This essay defining what Petrarch saw as treasures is included in my most recent book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature…
View More Treasures According to PetrarchTag: philosophers
When I come across particularly visionary designers and architects, I’m never surprised when the talk turns to their favorite philosophers.
I had a seriously powerful experience along these lines during a conversation with the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi. While we were speaking, I was reminded of how Plato likened thought to “a conversation of the soul with itself—a philosophical communication.” The former design director for Olivetti and leading figure in the Memphis design movement has since created a thriving conglomerate melding architecture and product development.
He has envisioned everything from lighting fixtures inspired by Sufi poets to power plants during his esteemed career so far, and his client list is a who’s who of commercial heavyweights. The impetus for my interview was to learn about the architect’s design for La Passeggiata for iSaloni 2015, an artfully rendered cloverleaf to encourage people to stroll through his perceptions. “There is a philosophy of walking in the most antique writings, like those of Plato,” he added. “Every step you take when you are walking, you have a different perspective of space.” I find it interesting that there are layers here: a philosopher citing a philosopher. This makes me love what I do!
Saluting the Renaissance Book Club
This essay celebrating the first printing presses during the Renaissance in Florence, Italy, is included in my most recent book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other…
View More Saluting the Renaissance Book ClubMedieval Calamities in Paris
This essay about the calamities of Héloïse and Abélard is included in my book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature…
View More Medieval Calamities in ParisExploring Frankfurt with Goethe
I am returning to Frankfurt am Main next week to attend Heimtextil for the second time, an experience I truly enjoyed last year for the…
View More Exploring Frankfurt with GoetheMadame Récamier and the Art of Reclining
Jeanne-Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard, known after her marriage as Juliette Récamier, was born on December 4, 1777—240 years ago yesterday. Had she lived during modern…
View More Madame Récamier and the Art of RecliningA Backward Glance on rue de Varenne
The narrow sidewalks push their black iron batons up out of the ground to protect the buildings hemming them; the rain turns the cobblestones to…
View More A Backward Glance on rue de VarenneArchitecture with Heart in Bordeaux
In the preface to the book Grand Bordeaux Châteaux: Inside the Fine Wine Estates of France, Philippe Chaix describes discovering Bordeaux as a bewitching act: on…
View More Architecture with Heart in BordeauxVigée Le Brun’s Passion for Painting
A Passion for Painting Billowing ruched fabric, pointy toes of dainty shoes visible from beneath flounced skirts hemmed in gold fringes and ornate trims. A bejeweled…
View More Vigée Le Brun’s Passion for PaintingOne Special Summer with Jackie O
Hegel’s caveat “history teaches us nothing” may be relevant in cultural and philosophical realities but in the design world the statement is far from succinct.…
View More One Special Summer with Jackie OThreads With a Soul
A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people —Mahatma Gandhi Soul is one of those words with as many…
View More Threads With a Soul