I asked a colleague once why he chose architecture as a pursuit. He boldly and without hesitation confessed it was to achieve immortality — to ensure his existence would be evidenced long after his death. Although his answer startled me, after considering it, it did not seem that unreasonable. After more than 2000 years we are still fascinated by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt largely because of the pyramids — structures designed to immortalize and withstand time. Much of our building and making is in fact an attempt to impose one’s mark on the earth. I think this is why I am so fascinated by what appears to be makers taking the opposite approach. While walking through Western Washington University’s campus one wet summer morning I came upon this wonderful environmental sculpture by Robert Morris. In the middle of a grass field, steam was mysteriously rising from the ground. The sun and the wind would play with the steam like a flickering flame in slow motion before it vaporized into the atmosphere. It was mesmerizing.
I later found out that the piece was powered by the campus steam works and was on a timer set to emit steam three times a day for 30 minutes, at 8 am, noon and 5:30 pm. When the piece is not emitting steam, it appears as a simple 20’ x 20’ concrete curb filled with fist-sized rocks placed at the bottom of a slight hollow. A student, who attended Western, told me that on certain cool winter mornings when the wind is still, a thick steam will fill the hollow. Walking past it is like walking through a thick cloud. What a wonderful piece to live with — dynamic and ever-changing — not an immovable object but rather a fleeting experience. It reminds me of an ancient biblical text: “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Like all great art this piece explores a potent truth, namely that being human is beautiful due in part to our mortality. Not knowing if this particular moment might be our last makes our time more precious, full of purpose and meaning.