#realm – @nickkahler on Tumblr

If it is the function of the public realm to throw light on the affairs of men by providing a space of appearances in which they can show in deed and word, for better and worse, who they are and what they can do, then darkness has come when this light is extinguished by ‘credibility gaps’ and ‘invisible government,’ by speech that does not disclose what is but sweeps it under the carpet, by exhortations, moral and otherwise, that under the pretext of upholding old truths, degrade all truth to meaningless triviality.

Hannah Arendt, Men in Dark Times, 1968

nickkahler

I find the Celtic belief very reasonable, that the souls of those we have lost are held captive in some inferior creature, in an animals, in a plant, in some inanimate object, effectively lost to us until the day, which for many never comes, when we happen to pass close to the tree, come into possession of the object that is their prison. Then they quiver, they call out to us, and as soon as we have recognized them, the spell is broken. Delivered by us, they have overcome death and they return to live with us. It is the same with our past.It is a waste of effort for us to try to summon it, all the exertions of our intelligence are useless. The past is hidden outside the realm of our intelligence and beyond its reach, in some material object (in the sensation that this material object would give us) which we do not suspect. It depends on chance whether we encounter this object before we die, or do not encounter it.

Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time: Swann’s Way, 1913-27

nickkahler

When I assess a building, I focus on five areas, which are an adaptation and extension of the trio of criteria articulated by the Roman writer Vitruvius: “firmness, commodity and delight.” First, quality... . Second, utility... . Third, continuity... . Fourth, humanity... . Fifth, build a bridge between the public and the public realm.

Blair Kamin, “On Architecture,” 2015

#blair kamin #architecture #focus #vitruvius #quality #utility #continuity #humanity #bridge #public #realm #real #delight #firmness #strength #commodity #beauty #adaptation #criticism

nickkahler

Morals are very important. You cannot separate the moral from the visual. I really believe that to have transcendence into the highest realms you have to have acceptance of others. You have to leave the self. You get so bored with the self.

Jeff Koons in Jed Perl, "The Cult of Jeff Koons," 2014

#jeff koons #quote #jed perl #cult #morality #moral #separate #visual #believe #transcendence #realm #other #self #boring

nickkahler

I'm not interested in constructing or framing up. I'm dealing with single units. Because its pure and because it doesn't enter into the realm of architecture in that way and I can control it. As soon as you start adding pieces on, as soon as you assemble or have other parts, you get away from the logic of the proposition. A lot of architects are interested in tectonics for tectonic's sake, and their buildings are overbuilt.

Richard Serra, Interview with Charlie Rose, 2001

#richard serra #interview #quote #charlie rose #unit #pure #architecture #art #design #tectonics #architect #realm #assembly #part #part and whole #structure

nickkahler

A work of art exists as a part of a never-ending conversation—as statement or reply, parody or tangent. Erasure of others’ material, whether crossing out the words of a predecessor or demolishing a work overall, is rare in the realms of art. If there could ever be an aspect of art that life was compelled to imitate, I wish it could be one similarly respectful of civil communication.

Ed Hall, "On Vandalism and Art," 2014

#ed hall #quote #art #art history #exist #parody #reply #statement #tangent #erase #erasure #realm #civil #communication #demolish #demolition #conversation #debate #work of art #theory

nickkahler reblogged

growing-orbits-blog

Losing is also ours; and even forgetting has its shape in the permanent realm of change. Things we've let go of circle; and though we’re rarely at the center of these circles, they trace around us the unbroken figure.

Rainer Maria Rilke, "For Hans Carossa" from Uncollected Poems, 1924

#rainer maria rilke #hans carossa #poem #poetry #lit #literature #losing #lose #change #thing #circle #geometry #figure #art #quote #cycle #shape #realm #trace

nickkahler

In the realm of preservation, as in so much else, we seem to have become a world terrified of too much direct contact with reality.

Nicolai Ouroussoff, "On Rem Koolhaas and Cronocaos" at the New Museum, New York City, NY, 2011 (via nytimes)

#nicolai ouroussoff #rem koolhaas #cronocaos #new museum #new york city #realm #preservation #preserve #contact #reality #past #time #historic preservation #rehabilitation

nickkahler

Chris Fennell, Dikenga Cosmogram, c. 2007

The Dikenga is "the Kongo cosmogram that charts the soul's timeless voyage through life. This cosmogram can appear as four points marking the never-ending cycle of life. Moving counter-clockwise, the point at three o'clock indicates birth, twelve o'clock indicates prime of life, nine o'clock indicates elder status, and six o'clock refers to the ancestral realm."

#chris fennell #dikenga #kongo #cosmogram #cosmology #high museum #diagram #art #philosophy #voyage #realm #life #favorite #africa #african art