The Modern Blog

Permanent Collection: Winter and “Groundspeed”

December 18, 2009 on 10:11 am | In On the Walls, Within the Walls | No Comments | Andrea D.

For some reason, I always seem to associate Rosemary Laing’s Groundspeed (Red Piazza) Number 2 with this time of the year.

I think it has something to do with the fact that the carpet—because yes, that is carpet—on the forest floor looks like autumn leaves collecting on the ground, despite the bright green foliage the surrounds it. And that trompe-l’œil in itself is a testament to Laing’s skill: one of her talents is the ability to seamlessly merge different environments together. Besides doing a perfect job of grafting European-inspired carpet onto an otherwise untamed Australian wilderness, Groundspeed is also a flawless blend of the great outdoors and interior space, the outside and the inside combined.

This time of the year also creates a unique tension between the indoors and the out. Winter in Texas is something that you have to feel in order to recognize its presence, since seventy-degree weather, even in late November, is completely normal here. It’s the time spent outdoors that gives it away: that bite in the wind, or the evening chill when the sun starts setting earlier.

However, I think a lot of us also associate winter with being indoors during the holidays: crowding around a turkey in somebody’s dining room with friends and family, or huddled near a blazing fireplace with a football game on TV. The rich red and gold of the carpet bring to mind a sense of warmth and togetherness. And, overall, I think Groundspeed’s tone captures both the indoor and the outdoor experience of winter in a new and interesting way.

Whatever your preferred place to celebrate the cooler weather, we hope you can take the time to enjoy it over the next few days! (And if you simply can’t decide where to go, come try Café Modern’s Pumpkin Butter Pie for the best of what this season has to offer!)