Sunday, December 06, 2009

hello, louis. (you're looking lovely.)

Roadside stop to see Louis Sullivan's Merchants Bank in Grinnell, Iowa. I wasn't expecting the green-patina gilt running along the columns and the facade, but the impact in the weak winter sun is remarkable.

It's Sunday, which means the bank is closed and we couldn't get a peek at the interior, so we had to make what we could of the art glass from the outside. Still: stunning.

Most remarkable is the way this jewel box by the grand-daddy of the Prairie School who fathered the emergence of modern architecture feels right at home in the quiet farming town of Grinnell, wearing its Sunday best without putting on airs.

Like the well-mannered Midwesterner it is.

Posting by cameraphone on the road home.


1 comment:

Harry Joiner said...

this blog rocks. honestly, this is the first time i have really absorbed your work. every aspect of it, from the "editorial platform," to the copy, to the photography, to the layout, is simply excellent. clearly, it's a labor of LOVE -- an ingredient completely missing in most peoples' work.

your twitter feed rules, too. so much so, in fact, that earlier today I tweeted about changing my candidate vetting policy to include the questions "what's your twitter feed and what's your blog url?"

there will be a point in time when my comments here will morph into a full blown blog post. but not now.

until then, it's clear that you have a well-defined artistic sensibility and a teachable point of view on the things you love. including life.

again, beautifully done.

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