TRANSCRIPT

Forking Galleries

MICHAEL LEASE: It’s here, on the second floor, where the ‘forking galleries’ spread out most dramatically in each direction. Here’s architect Steven Holl:

STEVEN HOLL: This building engages you with what I would call ‘spatial energy.’ When you move through it, you turn a corner, you have another view, so it has an animation in space.

MICHAEL LEASE: Holl’s inspiration for this forking structure came from a famous short story by the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It’s called “The Garden of Forking Paths.” Look at your screen for some images.

STEVEN HOLL: “The Garden of Forking Paths”:…it’s a story where, what forks takes place in time, not in space. All possible outcomes occur simultaneously, and that’s also related to art. Each gallery will have a… slightly different kind of light as you move up through the three that fork out, and then when you get to the top it’s a big surprise because that gallery is vertical instead of horizontal.