The weekend was jam-packed with things to do and people to see. But there were a couple of personal highlights; on Saturday afternoon I went to a talk at the Annenberg Theatre given by architect and “global citizen” Moshe Safdie. I encourage you to look up his incredible body of work and read transcripts of his talks; he is a truly inspiring gentleman. At the end, he read a poem on life that he had written many years ago:
He who seeks truth shall find beauty
He who seeks beauty shall find vanity
He who seeks order shall find gratification
He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed
He who considers himself a servant of his fellow beings shall find the joy of self-expression
He who seeks self-expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance
Arrogance is incompatible with nature
Through nature the nature of the universe and the nature of man we shall seek truth
If we seek truth we shall find beauty
On Sunday morning, he visited my house—he seemed to like it, took photos of the “surprise” screen porch in my bedroom and observed that there was no superfluous space and from every window is a view of nature. This seems to be in keeping with his general philosophy.
On Sunday afternoon, I attended the premier of the documentary “Neutra: Survival through Design” by PJ Letofsky at the Palm Springs Cultural Centre. I was one of a handful of Neutra homeowners interviewed for the film and was proud to be amongst such esteemed architectural academics. Also happy that I didn’t mess it up!
Below: Brochure from Modernism Week 2019
