The scale of the bear with the size of Denver’s Convention Center feels just right. Read more about Lawrence Argent here.
Ironton Studios & Gallery
This is one of our favorite places in Denver to see art and go to openings. Love the outdoor spaces. See more about Ironton here.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Our family just spent a lovely week in Maryland with lots of family. We went over the Bay Bridge a couple of times. Here’s a little of it’s history.
Leo Tanguma - Muralist
I was fortunate to get to work with Leo in the early 90’s, he was a great teacher and artist. See some of his works here.
Vivian Maier - Photographer (Feb. 1, 1926 – Apr. 21, 2009)
Maier was an American photographer. She worked for about forty years as nanny, mostly in Chicago, pursuing photography during her spare time. She took more than 150,000 photographs, primarily of the people and architecture of Chicago, NYC, and LA.
Maier's photographs were unknown and unpublished during her life. A Chicago collector acquired some of her photos in 2007, while two other Chicago-based collectors also found some of Maier's prints and negatives in her boxes and suitcases around the same time. Maier's photographs were first published on the Internet in July 2008 but the work received little response. In October 2009, Maier's photographs were posted on Flickr, and went viral, with thousands of people expressing interest. Her work subsequently attracted critical acclaim, and have been exhibited around the world. See more of her photographs here.
David Byrne - Musician
Talking Heads ’77 and Stop Making Sense (Live Album) were big albums for me. I listened to them endlessly in HS/college and on a bike trip thru the mid-west in my early 20’s. Byrne could do it all, punk, new wave, pop, world music, etc. Love his influence on music. Listen here to Don’t Worry About the Gov’t (a track from Talking Heads ‘77.
Happy Anniversary
This picture was taken June 21, 2003 in Tabernash, CO. It was a lovely day and it’s been a wonderful 16 years.
Rachel Whiteread - Artist
Many of Rachel Whiteread’s sculptures are casts of common objects or spaces (e.g. houses, water towers, furniture, etc.). See more of her work here.
Terry Gross - Radio Interviewer
Terry Gross has been asking people deep, well-researched questions on the radio for over 40 years. I’ve noticed one of the things that makes her so good is that she’s is an excellent listener. This photo is of her getting interviewed by Marc Maron (in front of a live audience). Very funny and revealing, listen.
Here’s an interview she did with John Oliver on her show Fresh Air.
StoryCorps - Social Experiment
This is lifted directly from StoryCorps’ About page on their website.
StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.
We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, we are creating an invaluable archive for future generations.
Most stories are under 3 minutes - but often pack quite an emotional punch. Listen/watch a recently animated story here.
Verity Freebern - Artist / Illustrator
We love the work by our friend Verity (and we love her). See some of her art, illustrations and patterns here.
Walter Gropius - Father of the Bauhaus
Gropius (and the Bauhaus) influenced a style of design process which is largely the basis for most architectural school training. This is his home (Gropius House) in New England. Read more here.
Paul Thomas Anderson - Writer/Director
I watch Punch Drunk Love every few years and find it only gets better every time, and I’m generally not a fan of Adam Sandler but he is amazingly good in that movie. Other films by Anderson are: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, The Master, Magnolia, Phantom Thread, etc. His later films (There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice) seem to be breaking apart the traditional narrative structure (beginning, middle, end or 1st, 2nd, 3rd Act) for stories that instead revolve around characters in time. Read more here by George Toles about Anderson’s evolution as a filmmaker/storyteller.
Zaha Hadid - Iraqi/British Architect (1950-2016)
She was the first female architect to win the Pritzer Architectural Prize in 2004 for her outstanding body of work. She studied and eventually worked with Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis at OMA. Hadid would be dubbed “Queen of the Curve” by the British press. See some of her works here.
Fibonacci Sequence
a.k.a. the Golden Ratio is another underlying structure that fascinates me. Check out artist/educator Dr. John Edmark’s 5min. video (via Science Friday) about the golden ratio appearing in nature.
Andrew Goldsworthy - Artist
Stunningly beautiful art pieces made with natural materials. Check out more here.
Tres Birds Workshop - Denver
Lots of reused materials on this neighborhood (Highlands) project and love that the solar components are incorporated into the overall design. See more pics of this residence on Tres Birds’ website.
Oliver Sacks - Author, Neurologist
I like these photos of the younger Oliver Sacks, as most of us only became familiar with him as an older soft spoken scientist. His book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, excellently captures his curiosity, humor and compassion. Easily find more about him online.
Radiolab - Podcast and Radio Program
I’ve been listening to this radio show since 2005 and this episode about cats falling out NYC apartment windows and (often) surviving has come up more in conversation than nearly any other story I’ve heard from this program. Here’s the funny and surprising cat story and here is the link to Radiolab.
Mike and Doug Starn - Photographers / Artists
These twin brothers are mostly constructors of photography and art. See more of their work here.
