Mai jos, cateva ganduri postate pe una din listele pe care le moderez. Mi-am permis sa subliniez un paragraf care mi se pare edificator pt. situatia din Bucurestiul de astazi. Lacomia nu are culoare politica.
---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix) Aboneaza-te la <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ngo_list> ngo_list: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email? ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [ <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Hector A To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [...] Bucharest cathedral - and who to react to Few days ago, after reading John's reply on the lunarscape of Lipscani, there were some thoughts that I wanted to depth.. even more now after reading the previous mail. Right, development cannot be stopped; a city cannot remain as a museum for more beautiful it would be; nevertheless, the sole idea that progress and history collide is just a myth. Modern and old can coexist, as do masterworks of many ages, because historical cities are an accumulation of structures belonging to many different centuries; and if they have survived to us (I include myself) is mostly because they are beautiful (beyond any historical, artistic, or sociological meaning). There is place for new and contemporary structures in any city if they are done thinking that they might become the heritage of the future, otherwise is just another disposable, insincere and faux manifestation. Few days ago an issue of The Art Bulletin of the College Art Association came to my hands. I was stunned with an article that in the first lines said "Much of what has become accepted as canonical modern art was born on the eastern margins of industrialized Europe - Dadaism in Royal Romania and Constructivism in Russia". and later explains how the Dada movement just exploded in Zurich after years of gestation and growth in the Bucharest artsy circles in its bohemian cafes. I'm sure more than many (please, include me) would like to know where Tzara & friends developed what was considered mere gibberish at the very beginning but changed the way that art is appreciated until today. Maybe many of you already know it and my story is just a common place. But material in English is not that available, not beyond the academic circles. For example, if there is something that the Italian society values in an artistic work, it is the beauty and its contemplation, a concept as old as the arts, disregarding other significances that artifact would have. How many skyscrapers can be found in the centers of Milan, Turin or Madrid. one?, two as much.. and these cities have one of the most expensive price of land among Europe, the pressure from developers is soaring. But beauty is not a value for realtor or a city counselor, it cannot be measured in profit, it is not a variable of the bill of quantities anymore... (unless you make business with culture, but this is the next step). Like in the Little Prince. ".If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!" Interventions need to be done regarding the importance of the place, from landmarks listed and protected by law, like the ethereal Cretulescu Church (which deserves an improved environment) where nobody would dare to replace a sole brick or anything that would modify its enjoyment; to the lesser where the monumental environment is what counts, rather than the houses by themselves, as it happens in Lipscani, I believe. (The Novotel might be other example, but more flamboyant, interesting and a bit odd). I understand that among Bucharesters the destruction suffered in the raise of the Parliament is a wound hard to heal; fortunately, now the little sores that little caudillos, satraps and their entourage try to impose in the aim to build their own pedestals, can be stopped. It is a pity that the city authorities, in the arrogance of leaving their signature, interpret carelessly what a city really means, overpassing city plans, common sense and public memory that are not below the urban economy. American cities, always proud of their efficacy and revenue, always complain that they have wiped out and spoiled their heritage, hence history. Now, the so-called heritage walks are just itineraries of brass commemorative plaques. And they dare to charge 15$.... Nobody wants one for the poor Cathedral. Final thoughts ..The one who is buying the granite slates knows what they're worth . "the risk of the tower collapsing and crushing its neighbor is real." the stability of a skyscraper falls on the seismic or structural code in which it was designed. . If there is an earthquake strong enough to turn down a properly done modern skyscraper, 8 - 8.5+ Richter Magnitude (which is a lot), at that precise moment, the cathedral will be already a rubble-pile. ..The real threat is that the soil underneath the Cathedral has been weakened by the constructions' vibrations. besides the damage in the cityscape (it is disgusting, I saw a pic in the www) Hector
