Miami Beach has the largest concentration of 1920's and 30's Art Deco buildings in the world. Here is just one, a private residence, showing unity of design, preservation, maintenance and color. Note white block with carved panel around door.
Silver trim echoed by palm tree.
Two (or three) of the draws to Miami Beach.
Rather than modest Art Deco buildings, the reality of Miami Beach is now high-rises.
The Fontainebleu hotel has been a big name in Miami Beach for decades.
We were told it has about 1800 rooms.
The front desk, to right, has light art works by James Turrell. No one seems to notice.
Believe it or not, the main lobby lounge has chandeliers by Chinese activist artist Ai Wei Wei. Is he making a joke or are they serious? No one seems to notice. The artists were probably happy to get the commissions.
Wolfsonian Museum, in South Beach: http://www.wolfsonian.org
(Created by Mitchell Wolfson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Wolfson,_Jr.)
The museum contains over 80,000 objects from 1885-1945: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Bauhaus, etc.
The lobby of the Wolfsonian had a temporary exhibit by contemporary Dutch artist Christie van der Haak: "More is More." It is drawn from Dutch styles Nieuwe Kunst and the Amsterdam style from early 1900's, with a modern beat. To our eyes, it would be evocative of Art Deco.
Objects from German design of the early twentieth century.
Above, an oil painting from 1932 by Ida Ten Eyck O'Keeffe: "The Highland Lighthouse" (Cape Cod).
Ida is almost unknown, having been overshadowed by her famous older sister.
To right: an undated Italian print by Vincenzo Bona of Turin: "The Way of the Cross"
Signage for public housing in Amsterdam, 1920; typography in Amsterdam School style where thoughtful design was used for public works too.
Sculpture from 1929 in cast aluminum: "The Wrestler" by Dudley Vaill Talcott
Wynwood is a Miami industrial district, renovated by Tony Goldman and family into a hip artsy area. It comes alive at night.
http://www.wynwoodmiami.com
Collage in gallery, constructed and run by Peter Tunney.
Megalithic like stones are part of the public art.
Right, one example of the wall art covering Wynwood Walls. http://www.thewynwoodwalls.com
"Antediluvian Aftermath" 2015, Beau Stanton.
Particularly relevant in these times.
Large apartment buildings in the museum district of Miami.
Construction of OneThousandMuseum condo tower, designed by Zaha Hadid is rising and is about half of eventual height of 700 feet/62 stories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Thousand_Museum
While it will be an expensive high-end condo tower, the sinuous form perhaps may provide some visual interest from the public Museum Park.
The low structure partially blocking OneThousandMuseum is the Miami Science Museum.
The Perez Art Museum in Museum Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pérez_Art_Museum_Miami
It is a LEED certified building designed by Swiss firm Herzog and De Meuron.
Above: Outdoor sculpture: "Penetrable BBL, Blue 2/8; 1999 by Jesus Rafael Soto."
Below: "Vertical gardens", planted with local vegetation, dampen sound and make the outdoor portico more appealing. They were designed by Patrick Blanc.
Crowd at the New World Center, designed by Frank Gehry, in South Beach.
It is home of the New World Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.
Simulcast of the concerts are presented free to the public on the wall.
Subtle. This is how sunrise often looks looking east from Miami Beach.
And three in a sequence of an especially fiery sunrise with clouds magnifying colors, which fade as the sun rises.
This sequence shows how colors change as the sun rises over the coastal plain that is Richmond Va, in this case, January 2017. Note silhouettes of Longleaf Pine. Colors are often most intense in pink and blue before the sun rises.
These shots, on the other hand, are at sunset in Philadelphia. Inversely, colors become more intense after the sun sets. Are colors different in the colder northern climate?
