What If Metropolis

OGR Part 1
Danielle Gibbs

Laszlo
Moholy-nagy
L a s z l o M oh o l y - n a g y i s a
Hungarian-born abstract
painter and photographer,
with his abstract paintings
that feature many opaque and
also transluecent geometric
shapes of circles, triangles,
squares, rectangles and lines
with var y ing thic kness.
Moholy-nag y uses warm
colours through his works,
such as oranges, reds, cream,
dark blues and greens.

Travelogue

The City of Tenger

Following a long winding road strewn through the pale green fields
one will find themself reaching the edge of the land and the
beginning of the ocean. Just teetering over the edge o the sea
sprayed cli lies the city of Tenger, poised upon the rocks stands
the legs of the city, propping up the dierent levels of Tenger,
allowing for it to stand tall and unmoving against the stormy
winds which are swept up from the vast ocean that each citizen of
Tenger wake up to and view each morning. On a sunny day the
city can be viewed clearly from the boats that float delicately on
the oceans surface, Tengers bright colours of reds, oranges,
yellows, blues and greens all patterned in stripes and spirals along
the buildings and foundations of the city. Along with these bright
colours large triangular white sails can be seen decorating the city
atop of large posts, reminding the fishermen out on the ocean that
they alone provide for the city and all who resides in Tenger.

Each building that resides in Tenger is both basic and unnatural,

while on the dierent levels of the city hold dierent varieties of
houses. The closer the buildings gather towards the sea the more
rounder and smaller they become, allowing the salt speckled gusts
to roll over the smooth roofs and rounded walls. These semicircle
homes house most of the fishermen within the city, placed in a
spiralling pattern to fit as many homes as possible. From the crack
of dawn until mid afternoon at the centre of this spiral is bustling
with life of the city folk who swamp the fish market, buying and
trading the previous nights haul, as well as other stalls who
sometimes slip in between each fish decorated booths. Behind the
hustle and bustle of the fish markets stands peering over taller,
more rectangular buildings, housing those who are also busy
during the early mornings, but rather than buying their fish for
their dinner they are buying and trading the fishermens catch to
the rest of the world. These buildings stretch far back to the cli
face and closer to the road connecting Tenger to land.

Down below on the shore of the city resides a long wooden pier,
with several stubs of wood along each side to attach each of the
many boats that accompany the dock during the day. As the sun
disappears and the night covers the city, each boat leaves the pier
until it is finally alone, with but a few passing seagulls who rest on
the wooden legs. Over the years the pier had become damaged
due to strong waves and howling winds, but was frequently
repaired and improved on. During one of the improvements, the
idea of making the transporting the cargo of fish easier came to
mind, and rather than hauling each heavy box up the tall and
winding staircases, a stair lift-like contraption was installed. Now
each morning several paper white seagulls transport the fishermen
and the many boxes of fish up and along the wire to the city, and
return back down to the dock ready for the next shipment.
Dotted around the lower level of Tenger are the four proud legs
which robustly hold the city up from the rocks and waves below.
These thick cylinder structures built out of broken and smashed

now has been left derelict and unused, becoming shelter for crabs
and seagulls who have been caught in a storm, due to the new
method of transportation to and from the dock and city. However,
the upper half of these staircases are still highly valued as it still
provides a link with the lower level citizens of the city to travel up
to either trade higher up or visiting the lighthouse, and also allows
for many higher citizens to visit the fish market and other stalls of
crafts for sale, from hand crafted jewellery made from the shells of
crabs and whelks to house ornaments made from fishing nets and
broken pieces of driftwood.
The crowning jewel of the Tenger lies at the topmost point of the
city, emitting a familiar bright, glowing aura that brings home the
fisherman, safe and sound, through the thickest of fogs and
through the darkest hours of the morning. The lighthouse early in
the morning is a glorious sight to behold, with the sun rise high
up directly behind it. Down on the docks it appears as though the
hopeful light from the lighthouse has been pluck and placed

when the light drowns at dusk, a new glow is born from the
lighthouse, and with it the reassuring guide for the fishermen to
follow to return home safely is born.
The lifeblood of the city is the ocean, as it provides the fish for the
fishermen to catch and trade, and becomes the main export the
city trades out to the rest of the world, however as much as it
provided it easily took away. Many fishermen never returned home
from a routine trip, lost out in the fog or devoured by the seabeast that haunted the city each and every night, only its ghastly
fin being glanced at as it slipped back into the water as soon as the
suns lights hit the water. Thus the lighthouse was erected, to guide
home the fishermen safely in the dark, although the brilliant light
not only acted as a guide, but also drove away the monster that
lurked around in the dark. For several years the lighthouse began
to act as a small shrine for those who had been lost prior to the
lighthouses construction, but over the years it developed into a
large scale cathedral-like building, with sails

decorating the building like gargoyles, while on the interior fishing

nets and prized fish are mounted on the walls, along with several
broken planks of wood of ships who never came back.