Wings of Progress
In June of 2011 there was a post in the now defunct ONEOWNER blog with this photo of the Times Square building in Rochester, NY. Completed in 1930, the top of the building has a tower with a massive structure known as the “Wings of Progress”. It’s one of the few landmarks in an otherwise nondescript landscape. Some believe the Wings are Orgone Accumulators or “features common to art deco, raygun gothic and other modernist buildings”. I shot the photo while working on an assignment at the Rochester Convention Center, which has a terrace over the Genesee River. This is probably the best view of the structure.
Almost a year after the photo was posted I received an email from a New York book publisher expressing an interest in reproducing it in a book about Wendell Castle, who is “…one of the most important, influential and celebrated designers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries”. I believe the original request came from the author, Alastair Gordon. I have been a fan of Wendell Castle for years and was honored to be a part of the book. I had also read other books by the author and knew this was going to be well done. I provided the publisher with a written consent and a high res file for reproduction. Last week I received a complimentary copy of the book and was shocked to see the photo was a full page reproduction in the 10″ x 12″ book. I don’t have a coffee table but now I may need to get one. You can get a copy of the book here. It’s a great read and full of excellent photos of Mr. Castle’s amazing work.
2clicksaway 