapers and labyrinths of tunnels fill this vision. This world is disconnected from nature and unaware of its ambient environment. Humans are stacked in layers, living atop one another in soaring structures. The aggregate map of their psychology is manifested in the form of their city... and then I imagine it destroyed.
