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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery One: Travel Abstractions -- Unlimited Thought > New Wing, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, 2007
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05-JUL-2007

New Wing, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, 2007

Architect Daniel Libeskind’s new addition to Denver’s Art Museum is an abstraction itself. Essentially a pile of geometric forms, it changes its form according to how we approach it. From this angle, the building seems cubistic – particularly after sunset, when most of its beige titanium panels turn blue, while other panels are illuminated in gold.

I worked on this image for some time, changing my vantage point repeatedly until these three forms suddenly “locked” into each other. The image evokes the human values of power, balance, energy, and mystery, all at once. You can see another version of the same concept, made just ten minutes earlier, in my “Buildings” gallery at http://www.pbase.com/image/82040647.

Leica D-Lux 3
1/13s f/4.9 at 25.2mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time05-Jul-2007 19:37:32
MakeLeica
ModelD-LUX 3
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length25.2 mm
Exposure Time1/13 sec
Aperturef/4.9
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis26-Apr-2018 17:25
Thanks, Merri. Because of your comment, you have given me a chance to go back in time and revisit this image again. I see it now as more than a powerful geometric statement about man's ability to create art by designing a building to display art within it. I see it today as a statement on how nature itself can enhance the work of human beings and thereby add to its meaning. Yes, this image is still a powerful play on geometry as art, but that golden glow on the facade speaks of our partnership with nature itself. The eye goes to the gold of the sun and the deep blue sky surrounding that part of the image, validating the powerful presence of nature within the work of mankind.
Merri 25-Apr-2018 05:53
The geometry in this photo is so powerful, yet (as Cyndy commented) the lines are soft like a quilt. You almost want to reach out and touch it. The golden triangle could evoke the sun on its way coming or going (twilight as indicated).
Phil Douglis04-Feb-2009 21:44
I am glad that this image's abstract qualities made you look for things that might be hidden here, Shawn. It is cubistic, and as such, uses geometry to express integration, power, balance, and beauty.
Guest 04-Feb-2009 20:11
I am always drawn to this type of image but can not tell you exactly why. I would assume it to be the interesting perspective but maybe it is that "Picaso" freestyle that makes me look for something hidden or in some cases right under my nose. The different facets add a bit of depth to the image.
Phil Douglis19-Jun-2008 18:10
Thanks, Evaristo, for your comment. You mention all of the elements that express the great beauty of Libeskind's concept. It boils down to the play of light and color on its soaring geometric design. I added the frame and the angle of view, and let nature and the architect's vision do the rest.
Evaristo Buendia Carrera19-Jun-2008 02:12
I would like to see more of this architectural design. This picture is totally beautiful, the clouds and tiny lights, the patterns of two different building, the golden light emerged from inside creating strong triangle and giving geometric equilibrium of the forms and colors. I like so much your angle and selected time when was shot.V
Phil Douglis10-May-2008 05:53
Thanks, Iris. Your Disney Hall work (http://www.pbase.com/irislm/disney_hall ) is very expressive because you built your images around those strikingly abstract surface reflections. On the other hand, I have built this image entirely upon the form, shape, light, and color created by the twilight conditions. So while our architectural subjects may be similar, the methods we use to express the beauty and meaning of them are quite different. If you went back to the Disney Hall at twilight, you would see that difference, and I am sure make the most of it.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)09-May-2008 23:32
I remember struggling with the abstractions of geometry in the 9th grade. Here, you bring a beauty to that struggle!! The geometric forms remind me of Los Angeles' Disney Hall. I have a gallery dedicated to Disney Hall, but seeing your images of the Denver Art Museum makes me want to return and reshoot. So, what else is new????
Phil Douglis12-Feb-2008 18:58
Your eloquent words define the role of color here beautifully, Suzy. The structure is intended to be a work of art in itself. Earlier art museums were often designed as classical palaces to enhance the perception of art as value. However newer art museums are almost always seen as more than mere containers for art -- they help bring the art within to life as well as adding a work of art to the skyline of a city.
Suzy Walker-Toye12-Feb-2008 09:48
I think the colour of this image plays a major role. The cool blue gives a cold steely look to the sharp edges of yet another angular modern building, but the gold lends a softer side, the belly of the beast as it were, I see what Cyndy means by soft like a quilt.

I’ve not seen it in person but I googled it and there’s a few pictures on the web that show it with in relation to the buildings around it. The forms truly mark it as a place where art lives. Great abstract of a handsome building.
Phil Douglis24-Aug-2007 05:03
Soft like a quilt -- beautifully described, Cyndy. That touch of gold on the textured titanium panel is what gives this image its sense of softness. As for the detail in the shadow, it is simply a matter of exposure. We are shooting at twilight, the time of day when the shadows are soft, not harsh. If you check my recent Grand Canyon image, also shot at twilight, you will also see wonderful detail in the shadows. (http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/83717338 )
Guest 23-Aug-2007 22:18
What an awesome abstract! The added touch of the gold gives it an aura of magic. How did you keep such wonderful details in the shadows? The lines are well-defined, yet soft like a quilt.
Phil Douglis04-Aug-2007 17:39
Beautifully siad, Patricia. It is the golden glow within this structure that conveys the most symbolic meaning here. And how we choose to interpet that glow is up to each of us. I love your interpretation. Thank you.
Patricia Lay-Dorsey04-Aug-2007 06:57
I experience the infolding not simply of a beautiful building, but of ideas about the questions we all ask of life. The innermost fold contains the light which, in my view, always comes from within not without. It arouses the awareness that age has granted me: satisfaction comes not in the answer but in the asking.
Phil Douglis11-Jul-2007 18:29
Thanks, Mo -- harmony is a pleasing and consistent whole. In this case, harmony means a series of massive geometric forms that agree with each other. Everything fits here. We value the sum of all the parts.
monique jansen11-Jul-2007 14:21
Simply wonderful and harmonious.
Phil Douglis11-Jul-2007 05:25
You do great service to this image and to its viewers with this comment, Jenene. Although I have greatly simplified this complex structure by abstracting it to this degree, I've tried to express a sense of uplifting energy in its structure and changing colors. Thanks for noting it so beautifully.
JSWaters11-Jul-2007 03:24
How accurately you describe these forms as locked into each other. The symbiotic relationship between them allows them to rise towards the clouded heavens in praise of the power and energy they contain in their pure form. The blue color moves from dark to light including every shade in between and then is punctuated by the compliment of gold that reminds us of the hand of man.
Jenene
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