Lawrence F Mesich
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HIGHEST AND BEST USE
 
Highest and Best Use installation image
 

Highest and Best Use (111 Lawrence St.)
Archival Inkjet print on polypropelene film
2015
120"H x 36"W x 30"D

 
 
DESCRIPTION
 

Highest and Best Use wryly examines the ongoing effects of the 2004 rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn. A rash of lucrative residential developments have pushed out long-time residents and businesses and overtaxed area resources at an alarming pace, while the need for new commercial space continues to be underserved. The opening of the area's air rights has set off a height race among developers, with each successive new building breaking the height record of the one built immediately before it.

The digitally manipulated photographs in this series extend the facades of each newly built residential tower that breaks the current height record for the borough. The title of the piece, a real estate valuation term describing the optimal use of a property which produces the highest possible profit, was invoked by Tucker Reed (President, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership) in a statement to the press while the group was promoting its assessment of the rezoning in 2014. The elongated facades coupled with absurd, oblique industry terminology produce a counter-narrative to the rezoning's ostensible success.

This is an ongoing series; a new image will be generated for each building that breaks the current height record for the borough.

 
 
 
 
Highest and Best Use installation image
 

Highest and Best Use (388 Bridge St.)
Archival Inkjet print on polypropelene film
2015
186"H x 36"W x 30"D

 
 
 
 

Highest and Best Use detail image

Highest and Best Use detail image

 
TOP: Highest and Best Use (388 Bridge St.) - detail
BOTTOM: Highest and Best Use (111 Lawrence St.) - detail
Archival Inkjet print on polypropelene film
2015