Favorite Architects: Kengo Kuma

In our opinion, the work of Kengo Kuma is spectacular! Two highlights for us are:

The Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village, Exterior View

The Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village, Interior View

China Academy of Art's Folk Art Museum, Exterior View

China Academy of Art's Folk Art Museum, Interior View

Kengo Kuma (born 8th August, 1956) is one of the most significant Japanese figures in contemporary architecture. His reinterpretation of traditional Japanese architectural elements for the 21st century has involved serious innovation in uses of natural materials, new ways of thinking about light and lightness and architecture that enhances rather than dominates. His buildings don't attempt to fade into the surroundings through simple gestures, as some current Japanese work does, but instead his architecture attempts to manipulate traditional elements into statement-making architecture that still draws links with the area in which it's built. These high-tech remixes of traditional elements and influences have proved popular across Japan and beyond, and his recent works have begun expanding out of Japan to China and the West.

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Meet Dean Susan E. Cahan: Temple Univerity: Tyler School of Art

Temple University President Richard M. Englert has announced the appointment of Susan E. Cahan as dean of the Tyler School of Art, effective July 1, concluding a national search. A respected arts education administrator, scholar and curator, Cahan currently serves as associate dean and dean for the arts at Yale College, Yale University’s undergraduate liberal arts college. She will succeed Hester Stinnett, who has been Tyler’s interim dean since September 2015. “Susan Cahan is a dynamic and charismatic leader with a unique combination of vision and broad-based experience,” President Englert said. “In the eight years since the Tyler School of Art moved to a new, state-of-the-art facility at Temple’s Main Campus, Tyler’s faculty have continued to elevate the school’s profile. Susan is the right person to lead them to the next level on the national stage.” As dean for the arts in Yale College, Cahan is responsible for the Yale undergraduate arts experience across all arts discipl...

Book Recommendation

Art Lessons: Meditations On The Creative Life Click HERE to buy! Writing in the same tradition as renowned artist Robert Henri in his classic book The Art Spirit, Deborah J. Haynes looks at the value of art and making art in today's world. What does it mean to become and work as an artist today? What are the unique challenges facing artists in the twenty-first century, and what skills are required to overcome them? In Art Lessons, Haynes addresses the mind, body, and spirit of today' s artists with her personal reflections on what it takes to succeed and feel creatively and spiritually fulfilled. The lessons she shares range in depth and scope from the simple to the deeply philosophical, from encouraging her reader to always have a pencil - or crayon! - in hand, to insist that an artist take a seat, to connecting art profoundly to daily life and the earth. Through her own reflections on art and being an artist, Haynes provides a spiritual compass for today's emergi...

The Camouflage House: Hiroshi Iguchi

Architect Hiroshi Iguchi doesn’t believe that greenhouses are only for plants. That’s why he created the Camouflage House, and although the structure provides shelter for people, the architect incorporated an interior garden planted with trees that poke through the ceiling. The home resonates a minimalism expected of a Japanese home with an interior that offers a sleek combination of woods and paper screens that soften the aesthetic of the metal used to construct the greenhouse walls. Giving the home a slanted glass roof, Iguchi had to be creative and resourceful with the interior in order to avoid creating leftover, unused space. The home was split into two levels. The first level is occupied by the living spaces, including the kitchen and dining area — and even a recessed seating area surrounded by a rock garden of sorts. Stairs partially hidden by a screen of vertical slates lead up to the flat and open second level providing a perfect flexible space...

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