Bow tie: a final touch or too much?
Would you add a tiara to the Mona Lisa? Would you add a bow tie to one of Van Gogh’s self-portraits? Why would you tamper with perfection (“The Hall Mark,” by Christopher Knight, July 28)? Overnight, the Walt Disney Concert Hall became a cultural landmark and icon. Adding a sculpture will detract from this precious work of art, not enhance it.
David Armendariz
Garden Grove
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With all due respect to Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, who are brilliant artists whose public and private works have always been provocatively appropriate, I have to agree with Christopher Knight, who equates the white collar and black tie sculpture now being fabricated with Carpeteria’s genie. What on earth is the point? This glorious edifice needs no augment. Indeed, this proposed artwork detracts tremendously from the building’s sculptural beauty.
Joyce Helfand
Arcadia
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For heaven’s sake! Christopher Knight should lighten up. The “Collar and Bow” sculpture is fun and we can certainly use more fun in our lives.
Karen Phipps
Thousand Oaks
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What about the other half of the population? A string of pearls delicately embracing the hall, perhaps?
Kelli Kozak
Los Angeles
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Oldenberg and Van Bruggen’s “Collar and Bow” sculpture in front of Disney Hall will give new meaning to the rose fountain out back. We can now envision that as an oversize boutonniere. However, before the excess tuxedo accessories go up, I wish Frank Gehry and friends would revisit the fountain. As engineered, the spasm of water doesn’t bubble, splash or flow. It just sits there, more or less stagnant. If we’re going to have fun with these land-of-the-giant sculptures, why not start by putting a little more life into that delightful blue porcelain rose?
Stephen Pouliot
Venice
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Writing a review of a work of art before it is completed and installed is absurd. Would Kenneth Turan review a rough cut of a film? Would Don Shirley review a rehearsal of a play? Knight reviewed a three-dimensional work of art from a low-resolution digital rendering. He has done the art world a disservice by jumping the gun.
Stu Crowner
Studio City
