Metropolitan landscapes #1, 2002

Christian Culver  

Today we see art and architecture of the past as nobody saw it before, we perceive it in a different way. All of us see hundreds of images everyday in the cities in which we live. In no other form of society in history has there been such a concentration of images, such a density of visual messages. One may remember or forget these messages, but briefly one takes them in, and for a moment they stimulate the imagination by way of either memory or expectation. 

The image belongs to the moment. They never speak of the present, but often refer to the past and always speak of the future. We are so accustomed to being addressed by these images that we scarcely notice their total impact. A person may notice a particular image or piece of information because it corresponds to some particular interest they may have. The fact that these images belong to the moment, but speak of the future, produces a strange effect, which has become so familiar that we scarcely notice it. Usually we pass the image - walking, traveling, or on the TV screen, somewhat different but even then we are theoretically the active agent - we can look away, turn down the volume. Yet despite this, one has the impression that images are continually passing. 

What does this way of seeing mean for architecture and objects in general? Do we still consider the subjective aspect rather than the objective? Is architecture continuously being reduced to simply an image or object? Do we still 'see?' 

My work combines shape, color, form, and architectural 'citygraphs'. The work literally translates a physical reality into a two-dimensional 'constructed map'. A map as a vehicle for a phenomenological way of 'seeing.' 

The coalescence of various ideas, experiences, colors, images, feelings and constructed environments is how our imaginations provide us happiness and, in two dimensions, blend the experience of the 'art' of Art and Architecture." 

"The contemporary Metropolis, I believe, is a series of fragmented 'instances' that, when rarely visualized as a whole, become a series of blurred locales referenced only by shape, color and image. A Metropolis is a navigational landscape, a series of adventures for the engaged. My art, I hope, is the two-dimensional journey of such a landscape. It is a completely unique journey for each individual - always taking on new meanings."

Education:

Masters of Architecture

Awards & Distinctions:

International Nagoya Design Competition, Silver Prize, Nagoya, Japan, 2000

Exhibitions:

International Nagoya Design Competition, Silver Prize, Nagoya, Japan, 2000 
Gallery Sklo, Atlanta, GA, 2003 
Mercer University Brown Art Gallery, 2006 
Raymond Lawrence Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 1999 
Carnegie Art Museum, Buffalo, NY 1998 
Allentown Arts Festival, Buffalo, NY, 1998 

Published 
American Lifestyle Magazine 2014
Review : Atlanta Journal of Constitution 
Atlanta Business Chronicle 2001 
Studio Notes 1999 
Bluemilk Magazine 1999 
Creative Eyes 1998 
Architectural Record Magazine 
Delta 2004 Vinum Brochure - Delta's onboard wine Brochure