Tuesday, January 26, 2010

LOUIS SULLIVAN.Schlesinger and Mayer. Ornament

This is Louis Sullivan's architectural ornament (wonderfully restored) that "set the bar" for architectural ornament in Chicago. For all time. And despite Peirce Anderson and Frederick Dinkelberg's good intentions at the Conway --- they never came close.     
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Even in this afternoon's brutal cold, State Street looked awfully good. Carson's, The Palmer House, The Mentor, The Stevens Building lined up and ready to go for another fifty years. I couldn't resist the distraction.

I'll be taking a few days off --- then back with several more posts on the Conway.

FOR MORE CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY VISIT

4 comments:

  1. These are beautiful pictures! Oh, he makes me cry...

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  2. I got your book two days back. Enjoyed going through every single page. The photographs and the materials are excellent.

    Architectural sculptures are so fascinating and so very overlooked and the book is a commendable endeavour in shining spotlight to it. The documentation of figural adornments on numerous buildings that surrounds us makes us much more appreciative of our rich architectural history. I enjoyed going through pictures of sculptures and relief embellishments on walls, columns, pediments, mosaic tiles and even church altars.

    I quite agree with the presentation "without comment or opinion". These are very personal and frequently change over time. Also I sincerely believe that anyone who goes through this book will "become aware of figural sculptures as an art form that silently surrounds us but often lives unnoticed".

    However I would like a bit more explanation on different styles, and were they typical of that particular artist or the time period, with cross-reference for similarities or differences. To me these matter, simply because I am no expert on art or architecture, but would like to learn more..

    Already looking forward to more volumes ..

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  3. Gorgeous photographs. Glad you were distracted!

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  4. Thanks, so much, for all your kind comments. And Jyoti, you read my mind. Will post on "style" shortly. But about your being no expert on art and architecture... I'll beg to differ.

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