somewhere I have never traveled-ee cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond 

any experience, your eyes have their silence: 

in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, 

or which i cannot touch because they are too near  

your slightest look easily will unclose me 

though i have closed myself as fingers, 

you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens 

(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose  

or if your wish be to close me, i and 

my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly, 

as when the heart of this flower imagines 

the snow carefully everywhere descending;  

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals

the power of your intense fragility: whose texture 

compels me with the colour of its countries,

rendering death and forever with each breathing 

(i do not know what it is about you that closes 

and opens; only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

ee cummings

Somewhere I have never traveled

 

-       ee cummings

 

Case Van Arkel

 

Every angle, form, line, and opening in this project serves a purpose to create a space for the poem “somewhere I have never traveled”.  The poem uses key words, such as beauty, fragility, and the phrase “penetration of the heart” to create imagery. I wanted to highlight what I interpreted as a balanced communication between two parts to create a central idea. I envisioned the two parts being contrasted as thick and thin, working in unison, to in return create a symmetric whole. This can be seen with the arrangement of the two sets of walls, in a balanced, symmetric, and cohesive cube-like structure. Openings on either side of the space gives the reader an option of decision making, just as the individual decisions of the interpretation of the poem are not narrowed down to one right answer, or path. A lowered reading level, relative to the sight, lets the reader feel like they are stepping into a specific space that has a purpose, and is separate from the sight around them. Elements running along side the wall and overhanging the space represent a “looming assertiveness”, as well as signifying a specific space. The elements come from behind you and overhang you as you read, creating a feeling of  “closeness” and intimacy; also the direction of the elements encourages movement to the outer walls. The thin windows running along three walls in the project represent the idea that reading one line in the poem will not give you an understanding of what is the author is trying to portray, you must take a closer, deeper look at the slits to see the outside world, just as the reader should take a closer, deeper look at the poem to grasp a meaningful understanding. 

-I would like to thank anyone who viewed or gave feedback to my original designs and study models. I value the input greatly. The project (though not even over) has been a process to say the least. Unfortunately I think I focused too much on what "I" thought was "ashtectically pleasing" and not enough on the constructive feedback from Shane and others, for a specific direction to choose. In the end of this model design process I went with my original thoughts, combined with my understanding of the constructive feedback, to make the poetry space I wanted to portray.