Bradley Allen (BFA candidate) is in the middle of a backpacking / archi-tourism trip around the northeast U.S.  He has posted some great photos and interesting commentary on his personal blog.  See  http://argyleaddendum.blogspot.com/ or click on the link in the blogroll.

For all the Savannah mid-century fans out there: check out a recent article about the superb Benedictine College campus, and about my years of spreading the news about it.  For some people-centric shots see my flickr stream.  For the full experience go see it yourself–it’s like our own little IIT or Air Force Academy, and there is no more genial host than Brother Tim.

Brother Tim Brown, O.S.B., “The BC Campus—An Architect’s Delight,” The Banner [Benedictine College Newsletter] (December 2009), n.p.

For the past 11 years, SCAD Architectural History Professor, Dr. E. G. Daves Rossell and his students have been studying the architecture of the BC campus. In 1998, at the request of Professor Rossell, a tour of the campus buildings was initiated. To begin with, Fr. Meinrad Lawson, O.S.B. presented a history of the Benedictines in Georgia, which included a history of the school. He then took the SCAD guests through the campus buildings.  As Dr. Rossell and his students proceeded on the tour, he would enthusiastically focus on and discuss noteworthy exterior and interior architectural features of each building.

After Fr. Meinrad left BC in 2001, Br. Timothy Brown, O.S.B. has continued the tradition. Because of listening to Dr. Rossell, Br. Tim has developed a deep appreciation of the campus architecture. According to Dr. Rossell, “all the buildings work together to frame the central parade ground, but the location and details of each signal their particular function…..the relatively elaborate design and details of the monastic complex, including the circular chapel set in a reflecting pool, the arched windows indicating individual rooms, and the richness of interior spaces and finish of materials demonstrate a deep respect for the calling of the monks. The academic building sets the tone for the campus with its clear organization and subtle use of level change and skylights. The gymnasium has a definite grandness created by its height, the curve of the façade and the dramatic cantilevered entry structure. Finally, the cafeteria/auditorium sits at the most public edge of the campus signaling its dual role as a respite from the rigors of academic study and also the setting for plays and services open to the community. A freestanding arcade links the buildings functionally, aesthetically, and in the spirit of the community.”

On a recent visit to the campus in October, Dr. Rossell and some of his students were accompanied by several SCAD photographers who took snapshots of the tour. The photos are going to be included in SCAD’s 2010-2011 general catalog and will be put in the architectural history section of SCAD’s website. This is a first in the history of the school . It certainly demonstrates the architectural importance of our beautiful campus and should foster an appreciation for the hard work that was put into the planning and construction of it. Persons affiliated with the school should be grateful to Dr. Rossell for his interest and his desire to publish the photos which will be viewed by hundreds of people.

Materials of Persuasion
Bard Graduate Center, New York
April 23, 2010

Few persons are capable of being convinced; the majority allow themselves to be persuaded.
Goethe

I’m in the persuasion business, and frankly I’m disappointed by your presentation.
Peggy Olson, Mad Men

Critics passing judgment, clergy seeking converts, advertisers selling products, and politicians running for office are all in the persuasion business.  Persuasion is the key to the art of rhetoric, but there has always been a material dimension to persuasion as well.

Objects are vehicles of persuasion.  We are persuaded to purchase and consume objects, and we use them to persuade others, to mediate the identities we put forth, and our interactions with each other.  The roles of persuasive objects change over time as they pass from hand to hand.  The mutable relationships between material objects, people, and desire are powerful, tantalizing subjects of study.  So how does persuasion factor into these fluid equations?  Makers, buyers, and users all have unique perspectives on the art of persuasion, as well as unspoken intentions that are constantly at work beneath the surface.  Some of these intentions may be deceptive – persuasion can have a dark side.  Finally, persuasion rests upon various types of evidence – what must we see in order to believe?  We invite scholars from diverse fields to explore these issues- come, and be persuasive.

Topics may include but are not limited to:
*        Marketing, advertising, and the mechanics of consumer desire.
*        Branding and the elevation of the status symbol: What’s in a name?
*        The continuum of authenticity: influences, appropriations, copies, knock-offs and forgeries.
*        Persuasive scholarship: methodologies, authorial tone, and the use of revealed/suppressed information.
*        Surface treatments: gilding, varnishing, veneering, trompe l’oeil and faux materiality.
*        The toolbox of persuasion: emotion, rationalism, the hard sell, manipulation, and deceit.

The conference will take place on April 23, 2010, at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City.  Those interested in submitting papers for consideration should contact gradsymp@bgc.bard.edu.  Please include the title and a 250-word abstract of your paper topic, as well as a CV that  includes your contact information and email address.  Please send your submission no later than Friday, January 29, 2010.  Accepted speakers will be notified in February.

The Graduate Student Symposium Committee
The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture
18 West 86th Street
New York, New York 10024

The lecture delivered by Fulbright Scholar Dr. Anuththaradevi Widyalankara from Sri Lanka as part of the Architectural Histoy lecture series on September 29 is now available for online viewing at the SCAD-TV website.

There will be a tabby lime burn demonstration this Saturday (10 to 2 PM) at the Ogeechee Canal Museum on Fort Argyle Rd.

Alumna Patti Kuhn (BFA 2000) has worked at the Washington, DC, office of The Louis Berger Group, Inc., for the past three years.  While in DC earlier this week, I met with her to chat about her experiences as an architectural historian in the Cultural Resources division of one of the largest environmental engineering firms in the country.  She discusses projects that she’s involved in, including the history of the naval base at Pearl Harbor and the cultural landscape of 15,000-acre Prince William Forest Park.

Listen to the interview.

Dallas Dedmon (MFA candidate) has become a Historic Preservationist intern for the Metropolitan Historical Commission of Nashville.

It’s not fun going to meetings, but it can get things done. As reported in today’s Savannah Morning News, Architectural History Chair Robin Williams and Departmental Assistant April Martin are both new appointees to notable Savannah boards (SMN).

April Martin will serve on the Cultural Affairs Commission helping plan and facilitate local festivals, art happenings, theatre productions and much more (CAC).

Robin Williams takes a post on the Historic District Board of Review, serving “to protect the values of property associated with history, unique architectural details or relation to a square, park or area within the Landmark Historic District” (MPC-HDBR).

Both are three-year terms, ending on December 31, 2012. Congratulations!

Full Disclosure: I serve as architectural historian conducting tours, writing entries, and generally boosting awareness of the built environment for the Eastside Savannah Project of the Department of Cultural Affairs. I am also coming to the end of my second term on the Chatham County Historic Preservation Commission, a duty I have thoroughly enjoyed (MPC-CCHPC).

Lesson To Be Learned: Consider some public service yourself–it can help us all, at the same time that it can be enjoyable and productive.

I had the pleasure to learn recently that a 1500-word encyclopedia entry that I authored on “Savannah (Georgia)” for the Encyclopedia of Urban Studies, ed. Ray Hutchison (Sage Publications, 2009) finally saw the light of day, with the encyclopedia’s official release in mid-November.  The timeline of my contribution was actually reasonably fast by academic standards: I was invited to write the entry in 2006, submitted it in September 2007, submitted a revised final version in June 2008 and see it now available a year and a half later.

Graduate Student Lightning Talks

—Call for Presenters
Society of Architectural Historians, Annual Meeting,
Chicago, April 21-25, 2010
Conceived of as opportunity for a number of graduate students to present their current research and receive feedback from fellow scholars, the Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting for the first time will feature a session of short 5-minute lightning talks. All graduate students planning on attending the annual meeting are invited to submit a brief CV and a short abstract (100 word max.) headed with the applicant’s name, institutional affiliation, and title of talk. Preference will be given to PhD students, but all graduate students interested in presenting are encouraged to submit abstracts. Please submit proposals to Michael Waters, PhD Candidate, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University: Michael.Waters1@gmail.com

Deadline for submission is January 15, 2010.