CONTRABAND ARCHITECTURE IN BLACK AND WHITE

Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts (familiarly known as the PAC) was completed in 1969.  It is a primary venue for a variety of performing arts presentations, including orchestral performances, opera, theater productions, etc.  The design of the building is what I would refer to as minimalist contemporary.  The exterior features many windowless, complex, marble-clad walls. Personally, I think the architecture, which has undergone only modest updating, has held up well in the 50 years since it's construction.

On a cloudless evening recently I was downtown to take a few photos of the building, taking advantage of the so-called golden hour.  One section of the building in particular caught my eye because of the way in which the evening light was creating what I thought was an interesting abstract of light and shadow.  Following are a few of the shots that I got.

I did make a couple of significant changes to the images as originally taken.  First, I converted them to black and whites.  Second, I darkened the blue of the sky, essentially turning it to black.

The light and shadow for these shots only works well in the evening when shadows are more pronounced and when the evening sun brightens the walls directly bathed in the light.  In short, these shots would not work at mid-day or on a cloudy day.  Everything just gets too "flat."

One thing I discovered was that the geometry of this particular perspective changed if I changed my position just slightly or changed the focal length of the lens, as the following two similar shots demonstrate.

Now here's the thing: As I was finishing up these shots, a security person (I presume) for the building rode up to me on a motorized cart.  He told me that I could not photograph the PAC(!)  "What?" I said.  He repeated that taking photos of the building was prohibited.  "Why?" I asked.  "The building is copyrighted," he announced.  So I turned off my camera and left.  Fortunately, I had pretty much finished up my session.  I am sure that if I had been taking pictures with, say, an iPhone, I would not have been stopped.  It was only because it was using more sophisticated equipment that security decided to ask me to leave.  Good thing I wasn't using my tripod.

Before I had been approached by the security person, I had also taken another shot from the rear of the building, using the same two modifications of black and white and of darkening the sky.

Not as interesting.

Finally, is a sculpture, also at the backside of the building, which borders the Milwaukee River.

Here I was not able to fully darken the sky.  Not a great shot; not a big deal.

John