{"id":2241713,"date":"2026-11-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2241713"},"modified":"2026-11-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T21:00:00","slug":"what-else-could-it-mean-a-book-surveys-the-playful-iconoclastic-works-of-james-wines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2241713","title":{"rendered":"What Else Could It Mean? A Book Surveys the Playful, Iconoclastic Works of James Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content prose-colossal max-w-none\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default entry-header is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2c90304e wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"colo-post-featured-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1310\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-7.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"four people pose for a photo in a black car-like form in a parking lot\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cGhost Parking Lot.\u201d All images courtesy of Skira, shared with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group post-title is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3d243ebe wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h1 class=\"alignfull wp-block-post-title\">What Else Could It Mean? A Book Surveys the Playful, Iconoclastic Works of James Wines<\/h1>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-meta is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-11-06T09:41:45-06:00\">November 6, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms\"><a class=\"category-art\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/art\/\" rel=\"tag\">Art<\/a><a class=\"category-books\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/books\/\" rel=\"tag\">Books<\/a><a class=\"category-design\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/design\/\" rel=\"tag\">Design<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/author\/gebert\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Grace Ebert<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-share-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"colossal-share-buttons\">\n<li class=\"colossal-share-button colossal-share-button--facebook\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2F2026%2F11%2Fjames-wines-site-book-what-else-could-it-mean%2F&amp;title=What%20Else%20Could%20It%20Mean%3F%20A%20Book%20Surveys%20the%20Playful%2C%20Iconoclastic%20Works%20of%20James%20Wines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"colossal-share-button__link\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"colossal-share-button__label\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Share<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li class=\"colossal-share-button colossal-share-button--pinterest\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2F2026%2F11%2Fjames-wines-site-book-what-else-could-it-mean%2F&amp;media=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F11%2Fbest-7-960x629.jpeg&amp;description=What%20Else%20Could%20It%20Mean%3F%20A%20Book%20Surveys%20the%20Playful%2C%20Iconoclastic%20Works%20of%20James%20Wines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-label=\"Share to Pinterest\" class=\"colossal-share-button__link\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"colossal-share-button__label\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Pin<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li class=\"colossal-share-button colossal-share-button--email\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#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\" aria-label=\"Email this article\" class=\"colossal-share-button__link\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"colossal-share-button__label\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Email<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li class=\"colossal-share-button colossal-share-button--copy\">\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Copy article link\" class=\"colossal-share-button__link colossal-share-button__copy\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2026\/11\/james-wines-site-book-what-else-could-it-mean\/\" data-label-default=\"Copy\" data-label-copied=\"Copied!\" data-aria-default=\"Copy article link\" data-aria-copied=\"Link copied to clipboard\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"colossal-share-button__label\" aria-live=\"polite\">Copy<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li class=\"colossal-share-button colossal-share-button--bookmark\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"simplefavorite-button preset\" data-postid=\"479151\" data-siteid=\"1\" data-groupid=\"1\" data-favoritecount=\"0\"><i class=\"sf-icon-bookmark\"><\/i>Bookmark<\/button>\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s not uncommon for artists and architects to espouse a desire for breaking conventions and pushing boundaries, but so few have embodied such a mandate as James Wines. An unparalleled devotee of wit and play, Wines is behind <a href=\"https:\/\/sitenewyork.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SITE<\/a> (Sculpture in the Environment), a New York-based studio founded in 1970 with a portfolio that spans commercial construction, urban infrastructure, public art, and more. No matter the project, SITE\u2019s approach is rooted in questioning the division between art and architecture and defying expectations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the preface to the new book, <em>What Else Could It Mean?<\/em>, Wines describes how he spent months in Rome after college soaking in the religious designs and civically unified architecture, which inspired what became his signature mode of working. When he returned to the U.S. to continue teaching at New York University, he asked his students to create with the opposite approach, one that tapped into a fractured and diverse contemporary landscape. \u201cWhat else could it mean?\u201d became a driving ethos that centered around \u201carchitecture as a critique of itself, as an inversion of design expectations, as humorous insights and the absorption of context as a motivating source of ideas,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-10.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"Grand opening of the Best Notch Showroom\" data-rl_title=\"Grand opening of the Best Notch Showroom\" data-rl_caption=\"Grand opening of the Best Notch Showroom\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-10.jpeg\" alt=\"a photo of a building fractured down the side, and separated to reveal colorful balloons emerging from the center\" class=\"wp-image-479161\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Grand opening of the Best Notch Showroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Published by Skira, <em>What Else Could It Mean? <\/em>showcases dozens of projects from the SITE oeuvre. The most iconic of the studio\u2019s works are designs for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Best_Products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BEST Products Company<\/a>, a big box store that operated for four decades. Owners Sydney and Frances Lewis tapped Wines to create unconventional structures for their showrooms, which included a building that appeared to sink into the ground at an angle and another that split open as the base fractured from the rest of the facade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The BEST designs are just a piece of SITE\u2019s broader commentary on commercialization. There\u2019s also \u201cGhost Parking Lot,\u201d an enormous, immovable public art project in Hamden, Connecticut, that buried twenty cars beneath asphalt. Forever halted outside the shopping mall, the immobile vehicles became ghostly signals of endless consumption and urban sprawl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>What Else Could It Mean?<\/em> collects Wines\u2019 drawings, renderings, and writings across five decades, presenting these rarely seen documents alongside archival photos of realized projects. SITE\u2019s ethos has particular relevancy today, especially as it challenges the inherent accessibility of art and architecture and advocates for a more democratic approach to collective life. Designer and curator Phillip Denny writes in the introduction: <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are works that engage their context, invite participation, and reward curiosity regardless of one\u2019s background. It is art and architecture for the popular public that anyone can stop in front of, be surprised by, laugh at, and think about without a guidebook. Often ironic but never cynical, always generous and ecumenical, SITE created art where people least expected to find it, in the \u201cjunk-culture world of the commercial strip and suburban sprawl.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Get your copy of <em>What Else Could It Mean?<\/em> on <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9788857253725\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bookshop<\/a>, and explore more of SITE\u2019s works on <a href=\"https:\/\/sitenewyork.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-8.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"BEST Tilt Showroom\" data-rl_title=\"BEST Tilt Showroom\" data-rl_caption=\"BEST Tilt Showroom\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1358\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-8.jpeg\" alt=\"people walk across a blacktopped parking lot in front of a large store that&apos;s angled down to the left\" class=\"wp-image-479159\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">BEST Tilt Showroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-9.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"Willi Smith WilliWear Office\" data-rl_title=\"Willi Smith WilliWear Office\" data-rl_caption=\"Willi Smith WilliWear Office\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-9.jpeg\" alt=\"a black man is on the phone in a white-drenched office space with brick floors, a half built brick desk, and a half-built brick wall\" class=\"wp-image-479160\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Willi Smith WilliWear Office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-3.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"World Ecology Pavilion\" data-rl_title=\"World Ecology Pavilion\" data-rl_caption=\"World Ecology Pavilion\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-3.jpg\" alt=\"a rendering of an outdoor plaza with strips of green living landscape over the top like slides\" class=\"wp-image-479154\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">World Ecology Pavilion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-2.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"Liberty Landfill Plaza\" data-rl_title=\"Liberty Landfill Plaza\" data-rl_caption=\"Liberty Landfill Plaza\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2410\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-2.jpg\" alt=\"a drawing of the statue of liberty buried underneath the ground, with her torch peeking out of the soil and people gathering around\" class=\"wp-image-479153\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Liberty Landfill Plaza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-5.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"Frito Lay\" data-rl_title=\"Frito Lay\" data-rl_caption=\"Frito Lay\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1246\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-5.jpeg\" alt=\"a collection of cast hands reach up out of tostitos and doritos bags in a window display to grab at bowls of the snacks\" class=\"wp-image-479156\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Frito Lay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-4.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"SITE\" data-rl_title=\"SITE\" data-rl_caption=\"SITE\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1529\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-4.jpg\" alt=\"a group of people in construction hats pose in front of the pyramids\" class=\"wp-image-479155\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SITE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-1.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"Four Corners Project\" data-rl_title=\"Four Corners Project\" data-rl_caption=\"Four Corners Project\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1487\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-1.jpg\" alt=\"a drawing for an enormous outdoor project that dips into the ground with an elevated x-shaped sturcture on top\" class=\"wp-image-479152\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Four Corners Project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-6.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-479151\" title=\"James Wines\" data-rl_title=\"James Wines\" data-rl_caption=\"James Wines\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1544\" height=\"2252\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/best-6.jpg\" alt=\"an artist welding a metal sculpture\" class=\"wp-image-479157\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">James Wines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"after-entry\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"After Entry\">\n<section id=\"block-16\" class=\"widget widget_block widget_text\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:#88caf0\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong><\/mark> Become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"118516\">Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-17\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-benefits is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hide advertising<\/li>\n<li>Save your favorite 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href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2026\/11\/maria-tomazou-i-made-a-film-in-excel\/\" rel=\"prev\">Next article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cGhost Parking Lot.\u201d All images courtesy of Skira, shared with permission What Else Could It Mean? A Book Surveys the Playful, Iconoclastic Works of James Wines November 6, 2026 ArtBooksDesign Grace Ebert Share Pin Email Copy Bookmark It\u2019s not uncommon for artists and architects to espouse a desire for breaking conventions and pushing boundaries, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,270],"class_list":["post-2241713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-thisiscolossal-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2241713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241713\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2241713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2241713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2241713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}