-Skyscraper c. 1900s

This cast iron "Skyscraper" was made by the A.C. Williams Company, sometime in the early twentieth century. Just imagine the artist in the factory, day after day, making these metal sculptures of buildings with repetitive windows. Do you think they started seeing the world in a grid? I mean, look at all those little rectangles! It’s got this silvery, almost ghostly vibe, like a building from a dream. And the texture! You can almost feel the rough metal under your fingertips, the weight of it in your hand. The top is really something. Those little gold domes look kind of ancient, sitting on top of this modern building. It's like the artist was playing with time, mixing old and new. Makes me think about Piranesi’s etchings of imaginary prisons, but also a little like the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico – these strange, empty cityscapes. Artists are always in conversation with each other, you know? Even across time and different mediums. It’s all about seeing the world in a new way, and then showing it to everyone else.