The fountain is definitely impressive though I am not sure I would call it beautiful. A bit like the Sistine Chapel. Completely OTT but no doubt you can spend ages looking and get drawn in.
The fountain is definitely impressive though I am not sure I would call it beautiful. A bit like the Sistine Chapel. Completely OTT but no doubt you can spend ages looking and get drawn in.
How about the city pay for it to be removed and dumped in the front yard of this "critic".
Compared to the dreadful architecture surrounding Apple's proposal, the city should be begging Apple to move ahead post haste.
The city is ecstatic with the building. The only whiners are people showing how awesomely hip they are by being contrarian. I guess their preference for a generic mall-tastic Levi building and awkwardly placed fountain is supposed to cow everyone else into protesting for the status quo.
Dude, that fountain is repellent. In the picture, it looks like a giant picked his nose and threw down a giant booger. Of course, sculpture cannot really be appreciated without actually seeing it in person, so it may be quite a sensitive and moving moment to behold it.
I walk by this sculpture all the time in Union Square. It's in a area that no one really walks by, it's in the shadows most of the time, and that particular corner is not a place I'd want to be hanging around in for too long due to its attraction for vagrants.
Now I'm not going to be an art critic as it is in the eye of the beholder, and I'm a big fan of art. While the fountain may not be my favorite, it will be better appreciated somewhere else. That one corner could really be revitalized with an Apple store. The Levi's store there is an eyesore as far as I'm concerned.
Criticism seems worthy - though I don't know first hand what it would look like in the proposed area. Personally, I'm feeling that Apple's once great designs are a getting a bit dated and yes, OMG, mall-ishly standard and spare.
I kindly disagree. I think they are great-looking stores that Apple obviously puts a lot of thought into. I like the heavy use of glass. It's open, welcoming, and does not feel confined. The current Apple Store on Stockton does feel that way, especially when there are large crowds of customers simply because the 2nd floor is all enclosed. They are keeping their stores elegant, yet making the necessary updates/changes that keeps their appeal and fresh.
The more natural light that can be brought in, the better.
Also, people calling that fountain "ugly" don't have a clue and shouldn't be commenting on design/art issues at all.
remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one person's art is another person's trash.. so art by its mere existence is open to interpretation and everyone is allowed their opinion on it.
remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one person's art is another person's trash.. so art by its mere existence is open to interpretation and everyone is allowed their opinion on it.
I agree with one thing, that exterior wall is very stark and forbidding and could benefit from some (tasteful) livening up.
Perhaps wallpaper should be applied? "Livening up" is a poor approach to design that is conveyed to often by people on a committee. Sometimes a municipality will hire a "great" architecture firm and get mediocre results because of this concept.
I must admit it does look like box from that rendering and one side is a plain wall. I means it isn't as ugly as the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park which imho is an ugly monstrosity but its pretty close!
Where was John King when the awful, Cold War multi-floor buildings that frame Apple's Anymall USA structure were built? Compared to the surrounding buildings, Apple's store is a gem. Apple is fun to critique because...well...Apple.
Apple's stores are iconic in their own way and the company has a right to re-enforce their brand through their stores' architecture. Foster Partners' founder has a knighthood and a Pritzker; John King has a pulpit. About the only thing I agree with - and this hasn't even been confirmed or denied by Apple - is the removal of the fountain.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by paxman
The fountain is definitely impressive though I am not sure I would call it beautiful. A bit like the Sistine Chapel. Completely OTT but no doubt you can spend ages looking and get drawn in.
How about the city pay for it to be removed and dumped in the front yard of this "critic".
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee
Not to mention the "boxy" high-rise buildings all around the "proposed" Apple Store.
No kidding. Where was this guy when they built the building that's already there? The other ones on that same block are just big slabs of stone.
Oh right... it's an Apple Store. It's automatic click-bait for this critic's column.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
Compared to the dreadful architecture surrounding Apple's proposal, the city should be begging Apple to move ahead post haste.
The city is ecstatic with the building. The only whiners are people showing how awesomely hip they are by being contrarian. I guess their preference for a generic mall-tastic Levi building and awkwardly placed fountain is supposed to cow everyone else into protesting for the status quo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
Compared to the dreadful architecture surrounding Apple's proposal, the city should be begging Apple to move ahead post haste.
Quite. It is very cool with that cantilevered impossibly thin looking 'shelf'. Equal parts Rogers & Ive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogCowabunga
Dude, that fountain is repellent. In the picture, it looks like a giant picked his nose and threw down a giant booger. Of course, sculpture cannot really be appreciated without actually seeing it in person, so it may be quite a sensitive and moving moment to behold it.
I walk by this sculpture all the time in Union Square. It's in a area that no one really walks by, it's in the shadows most of the time, and that particular corner is not a place I'd want to be hanging around in for too long due to its attraction for vagrants.
Now I'm not going to be an art critic as it is in the eye of the beholder, and I'm a big fan of art. While the fountain may not be my favorite, it will be better appreciated somewhere else. That one corner could really be revitalized with an Apple store. The Levi's store there is an eyesore as far as I'm concerned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
How about the city pay for it to be removed and dumped in the front yard of this "critic".
Childish but very funny
Quote:
Originally Posted by danyak
Criticism seems worthy - though I don't know first hand what it would look like in the proposed area. Personally, I'm feeling that Apple's once great designs are a getting a bit dated and yes, OMG, mall-ishly standard and spare.
I kindly disagree. I think they are great-looking stores that Apple obviously puts a lot of thought into. I like the heavy use of glass. It's open, welcoming, and does not feel confined. The current Apple Store on Stockton does feel that way, especially when there are large crowds of customers simply because the 2nd floor is all enclosed. They are keeping their stores elegant, yet making the necessary updates/changes that keeps their appeal and fresh.
The more natural light that can be brought in, the better.
I agree with one thing, that exterior wall is very stark and forbidding and could benefit from some (tasteful) livening up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
He ain't wrong. He makes some valid points.
Also, people calling that fountain "ugly" don't have a clue and shouldn't be commenting on design/art issues at all.
remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one person's art is another person's trash.. so art by its mere existence is open to interpretation and everyone is allowed their opinion on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Applelunatic
You sound extremely butthurt over other people's opinions.
That may well be one of the worst puns/jokes ever posted here. Somehow, I have a feeling that even you didn't laugh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maestro64
remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one person's art is another person's trash.. so art by its mere existence is open to interpretation and everyone is allowed their opinion on it.
The dark side of democracy ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crowley
I agree with one thing, that exterior wall is very stark and forbidding and could benefit from some (tasteful) livening up.
Perhaps wallpaper should be applied? "Livening up" is a poor approach to design that is conveyed to often by people on a committee. Sometimes a municipality will hire a "great" architecture firm and get mediocre results because of this concept.
It's dull and unattractive from the side, that's the point.
I too was looking for the controversy but not a critique by one person. Perhaps in AI's world one critique is a controversy and many is a disaster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wurm5150
Criticism of one person (so far) is controversy?
Seriously! I was expecting a local resident protest or some kind of public debate.
Apple's stores are iconic in their own way and the company has a right to re-enforce their brand through their stores' architecture. Foster Partners' founder has a knighthood and a Pritzker; John King has a pulpit. About the only thing I agree with - and this hasn't even been confirmed or denied by Apple - is the removal of the fountain.