A Thing So Rucked in the Vernacular ... Such an Epic Quality

April 12, 2016 2:27 PM

The wayward greatness of the towers — resolutely local and eccentrically universal — and the scale of Rodia’s achievement were attested to by admirers such as Buckminster Fuller and Jacob Bronowski. Whether or not Rodia created a work of art is another question. Or at least the question “Is it a work of art?” brings with it another: what kind of work of art might it be? Geoff Dyer visits the Watts Towers for Harper's

Related: Thomas Pynchon's A Journey Into the Mind of Watts (1966)
Wikipedia on the Watts Towers
The Watts Towers website: "I build the tower people like, everybody come."

Watts Towers previously

posted by chavenet (5 comments total)

If only I were a subscriber to Harper's, I could read more than two paragraphs.
posted by y2karl at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2016

FWIW I could read the whole thing - maybe there's a limit of articles/month?

There's a lot to that article - I don't have time to think too much about it, but I'm really interested in the question of why are we driven to do the things we do, especially life-long tasks like the towers.

Also, there is some interplay between this and the recent FPP on losing motivation.
posted by ianhattwick at 3:15 PM on April 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've always found the towers fascinating and compelling. They're sort of the ultimate piece of folk art, and very beautiful in their own way. Damned shame about the fence, though. It really does diminish the towers, cutting them off at the knees visually.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:16 PM on April 12, 2016

My notice told me that I had read my one free article for the month. Which seems a tad short sighted on Harpers part. And it is sad, as the concept of the post has merit.
posted by y2karl at 4:52 AM on April 13, 2016

Drone footage of the Watts Towers
posted by Rash at 10:47 PM on April 14, 2016