29
May
Harold Garde Exhibit
On assignment in Bangor, Maine at the University of Maine Museum of Art. Documenting the art of Harold Garde and his 2019 exhibit.
Category: News
05
Apr
Seaweed Harvest I
On assignment… seaweed harvest in Jonesport and Stockton Springs, Maine. Make no mistake, they work hard for their money.
30
Mar
Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen at CMCA
On assignment at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) in Rockland, Maine. Ellis Beauregard Foundation Fellowship award recipients, Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen transformed the Main Gallery with their awe-inspiring and immersive wooden wave exhibit, Hubris Atë Nemesis. More details on the exhibit and my feature photos at Dezeen.
28
Feb
Lithuania…finally!
I have spent a lifetime dreaming of visiting the homeland of my maternal grandparents, Lithuania. It was an incredible feeling to step foot on the soil and breathe the air…and take the country (and it’s varied and beautiful architecture) in. From Vinius to Anykščiai to Kaunas to Trakai and then to Vilnius again. Centuries old medieval architecture to Soviet era relics to cool contemporary…all were impressive in their own unique way.
A special and heartfelt thank you to my hosts Ruta, Vaiva, and Aida, I could not have done it without you.
20
Feb
Stockholm, February 2018
While in Stockholm for the West of Japan, East of Norway exhibit at the Norwegian Embassy, I had time to go out and about in Stockholm… Södermalm…Gamla Stan…Djurgården. The city, architecture, and light amazed me.
A grateful thank you to my host Alex, you made it all possible.
09
Feb
West of Japan / East of Norway Exhibit, Norwegian Embassy, Stockholm Sweden
The exhibit video is ready for viewing.
Kyu Hyuga Bettei photographs by Dave Clough.
Norwegian Embassy in Stockholm photographs by Luca Ferrario.
Architectural drawings by Marco Capitanio
Thank you to Marco Capitanio and Luca Ferrario for the video production.
08
Feb
West of Japan / East of Norway – Norwegian Embassy, Stockholm, Sweden
With grateful thanks to all involved at the Norwegian Embassy for their hard work and dedication to this exhibit, and thank you to Marco Capitanio, Luca Ferrario and Ole Rikard Høisæther.
From the desk of Marco Capitanio…
WEST OF JAPAN/EAST OF NORWAY
The exhibition „West of Japan / East of Norway“ attempts a daring architectural comparison. It juxtaposes for the first time Knut Knutsen’s Norwegian Embassy in Stockholm and Bruno Taut’s Hyuga Villa in Atami, Japan. Knut Knutsen (Norwegian architect, 1903-1969) took inspiration from Japanese architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright – a connoisseur of Japan himself – for the design of his embassy building in Stockholm, realized between 1948 and 1952. We know this from his statements, documents and drawing references. Architectural historians have been emphasizing it for decades.
The Norwegian Embassy, brought back to its pristine condition after a careful renovation, comes to host photographs and drawings of Hyuga Villa, a likely source of inspiration to Knutsen, built in 1936. Thanks to a new photographic interpretation of the embassy building, the exhibit clarifies how a certain “Japanness” seeped into Knutsen’s design, presumably borrowing from Hyuga Villa, from Taut’s books on Japanese architecture, and from Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto (17th century).
Hyuga Villa and the Norwegian Embassy embody a personal reflection on Japanese architecture, mediated through European sensibilities. Bruno Taut (German architect, 1880-1938) fled from the growing Nazi movement in the mid 1930s in central Europe. His stay in Japan culminated in Hyuga Villa (Kyū Hyūga Bettei). Taut’s project was first presented in the international French architectural magazine “L’architecture d’aujourdhui” in 1937, with a text written by the architect himself, paired with plans and photographs. The project, a crosscultural breeding between European and local architectural language, was rediscovered in its full width thanks to exhibitions and symposia in 2016-17.
Knut Knutsen owned several books on Japanese architecture. One was “Japanische Architekur”, 1936, by Tetsuro Yoshida (Taut’s friend and collaborator), still in the family’s possession. It is more than likely that he also knew (or possessed) Taut’s books on the same subject. Knutsen was commissioned, together with the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo, to design the Norwegian pavilion for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937. This was one of the reasons why he was a subscriber to “L’architecture d’aujourdhui” in the years before and after the exhibition. The presentation of Hyuga Villa in the 1937 magazine must have been of special importance to Knutsen, based on his general interest on Japanese-European relationships.
Taut was able to spend three years in the East, before settling in Istanbul, at the crossroad of oriental and western cultures. It is now our intention to show how his legacy travelled to the North thanks to Knutsen, as his readings must have brought inspiration all the way to the Norwegian Embassy in Stockholm. Or so it seems.
Curated by Marco Capitanio and Ole Rikard Høisæther.
Photographs of the Norwegian Embassy by Luca Ferrario, photographs of Hyuga Villa by Dave Clough.
16
Oct
Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick
The Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick was designed by Chinese architect Liu Jiakun. It is built on the historic site of Lumu Imperial Kiln in Xiangcheng, Suzhou, and is dedicated to protecting the valuable historic relics there. It was an eye-opening experience to visit the ancient grounds and the museum which was a visual treat from entrance to exit. Of particular interest was the interior of the ancient kiln (seen below).
For more information on this treasure, here is a link to a film created and co-presented by Shard Island and Architectural Journal.
13
Oct
Along the way…Suzhou, China
The ancient city of Suzhou, the so-called Venice of the East, is rapidly changing, and what was farmland a few short years ago is now steel, pavement, and glass. Suzhou is also home to the famed Suzhou Gardens revered around the world for their design and beauty. The West of Japan / East of Europe exhibit opened at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University this month. It was a wonderful opportunity to experience and learn of an ever-changing urban landscape and culture; here a mix of old and new…from the beauty and depth of the Master of Nets Garden, to a twilight stroll along a canal, to the eye-catchiness of the recently opened Gate to the East building (mocked as “The Pants” for obvious reasons) …
10
Oct
West of Japan, East of Europe Exhibit in Suzhou, China
Rockland Photographer Dave Clough to Exhibit in China
ROCKLAND, Maine – October 10, 2017 – Rockland-based architectural photographer Dave Clough is traveling to Suzhou, China, this month to display his photographs of German architect Bruno Taut’s Kyu Hyuga Bettei — a renowned villa in Japan.
New, complete drawings of Taut’s design by Italian architect Marco Capitanio will be displayed with Clough’s images during the “West of Japan / East of Europe” exhibition organized and hosted by Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University on October 18.
Curated by Capitanio, the exhibit reveals how the villa blends Taut’s personal reflection on Japanese architecture with his European sensibility. Juxtaposed drawings and pictures help visitors compare the project’s form and proportion with its appearance.
The exhibition is a collaboration of co+labo Radović at Keio University in Tokyo and the Formwork cultural association, with assistance from Professor Darko Radović and Professor Marko Pogacnik from the Formwork cultural association at the University of Venice in Italy.
The exhibit will take place in conjunction with an international symposium about Kyu Hyuga Bettei and other projects that relate to designing for and within a foreign culture. Clough and Capitanio will be among the symposium’s presenters. The exhibit will then open on November 23 at Milan Politecnico in Italy as part of another symposium on Bruno Taut.
Samples of Clough and Capitanio’s work were published in the 21st Edition of Sir Banister Fletcher’s World History of Architecture, and Clough is currently photographing for a new book, “Restoring Your Historic Home – A Comprehensive Guide,” by Scott T. Hanson, due out in 2018.
For more information on the West of Japan, East of Europe exhibit…Venice, Italy 2016 is here. Yokohama, Japan 2017 is here. Pecha Kucha, Tokyo presentation is here. The exhibit next opens in Milan, Italy in December 2017.
Images from the exhibit, symposium participants and Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University campus follow. A special thank you to the University Architecture Department and all at XJTLU for a fantastic exhibit and symposium.
