Tuesday, 16 October 2018
the temple
A small neo-classical building on the Falklands's estate, known as The Temple of Decision, has long been in ruins. The question was, what to do with it, to demolish or restore. A simple inscription on a stone, "Perspective is the temple of decision", restores the building to its function.
The classical reference is maintained in the ruinous state of the building, suggesting some ancient site. The inscribed stone also acts as a bench: anyone who sits on the stone will have a broad perspective out over the landscape.
The same text was installed in a splendid meeting room in Falkland Palace, but here the context changes the content. Rather than an invitation to solitary meditation, the concern now is with reaching a consensus, with rising above the individual point of view.
Thomas A Clark, Falkland Estate, Fife 2018
letters cut by Robert Haas