From Taeho Paik,
July 31, 2000
Dear Poliphilo,
In the beginning of the book where I read about
you, you are filled with longing for the love of the amazing
Polia. As your pining finally turns to sleep your passions
are revealed to you through a dream. You are taken on a
journey of discovery filled with sumptuous images of
antiquity and mythical characters which you regard with deep
awe and appreciation of their immense beauty.
A modern pop song asks,
"What's love got to do with it?" Well. in your case, a lot,
it would seem. As a presentiment to creation, love
seems to be not only the favourite theme but the very
inspiration for much of popular art through the
ages.
We would all like the cities where we
live, to be beautiful. We would want them to be places where
romance as a condition of existence is a tangible
possibility; where love and sensuality inspires the finest (as in
Seville) rather than the basest instincts; where the search and
aspirations of artists might return us to a path towards
civilization. If these were our wishes, to whom should
we entrust the task of building such places? A
poet-developer? He would be a rare beast indeed.
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