Artist Adam Neese uses translucent or transparent materials as a means to finding new images. When designing Chronicles of Como for the new Como Community Center, he sought to utilize graphic, layered imagery on a glass façade to create a metaphor experiencing the community: the artwork changes based on viewpoint, alluding to various relationships.
Prominently placed over the front porch area of the building as a welcoming gesture, the artwork echoes the past while celebrating the future of Como by combined elements that reflect the spirt of this community. The view “into” the community consists of a graphic film collage of present-day figures and buildings. Purple figures are illustrated from captured active silhouettes taken during a community “Picture Day.” These have been arranged to represent movement forward, a concept found in conversations with community members and celebrated during the annual Como Day on 4th of July. Photographs of buildings from several collections and archives comprise the foundation layer, which is rendered in gold to reflect on spaces that are important to the community to date.
Looking “outward” from within the community, a translucent white layer of newsprint shows the history of the community. Sourced from the City of Fort Worth archives, Neese included text and images from community newspapers including The Lake Como Weekly and the Como Monitor. Significantly, the black ink of the pages has been redacted, allowing viewers to look through the words of the past into the present-day community marching into the future, symbolized by the bright blue sky which serves as an inspiring backdrop.
Adam Neese’s design for this project was developed with the help of the Como Community Center Project Core Team. With incredible attention to detail, he worked closely with MoonShadow Glass to select the exact colors that would best match the community’s colors, purple and gold. The artwork was installed by TEPCOGLASS, LLC.
This public art project was funded by the 2014 Bond Program. Chronicles of Como was dedicated to the City of Fort Worth on February 15, 2020.
See projects currently underway by visiting the Art In Progress page.