Railway Exchange Building: Blocks with Repeated Meander Pattern c. 1903 - 1982

These blocks with a repeated meander pattern were made for the Railway Exchange Building by D.H. Burnham & Co. There’s something mesmerizing about the crisp geometry of the meander pattern, like a maze inviting your eye to wander. Notice the creamy, off-white color; it's not quite pristine, hinting at age and history. The surface texture is smooth, but you can see subtle variations in the paint, little imperfections that reveal the hand of the maker. I keep thinking about process when I look at these kinds of objects, the work of making a repeated motif, the planning and doing. And those little squares at the bottom! Like pixels in an early video game, grounding the whole design. There's a satisfying solidity to them, like they could hold up anything. It's really amazing what a bit of geometry can do, right? You can see the influence of classical motifs in the work of someone like Agnes Martin, who often used strict geometry to try and reach something transcendent.