Infinite urban landscapes : a journey through Cambridge, Massachusetts

Abstract

This study explores how the forms of urban landscapes influence and reflect physical and metaphorical journeys through a city. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the artist and researcher investigates the diverse landscapes of her native Cambridge, Massachusetts: from her own backyard to the Minuteman Bikeway. Places such as public parks once felt physically infinite and natural in childhood, but are revealed as man-made and enclosed by the inorganic frameworks of the city. The level of fragmentation in landscapes experienced increases along the timeline of life, reflecting increased pace and complexity further away from home. These energetic forms lead to city exits such as highways, where one-point perspective reintroduces the notion of infinity. Methods of research include site studies, a literature review, and the development of a form generation process leading to the production of an exhibition of paintings. While at first glance some of the featured landscapes appear natural, their artificiality is revealed by the geometries of elements such as fences, pavement, and bridges. The compositions were developed iteratively using digital photography and tracing to find the most dynamic forms and rhythms. Site photos were deconstructed literally into two different layers: inorganic and organic. The final paintings subtract the inorganic layers from the organic layers, resulting in a distinctly modern, urban aesthetic.