Antoni Gaudi
Right before Chase left for college we went to the Kimball Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas to see the Barnes Collection. It's a fabulous exhibit which has a whole story of its own. Anyway we came upon Pablo Picasso's The Ascetic (L'Ascete), 1903. We were standing there for a few minutes and I looked up at Chase, and he had a tear in his eye. I thought at that moment man I wish there was a piece of art would move me like that. Ten years later I took a trip to Spain and couldn't wait to see the Sagrada Familia. when I got there I had my moment. I got out of the car looked up I and got the tear in my eye. I can die now. What is so amazing to me is that Gaudi started on this project in 1883. It's not even that I love the architecture as much as I love the mind behind it. I don't know if they had LSD back then but if they did...Gaudi's melting Montjuic stone building with its Evangelist's spires, the Nativity façade, to the interior that was designed to look like trees and branches is what is took to bring a tear to my eye. Time Magazine called it 'sensual, spiritual, whimsical, exuberant' on the other hand British historian Gerald Brenan stated about the building "Not even in the European architecture of the period can one discover anything so vulgar or pretentious." How do you really feel Gerald? It was started in 1883 and they are projecting it to be done in 2026 - 2028! Whether you are Time Magazine or have Gerald Brenan's point of view it is worth the ride to look into it.
Sagrada Familia
Me.
Interior to mimic trees.
Now here is another reason I love Gaudi's mind. This is Casa Batllo. It is located in the very heart of Passeig de Gracia. You look at this building and obviously see Gaudi. Broken tiles, curves, odd windows but what you don't see (or least I didn't) is that the balconies are skulls and the top cross, represents the lance of Saint George (patron saint of Catalonia, Gaudi's home), which has been plunged into the back of a dragon. SHUT UP!!!
Casa Batllo facade.
Side view of facade.
Skull balcony.
Broken tile facade.
Dragon spine and cross roof.
Spine on roof.
What a great trip to Spain and France with a great friend. Timing couldn't have been better either. I was in the process of designing a Spanish house for a client in Dallas. I call him my crotchety, bitter, pissed off at the world old man, and I loved, loved, loved working for him. In the beginning of the process I showed him some fabrics. He looked at me and said, "Are these fabrics expensive?", to which I replied, "why do you want cheap fabrics"? He laughed and said, "What I want is a designer who isn't a smart ass, but I guess it's too late for that". I continued to do work for him for ten years. Here are a few photos of his house.
Spanish style house in Dallas.
Porch.
Entry looking into dining room.
Living room.
Dining room. Custom inlay-ed table with removable demi loom end table.
Dining room walls. Venetian Plaster with tea stain stencil.
Guest bath. Hand forged sconce lighting, Spanish tile and hand crafted copper sink.
Happy Designing
Sue "CiCi" Cook
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