2011.03.20 09:51
visited Kahn's grave today
Esther's parents, the Israelis, are buried in the grave immediately next to Esther. A cursory look at the plot records indicate that both plots were purchased at the same time by the Israelis (or at least that's what the man I spoke with in the office surmised). I have a feeling that it was indeed Esther's 'networking' that brought about a good deal of Kahn's early commissions.
2011.03.18 12:37
visited Kahn's grave today
Orhan, Just watched the clip, and yes it is indeed beautiful cinema. I admire the acuity of your connection-making. And what a soundtrack--the fit is like magic or something. Alas, I had a CD from South America in the car. Unfortunately, the film is not available at our Free Library, as I now what to see the whole thing.
And speaking of movies from the Free Library, Wednesday night I watched Divorce His and tomorrow night I'll watch Divorce Hers--a 1973 latter-day existential movie-of-the-week quasi-biopic starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, shot on location in Rome and at the Bavarian Film Works (where one of my one-generation-removed cousin's husband Klaus was a fireman. He proudly showed me a personally autographed picture of Taylor when I was staying with them Christmas 1975. On New Years Day he took me on a very behind-the-scenes tour of the Film Works. I never found out what the movie turned out to be, but I walked through a set of the Oval Office with these cracks on the walls drawn in pencil. The set was still being built, so there were actual working drawings there as well. Being a first year student on Christmas break at the time, it was all oddly enlightening.)
2011.03.18 10:06
visited Kahn's grave today
Kahn is buried at Montefiore Cemetery. It's in Rockledge (with a Jenkingtown zip code, I think), and more or less in my neighborhood now. I learned that Kahn was buried there a couple years ago, but never pursued it further. Since Kahn's death day was yesterday, and it was a really nice day here, I decided to go find his grave. And that's what I did. Turns out the grave is within easy eyesight of a road I've driven down innumerable times over the last 30 years.
While on my walk through Pennypack Park this morning, I tried to think of what Kahn building is now closest to his grave, and I think it's the Oser House in Elkins Park. The next closest would be either Pennypack Woods housing and commons, Ahavath Israel, Esherick House, Korman House or Fisher House.
| |
2011.03.17 14:57
visited Kahn's grave today
2011.03.11 09:04
Lotus - Quarterly Architectural Magazine (NOW AVAILABLE AS PDF ON THE SITE!))
make that...
http://www.editorialelotus.it
| |
2011.03.07 12:13
"On Criticism" an aggregate thread
Yeah, the best criticism isn't advertising, it's art.
The Advertising of Art 002
The Advertising of Art 011
The Advertising of Art 024
The Advertising of Art 027
| |
2011.03.04 11:12
Anything Muppets: a new method
and
Re: The McMansion Next Door
2003.10.22 13:23
Back in 1989 when I was busy as a CAD consultant business, my 'bread and butter' client was Toll Brothers, Inc. (a big name in the home development industry). My job was to turn all their [hand drawn] house construction documents into CAD files, a redundancy for sure, but lucrative for me. "McMansion" designs are suited perfectly for CAD because the designs are all a kit of part. After a month or so, when another set of drawings was given to me and I asked about specifics of the design, the answer I usually got was something like, "It's just like the 'Oxford' except it has a kitchen like the four-bedroom 'Cambridge'.
I worked for Toll Brothers for almost exactly one year, up until when they got their own CAD system/department. During that time I saw that the greatest deterrent to design development of truly individual houses was not so much stylists, but much more the fact that construction techniques were rarely, if ever, changed. The 'kit of parts' is thorough, where whole portions of house framing are prefabricated, and to change designs meant having to design whole new framing units.
Of course, none of the above addresses the notion that 'Americans' are not given a real choice when it comes to how to shape the place and way they live, but, truth be told, the average 'American' lacks the imagination to make choices beyond what is offered. The following is just one (and now old) anecdote, but I think it speaks volumes. When my parents moved out of my house, and I moved back into it from college, I was left with an almost empty house. I had bought a nice sofa set and some chairs for the living room, but I was also getting a neat old sofa set which was left in my parents new home. A cousin was helping me move the old sofas, and he asked what I was going to do with them. I told him I was going to use the dining room as a second parlor. To which my cousin dumbfoundedly replied, "You can do that?!?"
|