Rationalizing Absence

[Left: Michael Arad + Peter Walker, Reflecting Absence, 2004.
Right: James Turrell, Hover, 1983.]

I believe these images speak for themselves. When a German photo agency mistakenly released new renderings of the World Trade Center memorial design yesterday, they opened a pandora’s box because the architects and planners involved did not have time to prepare their sound bites of design rationalization. I hope they will at some point acknowledge the “influence” of James Turrell, our greatest designer of spiritual spaces.