A few weeks ago Camille and I decided to stop in Corpus Christi on the way back to Austin from Port Aransas. Being architecture nerds, we wanted to check out the mid-century modern homes off the scenic coastal drive and roam around the Brutalist downtown area that is eerily void of humans. Emily Little, Austin architect/preservationist/and all around badass, was going to make a pit stop there too and told us we had to check out the Art Museum of South Texas for the architecture alone. Lifehack: You always, always, always listen to Emily.
Philip Johnson designed this white cement, shell aggregate museum in 1972. The slow, stark-white curves and quick, geometric angles instantly reminded me of experimental music from the late 1960's - early 1970's . Harmony, rhythm, and proportion exist both in music and architecture, and (for me) intertwining the two together optimizes the experience. Wandering room to room, from indoors to outdoors, from seaside deck to rooftop; tempos swerved, crescendos shifted, majors fell to minors, and standing still...a soundtrack played in my head. Some rooms might be meant for chanting, others for whistling, some to just close your eyes and feel your stomach drop, and then warm back up. Relationships to spacial elements change as you move through the interior and exterior of a building and the same thing goes for songs.
Since music and architecture are both artifacts of culture from a certain era, I'm maybe thinking there is some sort of correlation there. It would be compelling to know what certain architects were listening to when they designed buildings. Eichler, Johnson, Neutra, Lautner, Wright, Koenig...what did they listen to and did this at all influence their work in any way? I don't know but this is something that makes me really curious, like an entire course could be taught on this. I have a feeling I might be the only one taking a course like this but whatevs. Anyways, if you walk through this building while listening to Steve Reich's "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ", Meredith Monk's "Key", or Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew", you might feel like you were meant to be in this particular space, at this particular time.
- CAMERA: Fuji Klasse W
- FILM: Kodak TMax-400 ISO rated @ 1600 ISO, developed in Kodak HC-110
- MUSIC: Albums -"Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ" -Steve Reich, "Key"-Meredith Monk or "Bitches Brew" -Miles Davis