2D Folly

The Hollywood sign gained a funny little neighbor toward the end of its 2023 centennial celebration, when a lone chroma-key green structure appeared down the slope at 6101 Mulholland Highway, an undeveloped property just below the landmark where people flock daily for the iconic photo op. The folly, designed by Andrew Kovacs and titled Gloriette R1 (a reference to the lot’s zoning), mimes the looming sign—all facade. A single wall comprising three trapezoidal panels joined obtusely, the tripartite scheme fits together into what initially appears like an asymmetrical gablefront, with a circle and triangle punched out for windows on either side of an open doorway. But this playfully rudimentary drawing of a house—clad in green corrugated metal and stood up on wood posts—is also a nuanced trick. From different angles, the eye assembles the zigzag panels into two-point perspectival representations of basic architectural volumes. Stare for long enough and the object starts to flicker between two and three dimensions. The Serpentine Pavilion this is not, yet with an obviou…