Art Deco Lecture

[bulldogger]

I am not associated with this group, but I am on their mailing list. Figured some people would be interested in this type of event...

ART DECO LECTURE SERIES

Tuesday 20 February

7:00 pm

Ely Jacques Kahn, New York Architect:

The Modernist Years, 1925-1950

Ely Jacques Kahn (1884-1972) was one of the most prolific architects of commercial buildings in New York City. While his career spanned nearly half a century, his most widely known work is associated with the 1920s building boom in which the setback skyscraper emerged as a potent symbol of modern America. Kahn, an early exponent of modern polychrome facades, developed a distinctive, abstract, style of ornament inspired by diverse sources, among them, the machine, diverse cultures, and art moderne.

While he satisfied the pragmatic needs of investors with buildings that functioned exceptionally well, Kahn designed entrances and lobbies that dazzled tenants and the public alike, and were distinguished for their coordination of detailing, new materials, and overall precision. Ely Jacques Kahn, Architect: Beaux-Arts to Modernism in New York is the first major critical monograph on his work. Kahn's engagement with modernism during the years 1925 to 1950 is the subject of this presentation by authors Jewel Stern and John A. Stuart.

JEWEL STERN is an artist, art historian, and lecturer. Guest curator for the Dallas Museum of Art's traveling exhibition Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design, she is the author of the book/catalogue of the same name (2005) and an essay in Craft in the Machine Age (1920-1945) (1995).

JOHN A. STUART is associate professor of architecture at Florida International University and, in 2003, was a visiting associate professor at Columbia University. He was coeditor of a Journal of Architectural Education special issue on gender and architecture, and he translated, wrote the introduction to, and illustrated The Gray Cloth: Paul Scheerbart's Novel on Glass Architecture, published by MIT Press.

Jewel Stern and John A. Stuart are co-curators with Janet Parks of an exhibition on Ely Jacques Kahn at the Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University (2006).

Location: Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach

Information: 305-672-2014 or

www.mdpl.org

[tombarnes]

I didn't get the chance to attend this lecture, but I have taken a couple of the Art Deco walking tours offered by the Miami Beach Preservation League. They are highly worthwhile.