Saturday, July 31, 2010

Kundmanngasse 19, Vienna

A pure white house composed of cubes.

Nothing but straight lines –

No flourish, no stucco, no painted surfaces.

As he wanted himself to be.

It was all measure and proportion,

The battle to reduce life to the concrete.

Sharp-cornered windows

And sharp-cornered walls,

Unadorned, absolute,

Permitted no disturbance.

With especial attention he designed

The doorhandles and radiators

To blend exquisitely into the whole

Without disruption,to exist and no more,

Their simplicity won by immense finesse.

Every detail must annihilate itself,

A presence honed into absence.

Second looks would unsettle the stillness,

Dislodge anomalies, release ruptures,

Reveal the chaotic within the serene;

Suddenly the seamless door

Was awkward and heavy,

And the flowing flowed no more.

There could be no absolution.

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