"It’s a combination of a ranch house with what I like to call Jewish Modern — lots of glass but enough wood to keep it on the penumbra of traditionalism,"
From an article re: the 3,900-square-foot penthouse (converted from five small apartments on the top floor of a prewar building) of Tim Blake Nelson and his a wife, designed architect by Mario Egozi.
So what is the verdict?
Miles Jaffe
Jan 27, 16 8:17 pm
Mr. Nelson is wary of coming across as pompous.
Apparently not. But really, who gives a shit what this pompous asshole says?
Donna Sink
Jan 27, 16 8:25 pm
Penumbra used in this way is a pretty damn pretentious word. But I like "Jewish Modern", it calls a certain genre to my mind that I like.
Related, I once worked on a wood church in Florida that the parishioners referred to, lovingly, as "Cracker Gothic".
Nam Henderson
Jan 27, 16 8:41 pm
@Donna totally know the "Cracker Gothic" look. Living in North FL as long as I did led to an appreciation (Spanish Moss, beadboard, tin-roofs and all).
geezertect
Jan 28, 16 7:15 am
The only people who use words like "penumbra" are Supreme Court justices, and they are the most pompous of all jackasses. Even worse than architects, and that's saying something.
awaiting_deletion
Jan 28, 16 7:46 am
dont know what that word means, dont care to look it up, so i dont care what he might be saying. probably not important anyway if you have to uae big words to describe something that looks simple and standard.
geezertect
Jan 28, 16 8:14 am
The guy is a writer, so using five dollar bullshit words is his stock in trade.
Christopher Perrodin
Jan 28, 16 8:40 am
Seems like the client and the architect are pretty good with the word things. Maybe a good pairing of partners then?
Miles Jaffe
Jan 28, 16 9:25 am
Jewish Modern makes me wonder who didn't get paid.
Becky C
Jan 28, 16 9:47 am
I didn't read the article, but penumbra is a good word, worth knowing. Pic:
Miles Jaffe
Jan 28, 16 10:34 am
^ Nope. But that's what architects think when we read your bullshit.
Volunteer
Jan 28, 16 12:17 pm
I always think of Pitsou Kedem in Israel for good examples of that country's modernism. Whether he is Jewish or not I don't have a clue.
That article from The Forward I posted immediately above seems to be making the case that all modernism is Jewish modern. Not sure I'm buying that, but the influence has been undeniably huge.
Carrera
Jan 28, 16 2:54 pm
^ The article is painting over the facts to make claim to something that they have no claim to by a Jewish writer....
There is no such thing as Jewish Modern or Jewish Architecture because they have no historical architectural precedents, creating a Jewish architecture simply isn’t possible. Judaism has always been a literary culture with emphasis on the spiritual not physical that for centuries kept them separated from architecture.
It wasn’t until 1913 with the help of Walter Gropius (not Jewish) that the first Jew became admitted to Bauhaus.
Having built a modernist practice around Jewish clients I can say that most gravitate to modernism as a form of design because it has no contrary religious roots…and of course some consider Bauhaus and Louis Kahn as their architectural roots…but heavy on the former. and the latter, to claim these entities are Jewish Architecture, is a copyright infringement.
awaiting_deletion
Jan 28, 16 6:43 pm
penumbra
Donna Sink
Jan 28, 16 7:18 pm
When I think of Jewish Modernism I'm specifically thinking of religious architecture. I hadn't even considered the idea that there's a specifically Jewish residential Modernism, which is embarrassing given that the article is about a house.
Carrera
Jan 28, 16 7:40 pm
???? just checking my keyboard, I'm obviously typing with invisible ink.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jan 28, 16 9:49 pm
Most people seem to forget that not all Jews are religious, and that there is more to being Jewish than a religion.
I like Tim Blake Nelson, I like his work, I like his residence, and I like that he's self-aware enough to know what he sounds like; I just wish architects knew what they sounded like.
vado retro
Feb 1, 16 3:27 pm
you aint no kinda man if you aint got land- delmar
In reference to this quote
"It’s a combination of a ranch house with what I like to call Jewish Modern — lots of glass but enough wood to keep it on the penumbra of traditionalism,"
From an article re: the 3,900-square-foot penthouse (converted from five small apartments on the top floor of a prewar building) of Tim Blake Nelson and his a wife, designed architect by Mario Egozi.
So what is the verdict?
Mr. Nelson is wary of coming across as pompous.
Apparently not. But really, who gives a shit what this pompous asshole says?
Penumbra used in this way is a pretty damn pretentious word. But I like "Jewish Modern", it calls a certain genre to my mind that I like.
Related, I once worked on a wood church in Florida that the parishioners referred to, lovingly, as "Cracker Gothic".
@Donna totally know the "Cracker Gothic" look. Living in North FL as long as I did led to an appreciation (Spanish Moss, beadboard, tin-roofs and all).
The only people who use words like "penumbra" are Supreme Court justices, and they are the most pompous of all jackasses. Even worse than architects, and that's saying something.
dont know what that word means, dont care to look it up, so i dont care what he might be saying. probably not important anyway if you have to uae big words to describe something that looks simple and standard.
The guy is a writer, so using five dollar bullshit words is his stock in trade.
Seems like the client and the architect are pretty good with the word things. Maybe a good pairing of partners then?
Jewish Modern makes me wonder who didn't get paid.
I didn't read the article, but penumbra is a good word, worth knowing. Pic:
^ Nope. But that's what architects think when we read your bullshit.
I always think of Pitsou Kedem in Israel for good examples of that country's modernism. Whether he is Jewish or not I don't have a clue.
Jews and Modernism: http://forward.com/culture/199812/thoroughly-modernist-jewish-design/
That article from The Forward I posted immediately above seems to be making the case that all modernism is Jewish modern. Not sure I'm buying that, but the influence has been undeniably huge.
^ The article is painting over the facts to make claim to something that they have no claim to by a Jewish writer....
There is no such thing as Jewish Modern or Jewish Architecture because they have no historical architectural precedents, creating a Jewish architecture simply isn’t possible. Judaism has always been a literary culture with emphasis on the spiritual not physical that for centuries kept them separated from architecture.
It wasn’t until 1913 with the help of Walter Gropius (not Jewish) that the first Jew became admitted to Bauhaus.
Having built a modernist practice around Jewish clients I can say that most gravitate to modernism as a form of design because it has no contrary religious roots…and of course some consider Bauhaus and Louis Kahn as their architectural roots…but heavy on the former. and the latter, to claim these entities are Jewish Architecture, is a copyright infringement.
penumbra
When I think of Jewish Modernism I'm specifically thinking of religious architecture. I hadn't even considered the idea that there's a specifically Jewish residential Modernism, which is embarrassing given that the article is about a house.
???? just checking my keyboard, I'm obviously typing with invisible ink.
Most people seem to forget that not all Jews are religious, and that there is more to being Jewish than a religion.
I like Tim Blake Nelson, I like his work, I like his residence, and I like that he's self-aware enough to know what he sounds like; I just wish architects knew what they sounded like.
you aint no kinda man if you aint got land- delmar