This piece is unreal. It looks almost edible! I want to dive in! (The room does actually look a little like a pool-adjacent space.) Thanks so much for posting!
Also, immediately, it reminded me of the ICC conference center in Berlin, where there are tiled spaces of a similar colour, though with none of the divine variegation. Some photos here:
One of the things I love about Berlin is the different-coloured tiles in the U-Bahn stations, some of them dating back to the 1920s. Especially the older ones have a good level of imperfection and warm, subdued shades, while some of the ones from the 1970s are quasi-psychedelic.
Here's one of my many favourites, selected in honor of Doyle Lane and his wall of color:
Missing your train because of the beauty of the subway tiles sounds like first stages of Stendhal syndrome. Berlin is a city you could definitely swoon from.
What a gorgeous story and gorgeous colour. I particularly love the variation from tile to tile, speaking of the almost obsessive repetition of process that underlies the work with glazes.
He had two small kilns, and there were over 4,000 tiles. He mentioned that the red colors needed more space and circulation, so he must have made them in many, many batches.
I imagine a period when he almost became the color.
Thanks for the tiles at 49th Street! And for Stendhal's swoon! Just read his own account:
"I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty . . . I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations . . . Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves'. Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling."
Like he says, in Berlin we call it "nerves" ... (LMAO)
When I found the Stendhal Syndome video just now, I was actually looking for this work, Red/Red, which I just saw some of today here in Berlin, finding myself immediately drawn to it, without knowing anything about it:
Obviously we were talking more about oranges, and then blues, but these reds! (Some of the shades are not so far away from FREE WORDS carmine, which comes from a related insect ...)
I was just reading in Illich's In the Vinyard of the Text about the shift in the history of the book from inks that sat on top of the parchment (like Chinese inks) to inks that dyed the page permanently (mordant inks).
I enjoyed noodling around on her site. Did you see this one?
Mmm-mmm. Now that’s some color. Something about the dry, sunny climate where I live makes my eye hungry for rich oranges and reds. They complement our hillsides of invasive cheat grass paling from green to high summer tan. Orange goes with all of nature’s palette here. Now, when I finally get to the Huntington, I will take some time with that wall!
I do think of oranges as important to dry, sunny climates — terracotta roofs and adobe walls, orange and red desert flowers, vivid against blazingly blue skies.
The Huntington itself was a place you could easily spend days wandering.
Oh my goodness Sal!
This piece is unreal. It looks almost edible! I want to dive in! (The room does actually look a little like a pool-adjacent space.) Thanks so much for posting!
Also, immediately, it reminded me of the ICC conference center in Berlin, where there are tiled spaces of a similar colour, though with none of the divine variegation. Some photos here:
https://theunravel.com.au/icc-berlin
One of the things I love about Berlin is the different-coloured tiles in the U-Bahn stations, some of them dating back to the 1920s. Especially the older ones have a good level of imperfection and warm, subdued shades, while some of the ones from the 1970s are quasi-psychedelic.
Here's one of my many favourites, selected in honor of Doyle Lane and his wall of color:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenthaler_Platz_%28Berlin_U-Bahn%29#/media/File:Ubahn-Rosenthalerplatz.JPG
I've missed train after train just staring at these walls. And now I can add a dimension of California reverie to these moments of zoning out ...
Thank you for those oranges! Here’s one from New York’s subway system:
https://www.untappedcities.com/the-mid-century-subway-station-designed-by-architect-philip-johnson-at-49th-street/
Missing your train because of the beauty of the subway tiles sounds like first stages of Stendhal syndrome. Berlin is a city you could definitely swoon from.
What a gorgeous story and gorgeous colour. I particularly love the variation from tile to tile, speaking of the almost obsessive repetition of process that underlies the work with glazes.
He had two small kilns, and there were over 4,000 tiles. He mentioned that the red colors needed more space and circulation, so he must have made them in many, many batches.
I imagine a period when he almost became the color.
Exactly.
Those tiles are gorgeous! Very inspiring. Many thanks.
Thank you, David. I feel like that piece is still shimmering behind my eyes.
Thanks for the tiles at 49th Street! And for Stendhal's swoon! Just read his own account:
"I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty . . . I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations . . . Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves'. Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling."
Like he says, in Berlin we call it "nerves" ... (LMAO)
Amazing! It’s been a while since I read that and I completely forgot he mentioned Berlin!
https://www.aslicavusoglu.info/2005/stendhal-syndrome-2006/
When I found the Stendhal Syndome video just now, I was actually looking for this work, Red/Red, which I just saw some of today here in Berlin, finding myself immediately drawn to it, without knowing anything about it:
https://www.aslicavusoglu.info/2015/red-red/
Obviously we were talking more about oranges, and then blues, but these reds! (Some of the shades are not so far away from FREE WORDS carmine, which comes from a related insect ...)
Oh, the Red/Red project is beautiful & moving.
I was just reading in Illich's In the Vinyard of the Text about the shift in the history of the book from inks that sat on top of the parchment (like Chinese inks) to inks that dyed the page permanently (mordant inks).
I enjoyed noodling around on her site. Did you see this one?
https://www.aslicavusoglu.info/2020/annex/
Ah! What a swoon! Succinct and perfect.
Mmm-mmm. Now that’s some color. Something about the dry, sunny climate where I live makes my eye hungry for rich oranges and reds. They complement our hillsides of invasive cheat grass paling from green to high summer tan. Orange goes with all of nature’s palette here. Now, when I finally get to the Huntington, I will take some time with that wall!
I do think of oranges as important to dry, sunny climates — terracotta roofs and adobe walls, orange and red desert flowers, vivid against blazingly blue skies.
The Huntington itself was a place you could easily spend days wandering.