I suppose it depends on how great the architect was. I think that Beethoven's music is pretty immortal, but that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be busts made of him. Its probably a great thing that your sculptor friend has decided to give some recognition to architects.

i think it would depend on the persona of an architect. all of us are different.
Some want the limelight to shine upon them all the time, some want to just fade away into the shadows of their buildings and its environment.

So, in order to make it as revelant as possible, I would say that your friend should first find out what the architect was like in real life.

Sameoldoctor:

Some of the greatest genuises of all time were the most introverted. Notably Einstein and Darwin, but they deserve to be commended due to their amazing contribution to society.

who was the architect and where will the bust be placed? did the architect have a great impact on the place? i don't find it redundant. most ppl don't even know the names of great architects much less their buildings.

i was at a party on saturday. we played this game where each person had to write down the names of 10 famous people that at least 3 people in the room knew. all names were on separate pieces of paper and thrown into a bag. teams were formed. and one member of a team drew a name and offered clues to what the name was while the rest of his/her team members had to guess the name. i wrote frank gehry on a piece of paper thinking someone would be a able to guess it. no one did.

a bust of beethoven is one thing as he is working in a different medium, but this architect, Adolf Cluss , was making a lot of public and institutional buildings, which stand for him , to a certain extent... though obviously they aren't the same as a commemorative sculpture of him.
I wonder , would it be wierd to have a commemorative sculpture of a sculptor? - it would be funny to have a beaux-arts official bust of claus oldenburg !

Artists use themselves as models all the time. Rodin did busts of himself. But they aren't commemorative.

Why is the sculpture commemorative?

this guy needs a bust cuz i never heard of him

e, that game is called celebrity. Several years ago, I was playing and someone wrote down Mies and I was able to guess it pretty quickly. That same night, someone else wrote down Noam Chomsky and others were able to guess him, too...

Both Mies and Chomsky should have busts made of them.

I think it great depends on the architect

someone like say mies or flw affected architectural movements whilst others like Oscar Niemeyer was affecting change in their communities.

Granted that said I believe if this were a different era there would be a bust of frank gehry as you entered california (but if this were a different era there would be no frank gehry..hmm)

well, buildings from a specific time period [i'd say late 19th to early 20th century] in america used to have a plaque with the architect, builder and date. it usually sits in some inconspicous [sp?] corner of the facade. i think this was a good practice... you make it, you sign it. people will know who did it, and the architect's role gets increasing recognition.

Noam chomsky is either an idiot or I am a super genuius. Chomsky's entire argument is based on a couple faulty tennets:

1. The outdated notion that wealth is fixed and finite, and that wealth can only be of the material kind, rather than intellectual. Marx was one of the first to suggest this; however, the Frankfurt school personally hand delivered these ideas to American universities in the mid 20th century.

2. In order for a state to gain resources it must either develop them internally or expoloit others to get them.


This is the basis of all of Chomskys non lanuage philisophy.