Read, Write, Think, Dream of La Jolla

Read/Write/Think/Dream -Baldessari

Entrances to buildings have been an important and central part of architectural and artistic design for what seems like eternity. It is the first thing someone will see upon entering and the last thing as they leave. It is a portal, a transition from one space to the next. John Baldessari understood the conceptual and visual impact of an entrance and employed his style and vision into the main entrance to Geisel Library at UCSD in La Jolla. Baldessari used students as the focal point in this piece, entitled “Read/Write/Think/Dream.”

Primary-colored automatic doors are flanked by ten-foot tall portraits of UCSD students. Erect like pillars, they stand on bases of shelved classic books. As the doors to the library open, the primary colors blend, turning green and orange. It is a transition of color as well as space. Above the doors the paneled glass reads: READ, WRITE, THINK, DREAM. It is Baldessari’s reminder to the students that the library itself is a gateway to higher thinking, understanding, and imagination.

Baldessari used the foyer in his designs as well. Glass panels featuring seated students are directly opposite the automatic doors. To the left are giant writing utensils of various colors ordered in a rainbow. Through a second set of doors with Southern California palm trees is a photomural of the beach, which is clearly a nod to the beauty of the La Jolla coastline.

Baldessari uses color, image, and text to bring together the complexity of the Geisel Library: the students and books that inhabit the building, the concept of the library and university, and the stunning location of the school itself. Once you have seen Baldessari’s “Read/Write/Think/Dream” visit Thumbprint Gallery, on Kline Street in La Jolla, to see more art by local la jolla artists. The gallery is open 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Source:

http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/artists/baldessari.shtml