Dear Andy,

Best client letter ever. (click image to view larger)

via Andy Cruz/House Industries

Glory at Sea

"Conceived and executed by the youthful Court 13 collective—who is also responsible for the award-winning short Death to the Tinman—Glory at Sea ups the ante of Ray Tinori’s stylish, invigorating work (here, Tintori steps into the role of Production Designer) by telling the story of a group of individuals struggling to survive in an apocalyptic post-Katrina New Orleans. Zeitlin’s vision of a dilapidated future feels strangely archaic, as if the storm destroyed the past half-century of technology, instead leaving behind mementos of an earlier era (bathtub, wooden bed, acoustic guitar, trumpet, etc.). The residents in this flooded world have no use for technology, for without electricity, what good is technology? And without their families, what good is anything? Their only desire is to sail into the sea in order to reunite with their loved ones, who are submerged somewhere under all of that water. To do that, they must band together as a community—in the most spiritual sense of that word—and use their own hands to build a boat from scratch. All they’ve got is their undying spirit, hope, and love to keep them going. According to Zeitlin’s unapologetically sincere vision, that’s more than enough.

...If all of this mythical production lore and staggering technical proficiency were in the service of a lesser cause, Glory at Sea would still be required viewing. But the fact that Zeitlin has a deeply spiritual purpose is what makes it an absolute must-see. While the film is first and foremost about New Orleans, celebrating the undying spirit of that city and its people, it also succeeds as a universally uplifting tale about humanity on a grander scale. Glory at Sea celebrates hope and community and love in a world that is cruel and indifferent. To survive we must all stick together, we must love one another, we must believe."

Thank you Schex

Plucking All My Silly Strings

#1

Today has been an exceptionally cool day... thank you Pitchfork

Hot Like Fire

The XX
Henry Fonda Theater 11/21

Beth Campbell Without Ends

Beth Campbell Without Ends
November 12 - December 19, 2009
Country Club Los Angeles

Wonder Who We Are

Been a little like this and a lot like this

Rudolf Schindler + Charley Harper

The Buck House, Los Angeles
Current West Coast home of Country Club Projects

Architect: Rudolf Schindler
Built in 1934

Teenage Wasteland

Growing up in South Louisiana, my teenage years looked a lot like this.
(via my favorite teenage photographer Folk You)

Convinced of the Hex

(via Library of Congess)



P.S. If you'd given up on The Flaming Lips, like I had, check out their new album Embryonic.. the album cover is great too..

Modern Architecture in New Orleans Threatened

The 2010 list of endangered cultural sites was released today by the World Monuments Fund. On this list was Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, a mid-century modern monument in New Orlean's Tremé/Lafitte neighborhood, shown below. When I heard this I was very interested to find out more about this school and it's Architect, Charles Colbert, since it's rare to hear much about modern architecture in a city overshadowed by the historically significant, 18th century structures of the French Quarter. Once I started digging I discovered that there is actually an aggressive movement to save and adaptively reuse many of New Orlean's mid-century modern structures. Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is actually 1 of 4 schools (all shown below) in the city that are being threatened with imminent demolition while many beautiful and significant modern structures have already been lost in just the last couple of years.

Interesting side note: Wheatley (Tremé/Lafitte) and Thomy Lafon Elementary School (Central City), shown below, are located in neighborhoods that were flooded during Katrina in 2005 yet due to the regional sensitivity that their architects possessed, neither of these buildings flooded.

To find out more, to lend a hand or to share information on this topic, check out this great blog written by the Visual Resources Curator at Tulane School of Architecture Regional Modernism: The New Orleans Archives







Phillis Wheatley Elementary School
Built 1955
Architect: Charles Colbert
Considered one of the ten most important modernist buildings in Louisiana

"All of the 22 classrooms for 770 pupils were raised off the ground, in order to provide an open play area, as the building occupies the major part of the site. Two rows of concrete piers support the cantilivered structure. A series of large steel trusses sandwiched between the classroom walls make this cantilever possible. Classrooms are accessible from open corridors, have bilateral lighting and cross ventilation. Administration and combination auditorium / cafeteria are housed in adjoining one-story structure."



George Washington Carver Junior - Senior High School
Built 1958
Architects: Curtis and Davis
Recipient of the Progressive Architecture First Design Award





Thomy Lafon Elementary School
Built 1954
Architects: Curtis and Davis
Recipient of the American Institute of Architects Honor Award





Hoffman Elementary Schoold
Built 1954
Architects: Sol Rosenthal and Charles Colbert


More Modern Architecture in New Orleans





McDonough No. 36 / Mahalia Jackson Elementary School
Built 1954
Architects: Sol Rosenthal and Charles Colbert
Being restored!


Petrolane, Gas Appliance Showroom
1352 Jefferson Highway
Architect: F. Monroe Labouisse







St. Frances Cabrini Church
Built 1962 (Demolished 2007)
Architects: Curtis and Davis





Motel de Ville
Built 1953
3800 Tulane Avenue (Demolished)
Architect: Charles Colbert



Sanlin Building
442 Canal Street
Mid-century modern aluminum facade covering Greek Revival building



Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
Opened in 1956
Design & Construction: Palmer & Baker Inc.
*Longest bridge in the world at 24 miles over water