David Urquhart

Restaurant (rear view)

I don’t know that I’d want to eat here, but if I ever feel the need to lurk in an alley behind a restaurant, this is the restaurant and the alley I’d pick. This is surely the most lurk-worthy alleyway I’ve seen in some time, and that is surely the most lovely semi-demolished restaurant window ever. Surely, surely, the burglars, sneaks and vandals who shattered those window panes would want to sign their names to it. This is vernacular art.

Piet Mondrian would enjoy lurking in this alleyway. He once said, “I construct lines and color combinations on a flat surface, in order to express general beauty with the utmost awareness.” If given the opportunity, I’m sure the burglars and vandals would tell their parole officers the same thing.

The emotion of beauty,” Mondrian said, “is always hindered by the appearance of an object; the object must be abstracted from any figurative representation.” This window has been most thoroughly abstracted. The emotion of beauty is not hindered in any way. Through the efforts of unknown trespassers and delinquents, this window no longer fulfills the function of a window. But it does fulfill the function of art.

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