Colorizing
Federal Law in
Boston
john brigham
7/28/2017
1
Introduction
The Boston
Courthouse

Law and
Semiotics

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Federal courthouse
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Law and the Image
“Great art, precisely because it
breaks away from conventions and
rules and expresses creative
freedom and imagination, is the
antithesis of law.”
Costas Douzinas and Lynda Neal
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The GSA
“As part of this courthouse project,
the General Services
Administration’s art in architecture
program asked Ellsworth Kelly to
create one of his most ambitious
public projects…Kelly’s
monumental work is meticulously
integrated with the principal walls
of the courthouse.”
The GSA
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5
Ellsworth
Kelly
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Architecture as
Early in his career Kelly interpreted
architectural forms
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As art…
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A window
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Becomes …
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Even his
community
has an
architectural
feel
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Color was another
theme
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In an architectural
sense
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This evoking a river
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Courts
and
Color?
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Usually there isn’t much
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Federal courthouse
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A Courtroom
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With crane
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Color panels
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Panels with view
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The Constitutive
Perspective
“The marriage of art and architecture
creates not only a superb cultural
landmark for the city and people of
Boston, but also an appropriately
dignified stage for the continuing
judicial life of the United States
Courts.”
The GSA
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22