Carved ornamental wooden capital in the Auditorium Building, 430 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Adler & Sullivan, architects. Via Atelier Teee on flickr.
James and I headed to Chicago for a few days on an art and architecture vacation. We're also seeing the Chicago Opera Vanguard's production of "Greek" by Mark-Anthony Turnage. We're meeting people for drinks on the 4th. E-mail for details if you would like to join us.
Brian
Hope you had a good trip to Chicago. What are your thoughts on the new Art Institute wing?
Barry
Hi, Brian. I think the curating/installation of the modern wing is excellent. The Robert Gober rooms are incredible.
I think the architecture is pretty undistinguished, given the history of great buildings in Chicago. The Mies van der Rohe Federal Plaza area (including a post office!) and the Monadnock building alone make Renzo Piano's work look a bit boring for 2009.
James
Not only undistinguished, but totally retrograde, if not derivative. Fifty years ago Edward Durrell Stone did the same thing in New Delhi and Washington that Piano did in Chicago. See the pictures of the U.S. Embassy in India and the Kennedy Center, both designed in the late 50's.