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Alastair Gordon: Author, Journalist, Publisher, Artist

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Alastair Gordon: Author, Journalist, Publisher, Artist

 

 




Introduction to Alastair Gordon.  0:39 sec.  Interview:  Raymond Elman.  Camera:  Lee Skye.  Editing & Production:  Jennifer Chang.  Recorded:   3/7/2019, Miami Beach.

 

ALASTAIR GORDON is an award-winning critic, curator, cultural historian and author. For more than 20 years, he wrote on architecture and environment for the New York Times and in 2008 became Contributing Editor on design for WSJ Magazine, launching the popular “Wall-to-Wall” design blog on the Wall Street Journal’s website. His essays have appeared in many other publications including Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Le Monde, Architectural Record, New York Observer, House & Garden and Dwell. Gordon has published more than 28 books, including such critically-acclaimed titles as Naked Airport; Spaced Out; Theater of Shopping; Arquitectonica: Lessons from the Sun; Beach Houses: Andrew Geller; Wandering Forms; and Unfolded: How Architecture Saved my Life.

As Publisher’s Weekly wrote: “Gordon’s eye for the convergence of art, architecture and commerce is unerring.” In 2016, he launched “Poetics of Place,” a critical writing program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He has been awarded research fellowships from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and was recently cited for “Excellence in Criticism” by the American Institute of Architects. Gordon served for several years as General Editor of the Princeton Papers on Architecture and is the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Gordon de Vries Studio, a publishing imprint that specializes in books about the human environment.

The videos below are organized by topic and run between 18 seconds and 6 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

 

SERENDIPITY: 0:18 sec.




Where and when did you get lucky enough to meet your future wife, Barbara de Vries?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:   2:15 min.




Where did you grow up and what is your first memory of art of any discipline?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:  1:03 min.




Who were some of the prominent people that you grew up around?

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:  1:57 min.




Have you ever thought about writing a book about your experiences growing up?

 

OPEN TO CHANGE, FLEXIBILITY:  1:54 min.




What is your opinion about the environmental crisis in South Florida?

 

VALUE FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:  3:15 min.




Describe your education. What did you learn in school that helped you in your career and still informs you today?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 1:34 min.




Who have been your role models and influencers?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:   2:35 min.




How did you get involved with writing about architecture?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  3:59 min.




Has there been any outstanding period in American architecture that’s had a major impact? For example, like the Bauhaus in Germany.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  3:25 min.




Talk about your impressive book on Arquitectonica.

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  5:59 min.




What was the inspiration for your book about the Bal Harbour Shops? What were the surprises along the way?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:  1:57 min.




You have a great track record of producing beautiful, intellligent books. Given the malaise in the publishing industry, is it getting harder to find support for new projects? Or are your projects usually greenlighted because of your outstanding track record?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  2:41 min.




Have you considered making digital books that don’t have to be printed?

 

CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY:  2:19 min.




Talk about your visual art career.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  4:01 min.




Which part of the Miami / South Florida cultural scene do you think is most advanced on the world stage?