State Façade 1991

Curator: James Casebere's "State Façade" at the Harvard Art Museums really draws you in, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It’s stark, almost aggressively so. The severe geometry, the monochrome, it feels…oppressive. Curator: It's interesting, isn't it? He constructs these architectural models from simple materials, then photographs them. There's a fragility there that contradicts the monumentality. Editor: Precisely! The high contrast amplifies that sense of unease. The sharp lines, the looming dome—it's a theater of power, but one built on artifice. Curator: The light and shadow play are so crucial. It's like he's sculpting with light, revealing and concealing at the same time. Makes you wonder what's hidden beneath the surface. Editor: Yes, and the lack of human presence is deafening. The emptiness implies a kind of failure, a crumbling of ideals perhaps. A beautiful, unsettling vision. Curator: It's definitely left me pondering the nature of power and representation. Thanks for sharing your insights. Editor: My pleasure. It is a work that lingers, doesn't it?