Pearl Lam and Thomas Heatherwick Discuss 'The Fine Art of Architecture' in a New Episode of the Pearl Lam Podcast
LONDON, England, November 22, 2023 (Newswire.com) - In a new episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, British designer Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, argues that public art is too often a compensation for boring buildings.
The relevant clip of The Pearl Lam Podcast is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiwby0UPVQE&t=2424s
Pearl Lam says that art in public spaces is important for cultivating diverse audiences and engaging the next generation in realizing that art is a viable career option. But Heatherwick contends that when it comes to art in the public realm, artists are too often fulfilling a diminished role of producing adornments to make an otherwise too plain, too flat, too shiny setting become seemingly acceptable.
Thomas Heatherwick says:
“I’m not advocating that we shouldn’t have artworks in public places, but they shouldn’t be there because it’s a cheaper way to make people care about a place than actually designing good places and good buildings with creativity and artistic flair and culture baked in.”
Heatherwick proposes that artists should be more involved in the design of beautiful buildings and public realm rather than being happily occupied making low-risk separate interventions to detract from boring building design.
Pearl Lam believes that artists are not interested in fulfilling the role of designers by making practical and functional things; and that having artwork in the public realm does not diminish or discourage any architect from making refined and beautiful buildings and spaces.
Pearl Lam says:
“Artists don’t want to be functional and practical, but to make works that inspire you to think about social change and politics and philosophy, not for practical usage.”
Heatherwick believes there is room for both through meaningful and imaginative collaborations. He says that we need imagination in the world around us and asks why even a simple thing like a bus stop cannot be a thing that, like art, triggers feelings and emotions.
Thomas Heatherwick also says:
“Luxury modernism keeps many buildings as neutral vanilla backdrops to be adorned by the art world with imaginative brilliance independent from function. But there is a lot of room for imaginative brains to conceive spaces that can include artwork without diminishing the ability for those spaces to be freestanding and independently remarkable or beautiful.”
During the podcast episode, which is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and Amazon Music, Pearl Lam and Thomas Heatherwick also discuss his book 'Humanise,' and his mission to persuade architects and developers to create buildings that connect with our emotions.
The Pearl Lam Podcast seeks to spotlight diverse voices from the worlds of art, food, design and architecture who have followed their creative convictions and challenged convention.
The full episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiwby0UPVQE
Learn more about Pearl Lam at https://www.pearllam.com/pearl-lam
Learn more about Thomas Heatherwick at https://www.heatherwick.com
Source: The Pearl Lam Podcast
