When writing Urban Sprawl, I wanted to look at Creating the Space, drawn by Elwira Pawlikowska, in an abstract way.  My immediate reaction to the art was architecture. Yet, architecture seemed a perfectly natural idea that would come to anyone’s mind. So I turned my thoughts to big cities.

 

Busyness and everyday life in the big city is main idea I highlight in Urban Sprawl. As the piece develops, the melody and harmonic drive is constantly interrupted never arriving at a satisfactory point, at least not until the very end of each rather long phrase. I create a dialogue of interruption and relaxation. There are two main themes in the work: one is busy and fast, and the other is slow and easy. The work models the everyday work-life of the city dweller.

 

Urban Sprawl was not just created with an abstract view of the picture. In my opinion, the picture seems to indicate the building of a structure. It starts with the mathematics and foundation of the space, as apparent by the use of measurements in the picture, which slowly builds to the magnificent building that is the centerpiece of the art. The form of the work models this idea throughout. The piece starts in E, and if every subsequent section moves up, first F, then to G, and A, etc. until it returns all the way back to E. The form is circular as Elwira’s art.

 

2015 Ruth and Emil Beyer Award - 1st Prize