Architecture Here and There

Illustrations: Above, artists at the Vatican on Saturday; below left, Pope Benedict upholds four pontius - oops, I meant palm - pilots in a photo from January.

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Almost all of the artists who accepted invitations showed up at the Sistine Chapel to hear Pope Benedict discuss art. As expected, Bono did not show up. Zaha Hadid showed up, as expected, and so did Daniel Libeskind, another architect who specializes in a sort of "glass half empty" worldview - that is, whose buildings seem eager to confuse you, depress you and even tear you down rather than lift you up.

The New York Times report on the meeting is here. It does not mention the Appeal to the Pope, and the pope does not seem to have had much to say that the artists could not spin as him doffing his pointed hat to them. No hint that the artists thought they might now be expected to be less dispiriting and more uplifting. But that is the New York Times. I will let readers know if I read a report of the meeting that uncovers something more unexpected. For now, disappointment reigns.

Update: Here's something a little better from a Finnish newspaper: "Through your art," said Benedict, "you yourselves are to be heralds and witnesses of hope for humanity." But he warned them to guard against "seductive but hypocritical" beauty that creates "indecency, transgression or gratuitous provocation."

 Tags  Daniel Libeskind New York Times Pope Benedict Rome Vatican Zaha Hadid

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