A Japanese Paperweight as a Token of Freedom? Give Me A Break!...

Freedom Tower

Nicolai Ouroussoff’s article in the New York Times on the revised Freedom Tower was right on the money.

What started out as a beautiful and graceful solution, through pressure by the governor and other concerned officials, has morphed into what appears a safe Japanese paperweight that is reminiscent of the fifties tourist “schlock” that used to fill the store windows on Broadway.

In playing it safe, we seem to have lost our moorings to what constitutes good aesthetics and design. Instead, we have substituted something that more closely personifies our fear and our anxiety. This is not the message that New York wants to send especially in a world that recognizes the difference between what constitutes a good solution and expediency...and design by commitee.. If we are going to promulgate a solution, let us not only strive for bigness, let’s go for excellence. We are capable of doing better.

And in a redesign, we should underline that we are not going to be cowed by anyone and that when we poke a finger into the skyline, it’s going to be because we have the courage, the conviction, and the aesthetic to make a difference that will resonate over time and reinforce our rightful place in the world of preeminent design; that we have forged a new beginning but by the same token, we have not forgot what happened here...

And let us not forget what we do with Freedom Tower not only speaks of New York but the entire country.



Les Aaron