Fargo-Moorhead Cultural Center Bridge, project, Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, South elevation
Michael Graves
American, 1934–2015
1978
An architectural elevation drawing—rendered in graphite and crayon on yellow tracing paper—proposing a dramatic cultural center bridging Fargo and Moorhead with pillared supports and a central waterfall feature.
Its symmetrical, almost toylike composition—rust-colored domes and gridlike windows framed by hefty concrete columns—centers on an unexpected painted cascade that reads like a theatrical set against the warm, luminous tracing‑paper field.
A 1978 proposal by Michael Graves, this work captures Postmodern architecture's embrace of color, historical reference, and theatrical form, treating civic design as symbolic narrative rather than pure functionalism.
Medium
Graphite and crayon on yellow tracing paper
Dimensions
11 7/8 x 11 7/8" (30.2 x 30.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Lily Auchincloss Fund
Accession
24.1980
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
