art Archives - Page 9 of 9

For All You Know

I'd humbly like to add my own voice to the growing list of those who are encouraging watershapers to seek payment not just for what you do, but also for

The way I see it, we watershapers can look at ourselves in one of two ways: as diggers of holes in the ground that hold water, or as artists working with one of the most exciting mediums on the planet. For a lot of reasons, I like the second of those options, because the first is passive - the sole goal being to contain the water - while the second gets me more deeply involved with a truly amazing and malleable material. Once we look at water the way a painter sees pigment or a sculptor views stone, we see a potential for dramatic contrasts: Water has a soothing effect, for example, yet it can be tremendously

No matter the time or place, we’ve always had a special relationship with moving water. From the ancient Egyptians who set their calendars by the seasonal flooding of the Nile to the modern tourists who line up outside Bellagio in Las Vegas to watch its water shows, there’s a fascination that can’t be denied. It’s also, says landscape architect/ pool builder Mark Holden, a past that should be explored by all contemporary watershapers.

Images in Motion

Ever since the hydraulic principles of ancient Persia were 'rediscovered' by Europeans during the Renaissance, the sky has literally been the limit for watershape designers. At the 17th-century Dutch Palace of Het Loo, for example, fountain jets that trace their developmental history at least as far back as 8th-century Persia make an emphatic statement about the power of those who commissioned them. We all marvel, and rightly so, at the waterfeatures of Renaissance Italy, the pools of Versailles in France, the fountains of the

Artful Borrowings

It has been said by the experts that all art and craft is derivative, that any form of creative expression is actually a synthesis of both the designer's vision and the application of pre-existing influences and

From the earliest urban settlements to the most modern architectural settings, watershapes have played both functional and decorative roles in expressing the values of their societies. In the first of a series of articles on the lore of aquatic design, landscape architect and pool designer Mark Holden follows an introductory path that begins in ancient Greece and ends up in modern Las Vegas.

Images in Time

As designers and builders, we might feel with every new project that we have created the most profoundly original setting in the world. In most cases, however, our most likely achievement has to do with adapting an architectural concept developed long ago, putting a modern twist on it and calling it our own. For me, in fact, the more I learn about the history of watershaping, the more I feel connected to ancient watershapers and recognize that we haven't created anything really "new" in a long time. We all know clients, for instance, who want their backyards or public spaces to look like Spanish or Italian villas, French or English formal gardens, or maybe peaceful