Florence #21: The Odeon Corner

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Here are two lamps on the same corner of a 17th century building. Each is also a sign. Each is also a classic representation of an elegant period. On the left is a lamp that's been designed as a sign. On the right is a sign thats been designed as a lamp. Each is making a cultural statement. They're quite busy both individually and together, almost a visual cacophony. As if two creative people had simultaneously brought their open palms down upon different spots on a piano's keyboard. Two creative people who had nothing other than creativity in common.

The effect is like an eye maze as it makes us run our vision around the separate ideas trying to understand why they were meant to fit against that structure. How their messages might compliment one another. How our minds can exit this puzzle with some orderly conclusion. Is there an idea at this corner? Are there two ideas? Can they mesh? Where is the harmony between the art of the 1730s and the 1930s? And why is it so damned intriguing?

Florence is like that. Forgetting its history, it's intriguing to unravel its present meaning. And to listen to its images.

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GEEK STUFF: Canon EOS 20D, 10/7/07, 11:55 AM: Lens 17-85mm, Focal Length: 66mm, Exp 1/60@f/8, ISO 400, Metering Mode: Average, Exposure bias 0, Camera RAW