Now here’s a guy who knows how to put photoshop to good use.
Since I was in high school, I have been drawn to architecture which has been designed to interact with nature, and taking its position in nature into consideration in giving it form. That means that — I know, like millions of other teens — I went through the obsession with Frank Lloyd Wright phase, and the accompanying obsession with Ayn Rand phase. And like many (although by no means all) of those teens, have struggled with the disillusionment when I was able to understand Rand’s political view ever since.
The longer I looked at photographs of a couple of recent homes built to blur the line between inside and outside, gorgeous and brilliantly designed homes, the more they began to look not so much contemporary, as Modern (insofar as that defines a decidedly twentieth century aesthetic ). The interiors particularly are not so far from something Frank Lloyd Wright might have designed. They are a distillment of a number of twentieth century architectural greats from the 1930′s through the 1960′s. But as I say, that’s only after looking for a really long time, since on the face of it — and again, in their bones — these two homes are absolutely contemporary and innovative.
The Belvedere Residence by Anastasia Arquitetos, located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, takes advantage of the temperate climate by allowing outside and inside to flow almost seamlessly into each other. Since aesthetics are my thing, mostly I’m just drawn to how exquisite the first floor patio is. But the reality is, that the home was designed taking into thoughtful consideration how to maximize space in an urban context, how to take maximal advantage of light and air and manipulate them to make the house efficient and comfortable.
Every once in a while an idea comes along which is so clever that it seems absolutely obvious — even though it is being expressed for the first time.
I love graffiti — or more broadly, street art (actually, it is both more broadly and more narrowly, since the word art contains the idea that the art maker intends to engage with a viewer through his work, and therefore wants it to be good, or pretty, or expressive, or whatever it may be, but does not include someone randomly scrawling a mess in black paint in the side of a building to no end except destruction). But admittedly, there are a number of issues raised by street art which make it a contentious and problematic medium. If a building (wall, bridge, train track) is nondescript, run-down, urban squalor, or in some way in need of energy and beauty, graffiti may look like a positive addition to the structure. If the building is, instead, a recently completed structure, constructed to the tune of vast amounts of money by a talented architect who invested a lot of time and thought into its appearance, the same graffiti may be seen as destructive defacement. However, such a distinction suggests that one can objectively distinguish which structures belong in each of the two categories. That little problem aside, if we accept that, at its best, graffiti breaths new life and energy to derelict structures and spaces, Russian artist Nikita Nomerz’s work can be seen as its literal realization — concept made form in entirely literal terms. It is surprising that no one has done this before. After all, the urge to anthropomorphize seems like an almost irresistible human imperative. But, as far as I know, Nomerz is the first. Check out these photos of some of the work … it’s absolute trip.
Maybe everyone else already knew this and I’m coming late to the party, but the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium houses a major contemporary art collection. Way to go Dallas! More accurately, way to go Jerry Jones (team owner) and Gene Jones. Cool concept to begin with, bringing art and football together — highly unlikely bedfellows. I am sure it reflects completely unsubstantiated bias on my part that I think it’s particularly cool that this is at the Cowboys’ stadium, so we won’t go there, but Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders + Jenny Holzer…
When the stadium first opened in 2009 there were 14 site specific commissioned works. The collection now boasts 21 works. It even has its own app.
Different strokes for different folks I guess. My grandmother’s favorite expression – “that’s what makes horse races” – comes to mind. In case you couldn’t have guessed by now, I have fairly strong feelings about eating spaces. I prefer clean simple spaces in cool tones for a kitchen. I’m convinced that in warm colored spaces – especially yellow kitchens – one tends to overeat. I see this as an obvious point, although I’ve been told by people I know (even people whose aesthetic tastes I respect) that they prefer warm colored eating spaces, so clearly this is a matter of personal taste. I do get the warm, dimly lit, cozy restaurant thing, and enjoy it for a night out. So even though this elegant restaurant model goes against my aesthetic inclinations, I am open-minded enough to see the appeal and enjoy such restaurants. But this amazing new (relatively new) restaurant, Twister, in Kiev is beyond me. Cool design, no doubt. I don’t mean to disrespect the design team’s creativity – because it’s a phenomenal space that surpasses anything I could possibly conceive. But how this is someplace anyone would want to eat, is beyond me.
The dining section, which was apparently modeled on the idea of tornados and rain, is straightforward. The metaphor seems a little strained if you ask me. But the space is lovely and pleasant enough.
But the bar …
We're healthy and fit, and boy we're having fun.
So, about those metro stations …. I’m serious about the Moscow Metro being one of my favorite places. The stops and various lines are connected by these incredible tunnels and I could spend days going from station to station looking at the art and architecture. However, I feel uncomfortable being so enthusiastic because everything about the tunnels and stations is the product of an immeasurably oppressive dictatorship. To enjoy the mosaics of Stalin waving to the people, at some inescapable level, seems like a sort of approval for Stalin’s government. What remains true, nonetheless, is that while Stalin told people in no uncertain terms what their art could and could not look like – an imperative that was brutally enforced – the form he chose as sanctioned Soviet art was not an accident. It was effective precisely because people responded to it and read it positively, and that enabled him to twist it into a powerful form of social control.
After the succession of the posts on Soviet bus stops and then on the aesthetics of visions of the future, what follows logically is one of my favorite places in the world: the Moscow Metro. I couldn’t resist attaching 40 pictures, so this is going to be a two part post, with pictures today and discussion tomorrow. Each station has its own style — they are listed in no particular order. Enjoy.
Novokuznetskaya Station
© Michael Vokabre
Minority Report film still
Minority Report film still
Disappointing post today, in that I don’t particularly have an explanation or solution for this one. Sorry. … I was just thinking about it this morning and had to share it. I was watching Minority Report and couldn’t help but wonder two things. One: Why are most visions of the future dystopian? And two: Why do we tend to imagine the future as a dark, concrete, grey, poorly lit place? Obviously, they seem to be connected. The dark, grey, dingy, concrete world with flickering flourescent lighting makes a great dystopia. The answer to the first question is pretty straight forward. As twisted as it is, grim visions of an apocalyptic future are just a hell of a lot more interesting than pretty little stories about happy people in a lovely world.
Christopher Herwig’s photos of Soviet bus stops have been receiving a lot of attention recently on websites and blogs. Herwig is known for his photographs of war torn countries. The bus stop series has a very different feeling. Often set against bleak or barren landscapes, the bus stops offer a moment of relief — of beauty, visual interest, and at times of humor (I suspect not deliberately, but they’re fun none the less).
It is easy, when talking about art in our daily lifes, to forget the powerful role art can play in inspiring and shaping social change. I was moved when I came across this piece in MutualArt, 25 years of The Heidelberg Project – MutualArt, exploring a project which it calls, “part political protest, part art promotion campaign, part catalyst for social transformation.” The Heidelberg Project, L. Meir writes, “is working toward a larger purpose – to heal the community and enrich the lives of its members – through the world of art”. It’s worth a read.
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