A friend dropped off an article from "The Wall Street Journal" titled "Lovely Labor Lost" written by Sarah Karnasiewicz about the losses of architecturally relevant structures in the recent tragic fires in Los Angeles.
The article said that included in the losses are more than thirty notable buildings whose pedigrees span the 20th century and a who's who of domestic architecture--from Arts and Crafts pioneer Henry Mather Greene to modernist icon Richard Neutra--representing an incredible repository of American home design history.
Our daughter and her family had been evacuated from their home and I hadn't moved past this and wasn't prepared to think much past the immediate personal issues to the broader issues of societal and cultural loss. Everything has different layers and these fires had a ripple effect.
I started to think about why architecture is so important to society and found an article by Andrew Mackie in "Architecture and Well Being." Mackie says, "If you've ever experienced a great building, this question is easy to answer. At its best architecture can inspire us, help us heal, gives us a profound spiritual experience, triggers feelings of awe and wonder and brings us together as families, groups of friends or as entire communities. Architecture shapes the environment where we live, work and play. It is more than just the design of buildings, it reflects culture, identity, community and connects us with our history. Architecture tells the story of human progress and creativity. It is an art and a science that connects objects and places that record our past, define our present and shape our future." Bravo, Mr. Mackie, perfectly said.
When I asked for his reaction to the Los Angeles fires to the art world Dean of the Sam Fox School of Architecture and Design Carmon Colangelo said, "What a tragedy to the art world and what a loss of iconic architecture that was part of our cultural heritage and history."
Think of our history and art museums around the world and how they have galleries devoted to preserving and showcasing fragments of buildings and monuments that have been saved to show the power that architecture has had in past cultures. Notre Dame Cathedral is a shining example of the preservation of a world renowned architectural treasure.
War and nature have left in their wake pieces of now non-existent cultures and communities and entire civilizations as well as their sometimes beautiful and sometimes sad memories of times both current and from all times.
It’s hard to move away from the impact that these natural and man-made disasters have had on man and society. Anita Johnson says in an article, "Architecture has an important social function. It establishes a sense of community by setting boundaries for a given area, as well as provides a sense of security. This serves to safeguard individuals from both physical and mental dangers, making them feel safe and confident in their surroundings. Furthermore, it can provide continuity over time serving as a place of comfort to current generations".
And the power of architecture and artists is all the rage in popular culture. Two very important artists are featured in recent award winning films.
"The Brutalist" starring Adrien Brody is about the fictional Bauhaus trained artist Laszlo Toth and there is another famous bio-pic about Anselm Kiefer.
In a conversation with Min Jung Kim, Director of the St. Louis Art Museum, she reminded me of the meaning of some of Kiefer's works which deal very much with the destruction and rebirth of civilization.
So now that a huge patch of Los Angeles has been destroyed, what comes next? “The Wall Street Journal” article ends with talk of rebuilding. The journalist says, "While the architectural destruction from L.A.'s recent fires is still being tallied, the design community prepares to rebuild. The challenge is balancing an eye to the future with respect to the past."
Nancy Kranzberg has been involved in the arts community for more than forty years on numerous arts related boards.