Passersby did a double take when they glanced at the U.S. Supreme Court last week. It is sporting a new face, in the form of a “scrim” a lightweight fabric imprinted with a full-size photo of the court’s famous façade. The remarkably realistic replica covers the scaffolding that surrounds the real façade, as part of a marble repair project.
So why the imprinted scrim, when no scrim at all, or a plain white scrim would have worked? “The scrim allows the building’s iconic façade to remain visible to tourists and visitors during cleaning and restoration work,” a court spokeswoman said. Judith Resnik, co-author of a book that discusses the symbolism of courthouse design, said without the scrim, the words “Equal Justice Under Law” would be obscured by the scaffolding. “Seeing the words through the scrim reminds us that stone, like text, and practice, is fragile, and requires recommitment and repair.”
