|
Review of SOHO's New Book about Architect Irving J. Gill
May/June 2017
By Helen Halmay
Reprinted from Congress of History's Adelante
 Irving Gill: Progress & Poetry in Architecture
Paperback, 148 pages
Over 80 color & black and white photos
$22.99
|
As an appealing combination of an exhibition catalog and a collection of contemporary and period essays about Irving J. Gill and his architecture, a new book on Gill, edited by Alana Coons, offers the reader a photography-filled overview of the man, his work, and his place in history. As the dedicatory page states, "Dedicated to the Straight Line, the Arch, the Cube and the Circle," that are the principles by which Gill worked and lived.
Offered by Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), the book supports and augments the organization's exhibition on Irving Gill that's currently running through Sunday, March 26 at the Marston House.
SOHO's exhibit, Irving Gill: Progress & Poetry in Architecture (which is also the title of the book), is being held in the Gill-designed Marston House, located at 3525 Seventh Ave., San Diego 92103. The exhibition offers insights into the genius of Gill through his creative processes, including recently-discovered and previously-unknown c.1908 glass-plate photographs of his buildings and interiors, both black & white and hand-tinted.
As architectural historian Ann Jarmusch explains, in this chapter about the Gill slides, "More than a century has gone by since Gill likely stood with a commercial photographer to capture insightful views of his then-new buildings. If we cannot visit a building, seeing it through the eyes of a gifted architect is the next best thing to being there." The many beautiful photos in this chapter attest to that fact!
Other color photos in this section include contemporary photos in a chapter about Irving Gill's rare furniture. This redwood furniture came from the home of Wheeler Bailey. In 1907 the new architectural firm o Irving Gill and Frank Mead designed a home for Bailey, a successful San Diego businessman. The house was a weekend retreat that was built overlooking the ocean in La Jolla. Gill also designed simple, redwood furniture for the home. Jarmusch notes, "Unlike his contemporaries, Gill is known to have created furniture just this one time, making the rare, surviving pieces exceptionally valuable for study...."
The eight color photos of details of four pieces of Gill furniture are compliented by two black & white historical, interior photos (courtesy of the San Diego History Center) showing the living room and dining room, and as a bonus, introducing this chapter, a black & white exterior shot of the completed house upon a high cliff.
The final chapter in this first section highlights some of the best Gill-related postcards in the vast collection of Erik Hanson, a local historian/collector/Gill architecture specialist. Fourteen postcards, 10 of them in color, depict Gill buildings as they were celebrated in his own day. I love historic postcards, so this was a real treat!
Thoughts on Irving Gill: Contemporary & Period Essays is the second main section, full of inspiring, thoughtful essays about Gill and his contribution to architecture. There are seven essays, too many to list each here. Three of the essays are by Gill himself, and all of the essays are illustrated with drawings and photos. Just fascinating reading! The book has a foreword by Bruce Coons, SOHO executive director, an introduction by Ann Jarmusch, and short biographies of the book's eight contributors in the back.
|
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
|
