9 May 1778 Saturday
Vases, Candelabra, Grave Stones, Sarcophagi. Tripods, Lamps and Ancient Ornaments volume II
To Lord Egidio Earle English Knight
lover of fine arts
As a sign of respect, the Knight Gio. Batt(ist)a Piranesi D. D. D.
Profile of an ancient marble ship with three rows of oars. The Guardian Gods that can be seen carved on the two sides towards the stern are Neptune and Apollo. Its equally ancient pedestal is of marble, and embellished with fronds, festoons, seahorses, and other ornaments.
These Monuments can be seen in the Author's Museum
Cavalier Piranesi drawn and engraved
26-27 y.o. Francesco Piranesi 1785
Collezione delle piu belle statue di Roma
Semi-colossal statue of Juno found in the past century in the Orti del Viminale, later admired in Palazzo Barberini and now in the Pio-Clementine Museum in the Vatican
To the Holiness of Nro. Sig.re PIO SIXTO Pontifex Maximus, most vigilant investigator of Antiquities, and most splendid Protector of the Fine Arts
Francesco Piranesi D.D.D.
Tomasso Piroli drawn Francesco Piranesi engraved 1785.
9 May 1812 Saturday
Morning without a cloud, light white frost. Wind NW gentle, temperature 47° rose very considerably, not observed at its height, but was 65° at sunset. The wind was fresh from the NW till late in the afternoon. My wife and I went over to G. Robinson's to arrange further concerning the burial and afterward rode round to the Eagle[?] tavern and stopped half an hour at J Morrison's. On our return found the wind about WSW much moderated. The country is all in bloom. Cherry petals beginning to fall, pears and plums in full dress, and the apples in full blush not generally open. The air highly perfumed. The light sky[?] Wednesday evening were fires in the Northern Liberties and Southwark.
9 May 2005
Koolhaas versus the Actor
I too am interested in this discussion. In fact, you're the first person to discuss Tafuri vis-a-vis the Campo Marzio with me online, and I appreciate your knowledge of the subject.
For the sake of clarity, I wish to restate my argument(s).
1. Manfredo Tafuri is no authority when it comes to Piranesi's Ichnographia Campus Martius.
2. Tafuri no where demonstrates an understanding of reenactment as it relates to the generation and history of architectural design.
3. It is many times more valuable to reenact architectures than it is to reenact architectural critics/historians.
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Yesterday, I re-read Eisenman's "The Wicked Critic" (in ANY 26, February 2000), and as far as Piranesi's Campo Marzio is concerned, Eisenman only continues to reiterate Tafuri's mistakes. Eisenman does, however, mention that Piranesi moved some building locations within the Campo Marzio plan, and up to that point I/Quondam are the only published sources of that type of information, so Eisenman is not altogether disclosing of where he gets some of his information. This relates to the issue of texts/data published online in that such publications should rightly be referenced (at least footnoted).
David R. Marshall in "Piranesi, Javarra, and the Triumphal Bridge Tradition" (The Art Bulletin, June 2003) also relates information regarding the Campo Marzio plan, that prior was only available at Quondam, without giving the reference a proper citing.
Hani Rashid is likewise guilty of the same inaction...
As far as I'm concerned, architectural academia isn't necessarily all that trustworthy.
9 May 2007
"I see sham pane, but no glasses"
The upper window of his new part had no sash, but boards painted black in imitation of them, supplied their place. Thomas Gilpin, visiting there, was led to say, “Uncle Miers, thou hast a most inhospitable house, I see sham pane, but no glasses.”
In Mr. Crawford’s time the late William Peter, British Consul in Philadelphia, was a frequent guest, and here he prepared a large portion of his scholarly 'Specimens of the Poets and Poetry of Greece and Rome."
As I walked through the living room, I saw that WAY OF LIFE was the final phrase on Wheel of Fortune. "Do you know how to say way of life in German?" "No, not really." "Lauf der Leben." "Ach, nah sure." Laughter.
9 May 2016
Vanna Venturi House's new owner plans to preserve property
I seriously wonder whether it's really all that important for the Vanna Venturi House to be preserved "as it has been maintained thus far." This building is already so well documented and so well known by so many people that haven't even been there that preservation seems thusly to lose much of its point.
Vanna Venturi House's new owner plans to preserve property
...right now I'm only thinking about the Vanna Venturi House, and not (yet) thinking of any broader implications. I just couldn't think of any real compelling reasons why it's important that the house remain preserved "as it has been maintained thus far." Can you think of any compelling reasons why it's important that the house remain preserved "as it has been maintained thus far?"
Or, let me put it this way: can you think of any compelling reasons why it's important that the house remain preserved "as it has been maintained thus far" that isn't based on somehow maintaining control?
Regarding documentation, the modern era itself could well be called the era of overwhelming documentation. Centuries old buildings are preserved primarily because they are among the relatively scant remains/documentations we have of past times. Conversely, the Vanna Venturi House is (literally) voluminously documented, indeed to the point where the documentation has a much more far-reaching influence than the building itself.
Personally, if it were my design, I'd make the working drawings of the house available for sale so that who ever wanted their own version of the house could actually build/have one. And it'd be preservation without control, because I'd like to see how different buyers might make changes or additions to the design to suit their own taste or needs.
9 May 2023 Tuesday
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