Santa Fe Building: Terracotta Block with Foliate Design 1904

Here’s a terracotta block with foliate design that was made for the Santa Fe Building by D.H. Burnham & Co. The block is this creamy off-white, not quite bone, and the repeating foliate design feels like it’s been built up layer by layer. I wonder, when it was made, was the terracotta soft and pliable like clay, or was it hard like a bisque? You can see the artist's hand in those gorgeous swirls and fronds and the texture – where the glaze pools and gathers is a gentle reminder of the human touch. I imagine the original artist really thinking about the way light would hit the building, and how the design would cast shadows and create a sense of depth. It’s kind of like the ceramic equivalent of an Agnes Martin painting, except outdoors, in the air. I think of other architectural ceramics and how artists are in this ongoing conversation, bouncing ideas off each other across time. This kind of work reminds us of our own embodied experience of making.