Dennis Adams
Water and Sewer Administration Building
3071 SW 38th Avenue, Miami, FL

New York artist Dennis Adams encouraged all employees at the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department to participate in the creation of Horizon by inviting the employees to bring in a single drinking glass from their home or office. The only requirement was the glass must be an everyday drinking glass, worn with use and time, and embedded with memories.

After all of the drinking glasses were collected, the artist photographed each one filled with water to a level exactly equal to all others. As a basis for his project, the artist stated, “A glass of water is the purest and most fundamental of human objects. Its consumption is the most primary act of survival. Its offering is the first social gesture.”

These photographs, 125 in total, are linearly grouped in sets of various numbers throughout the common spaces of the building. With their water line hung at eye level, they form a single horizontal line throughout the public spaces of each floor of the building. The photographs serve as both portraits and landscapes. The unique shape, texture and ornament of each glass link it to the memory of its individual owner. In contrast, the shared water level between the glasses creates a single horizon line representing community and democracy.

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