Vladimir Kagan's Blog

The new Whitney Museum in downtown New York

The Whitney Museum 

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, June 21, 2015

 

 The Whitney Museum of America Art in its new location in the Meat Packing District, a fun user-friendly building by prize-winning architect Renzo Piano.

 

For the past 54 years, the Whitney Museum of American Art has been a shrill outsider in the hoi polio neighborhood of the Upper East Side; a location better suited for the Metropolitan Museum and The Frick Collection. Its only comparable neighbor had been Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum; a work of art in its own right.

 

The Whitney has finally returned to its roots. Not quite Greenwich Village, but to what was until recently considered an unsavory neighbor: the Meat Packing District.

 

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a sculptress in her own right and an avid advocate for living American artists, established the Whitney Studio in Greenwich Village in 1914 to exhibit artists works’ previously disregarded by the traditional academies. By 1929 she had assembled a collection of more than 500 works and generously offered them to The Metropolitan Museum of Art complete with an endowment. When the offer was refused, she set up her own museum with a radically different mandate, to focus exclusively on the art and artists of this country. The Whitney was founded in 1930, and opened in 1931 on West Eighth Street in Greenwich Village. In 1966 the museum moved into its Marcel Breuer designed building on Madison Avenue at 75th Street. It was a jolt to the neighborhood when it opened and a shock when it closed its doors after a massive retrospective for Jeff Koons. No one could quite believe its move to 99 Gansevoort Street and the Hudson River. Most “uptowners” hardly know where it is and how to get there. Even our taxi driver was confused until he consulted his GPS.

 

This was my usual Sunday excursion with my cultural Muse, Ellin Lake-Ewald, the doyen of modern art appraisers and a living encyclopedia for all that was on exhibit. We were delighted to find an unpretentious building by Renzo Piano, who is better known for his monumental buildings; the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, (in collaboration with Italian architect Gianfranco Franchini), The Shard in London, Europe’s tallest skyscraper, and in 1998, the recipient of the most coveted prize in architecture, the Pritzker. 

 

Mr. Piano created this Museum to celebrate the Art! Not as a glorification of himself. The museum is a thinly disguised warehouse! It touts no pretentions, no ego. Frills are left to a minimum. The building is a monument to the arts!

 

We rode up in the freight elevator capable of carrying over thirty passengers; a cavernous box with minimal decoration to break the bleakness of its size. When not used as a people conveyor, it moves the museum’s supersized paintings and sculpture. The doors slid open on the eighth floor to reveal a high-ceilinged, well-lit room, hung with masters of the early modernist movement. There was ample daylight filtering through glass walls on either end of the building. Day light is a frequently recurring phenomenon on every floor, some with doors leading to open terraces, others just providing sitting space for viewers to enjoy the view and meditate on the art inside. The vistas open onto the elevated gardens of Highline, the piers on the Hudson, and dozens of new high-rise buildings that have blossomed in the neighborhood.

 

A panoramic view looking North from one of the many terraced roof-tops of the museum. On the right is the Highline Park that runs along an abandoned elevated railroad track and the building in front is the new Standard Hotel that straddles right over the park.

A view of the Hudson River showing some of the abandoned piers that now will be renovated to enhance this new destination neighborhood.

 

The new Whitney opened its doors at 99 Gansevoort Street on May 1, 2015 with an exhibit of it own collected works called

 America Is Hard to See

A show culled from the Museum’s 22,000 works by some 3,000 artists. I will not give you a blow-by-blow description of the art; that would fill a book… and there are plenty of books. Here’s the floor-by-floor synopsis of the exhibit: 

 

EIGHTH FLOOR 1910 – 1940 Obviously easy to digest and easy to look at art, even I recognized most of the “players”.

 

SEVENTH FLOOR 1925 – 1960 still recognizable and loveable art

 

SIXTH FLOOR 1950 – 1975 the powerhouses of the abstract movement – artists whose work fashioned my design philosophy

 

FIFTH FLOOR 1980ish into the 21^st Century… Here’s where I start to get lost: Installation Art – Sexually explicit art – wacky films – 3D stuff – and all that is experimental and new – but not necessarily good.

 

FOURTH FLOOR offices

 

THIRD FLOOR Theater

 

GROUND FLOOR An expensive restaurant, a coffee house and the usual gift shop.

 

If you happen to be in New York, go see it. It’s worth the trip!

 

Design Week in New York - Part 2

Design Week in New York

 Part 2

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, June 7, 2015

  

 

 

Three years ago Steven Lerner, an enterprising young architect, found a cavernous empty space in the abandoned U.S. Post Office Sorting Facility on West 30th Street. Steven came up with the idea of replicating the off-premises shows that were such a huge success at Salone Del Mobile in Milan. He solicited a handful of small galleries in the USA and European to exhibit their artisans in a start-up show he called Collective Design. Today Collective Design is the premium exhibit of Design Week. The show relocated to 550 Washington Street in Tribeca and can brag of an impressive lineup of exhibitors that go beyond the usual suspects, which is why the exhibition is so exciting. I will take you on a belated tour of this exhibit.

 

I am a car buff - classic cars! This 1953 Cadillac LeMans Concept Convertible was my "take-home" favorite. Cadillac was one of the sponsors of the show and as a VIP guest I was picked-up and delivered home in a very comfortable Cadillac Limo.

 

After my love affair with the convertible "Caddi" - I found my friend, Dana Barnes, with an installation of her concrete seating blocks embedded with her signature knotted and felted wool blobs reminiscent of tropical islands in a sea.

    

Some of the most creative design ideas were tucked away in a separate wing dedicated to new talent. Amongst these I found a basket maker, who loved sewing machines and created these amazing works sewing together tightly wound cords.

 

Another craftsman built this elegant cabinet with doors covered in industrial rubber thereby forming a soft bubble for the finger-grips.

 

I loved this geometric bronze coffee table with a cubist motif marble insert

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph  Walsh, the master of extruded ribbons of wood, created this dining table  in the Todd Merrill exhibit.

and bellow  a young Japanese artist, Laura Kishimoto is one of Walsh's disciples.

 

 

 

Who knows better than Mom what kids need. -- She created a store just for kids furniture and founded kinder MODERN, a Soho mecca for fun kids furnishings

 

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My friend Madeline Weinrib keeps getting better and better with her exciting rugs and textiles

 

And finally, the reason I spent such a productive day at Collective Design was at the invitation of Michael Boodro the Editor of Elle Décor, to join him in an open-ended conversation about design.

 

Michael Boodro and me with the first copy of my new book!

 

 

 

Steven Lerner, the  founder of Collective Design, welcoming Michael and me for our tete-a-tete.

Fortunately, I had brought a copy of my book with me for the interview with Michael Boodro. It was immediately snapped up and launched my 2015 autographing career.

 

Below are just a few of the curve balls Michael threw at me:

 

Elle Decor: The connection between modernism and decorative arts.  Why do you think so many modernists were antagonistic toward decoration, which you embraced? Your history of working with jewelers, artists, and of course your wife, Erica Wilson.

VK: I was brought up among art and artists. Incorporating decorative art into my designs was a mission. From my earliest days I commissioned artists and craftsmen to create tiles, table bases, buffet surfaces and hardware to incorporate into my designs. Naturally, working with my wife, Erica for 54 years had kept me focused on the marriage of the arts and design.

 Elle Décor: Your family history of woodworking, crafting and design. Your father and grandfather, etc. Having a shop. How do you think being a retailer, interacting with the public, influenced your designs?

 VK: My father, Ilii Kagan was a stanch modernist, selling Deutchewerkstätte and Vienerwerkschtätte, the two most avant-garde collaboratives, in his shops in Worms and Heidelberg. He collected German impressionist art ranging from George Grosz, Käthe Kollwitz and Ernst Barlach to Kokoschka.  Some of these are hanging in my apartment today. My grandfather, Julius Wallach, on the other hand was a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist: he collected folk art, peasant furniture and textiles. His store, Volkskunsthaus Wallach, in Munch was world famous. Even Hitler had his block-printed fabrics in his Eagle’s Nest. Julius was the diametric opposite of my father: they did not get along. I loved both their art, which found roots in my earliest designs. The flared legs of the peasant chairs and stools became a part of my early chair vocabulary while my Father’s adherence to the Bauhaus philosophy of ”Less is More” has motivated me all of my life.

Elle Décor: Many of your designs—even pieces from the 40s—seem so modern as to be futuristic, but you have always looked to natural and organic forms. How do you make organic inspirations seem so contemporary?

V.K. Nature is a great streamliner. Nature is a great engineer. Organic shapes are ergonomic. Learning from Nature inspired me to simplify and reduce excess elements in my designs. Though no one would ever call me a Bauhaus modernist, this is where my inspirations originated.

Elle Décor: The scale of works of contemporary art inspired one of your most famous pieces, the Serpentine Sofa—the era of the big Abstract Expressionist paintings—which inspired pieces floating a room. Andre Emmerich was a client, etc.  You’ve dealt with the rise of open plan layouts, home offices and modular small pieces.

V.K. I had to take furniture away from the wall and open them for wall-to-wall art. To allow for generous seating and appreciation of the art works, I created my Serpentine Sofas that could seat eight to ten people in an animated way – not like birds perched on a power line. Building these huge sofas eliminated excess chairs and fulfilled by Bauhaus philosophy of “Less is More”. I called this “Interior Landscaping”.

Elle Décor: You have seen so many styles/trends come and go—you have ridden the wave, a few, such as Post-modernism, you embraced yourself.  You have been in and out of fashion. Embraced by Tom Ford and Bill Sofield at Gucci in the nineties. Did that surprise you? It seems you are more ubiquitous in high design than you ever were. How does that feel?

 V.K. Well, with a long career in design, like a marathon Runner, you can “hit the wall”. You’ve reached the end of your stretch, when along came the  Memphis movement! It was a crazy, non-functional media event that was like a shot in the arm for design. We all of a sudden could look at classic designs and rejoice in their decorative appendages. Add a touch of wild colors and you step over the threshold of traditional modernism and find a new world of design opportunities. I didn’t stay in that idiom for long, but it liberated me from the doldrums and helped me to move on. - How did it feel that Tom Ford and Bill Sofield latched on to my designs? A great boost and confirmation of my work over the years!

Elle Décor: What new technologies do you think are influencing furniture design today? What do you feel about the resurgence of interest in design and making furniture among the young generation?

 V.K. Furniture making is a traditional art. Yeah, plastics, high tech machinery, injection molding will make furniture cheaper and more accessible. But what I really like are the young people at this show experimenting with new ideas and carrying on in the time-honored tradition of furniture making.

Elle Décor: How do you feel about your early work being considered collectible, even as you create new pieces?

V.K. Cool!

 

When a person in the audience asked what was my favorite design - a difficult question to answer as they are all my favorite designs, I answered, my rocking chair, NOT knowing that there actually was one on display in the show!

 

 

Design Week ushered in the introduction of my new book “VLADIMIR KAGAN a Lifetime of Avant-Garde Design” 

 

The first official book-signing was at the Ralph Pucci gallery at 44 West 18^th Street. I signed 150 copies! The opening was followed by two more events in Dallas and Houston at the David Sutherland showrooms. Dallas was where I had opened my first representative showroom some forty years ago. It’s a changed city, wild imaginative architecture that puts the East coast to shame. But no one wears cowboy boots or 12-gallon Stetson hats, which are still only worn in Fort Worth and points west. It was great fun seeing old and new friends and eating the best Tex-Mex food… alone worth the trip.

 

The first book signing event at Ralph Pucci in New York

 

Ralph Pucci, like a proud father, introducing me and my book to the guests

 

My two favorite red-heads: Renee Landegger and Amy Lau

 
A family affair - The Keiser clan, who's loft is featured in the book and my great friends, the Bordes family with friend Ellen Lake-Ewald

 
My lovely client, Clarissa Bronfman and my friend architect Edda Elias

Both Clarissa's and Edda's sofas are featured in the book.

My terrific book designer, Stafford Cliff flew in from London for the event

And finally, my two lovely daughters, Vanessa and Jessica hugging Dad

 

Book signing in Dallas

My hosts, David and Anne Sutherland who hosted my events in Dallas and Houston

     

Hugging Vladi was the big event in Dallas - I loved every minute!

Onward to Houston

         
Hugging and lap-dancing is definitely "IN" in Houston

There's nothing like an after party, party - here were some of the Houston guests listening to my word's of wisdom after the book signing.

 

I am sure, comes fall, my darling publisher, Susan Slesin will have me criss-crossing the country hustling more books and I collecting more hugs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design Week in New York

 

 

Design Week in New York

Part 1

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, May 31, 2015

 

 

New York has its Fashion Week, Fleet Week, Bike Month, Manhattan Cocktail Classic… and finally the spotlight was on us with DESIGN WEEK, (which ended two weeks ago)

It all started some twenty years ago with a small event called ICFF held in a newly built glass palace on 11th Ave. called the Jacob Javits Convention Center.  Designed by I. M. Pei after his huge success with the Louvre addition in Paris.

ICFF was the brainchild of a group of young entrepreneurs who were inspired by the success of the Milan and Cologne Furniture Fairs. It was time to show contemporary design in America. The show was fresh, vibrant and relevant. It was a perfect showcase for new talent, exhibited in unadorned ten by ten foot plain booths. It was where I reintroduced my designs and I credit this show with the rebirth of my Classic Collection.  

 

Over the years ICFF expanded, incorporating exhibitors from Italy, Austria, Spain and added an adjacent space under a huge tent. When more space was needed, new exhibitors found locations at the Piers on the Hudson River. Satellite exhibits found vacant spaces in Soho, Tribeca, Hell’s Kitchen, the Meat Packing District and anywhere temp space was available… Design Week was born.

 
ICFF is like an old school reunion; no sooner did I walk through the doors, when I immediately ran into a half dozen clients, old friends, and admiring fans. I love this show!

However, ICFF, like most exhibits over the years, has become institutionalized. The bloom has worn off.  It is a real estate venture with space rented to anyone willing to pay the price of admission. The sheer size has diluted the presentations. The show that started as an exhilarating showcase for new talent has become unexciting. Today, it includes dozens of bathroom companies showing sexy bathtubs carved in marble, beguiling faucets, showerheads and square toilets.

In all fairness, “Seek and thou shalt find”. Tucked into small-unadorned cubicles there are still gems to be discovered. In the British sector there were creative designers with hardware, lighting and wallpaper. My friend Chris Poehlmann of CP Lighting Is still making beautiful tree-inspired chandeliers. Audrey Sterk, a friend from Nantucket, is showing her graphic wallpapers designs for the first time.  Her work has caught the eye of Janovic - Plaza, a major paint retailer, who has taken on her collection. 

 

 

 You know how I love birds... I couldn't resist these feathered friends by Daniel Latorre Cruz from England

 

 

Nantucket artist, Audrey Sterk's first exhibit at ICFF

 

A talented young English artist with her imaginative wall mural paper through Badgers of Bohemia

 

 

 

I found this very amusing caterpillar stool with articulated vertebrae by an Australian design cooperative called Designs By Them

s  

Christ Poehlmann's twig wall sconset is a classic

 

I discovered Aaron Scott's work at the Architectural Digest show a year ago... this Brooklyn based artisan is doing great original work

 

I loved this amusing rattan chair (though it may not be stable when sitting in it)

In a  Danish exhibit called "Onecollection" I found this reproduction of one of my all-time favorite mid-century craftsman Finn Juhl 

 

Twist and turn - two artisans explored similar concepts

The stool is by British artist Nick Rawcliffe - Sadly I do not have the name of the maker of the table

Revisiting acrylic lighting with new LED technology

  
A very simple but effective wall clock by Nomon

 

George Beylaryan's Design Memorabilia company with a collection called De Gustibus

 

A cool bookcase system with movable dividers made of recycled wood

   This all steel cabinet is made of discarded - recycled metal shelving from the dump by Jim Rose. The pattern is from an old American quilt design

 
   

Fun designs concept from the schools: A bird-house with wings • A glass decanter cast into a wood mold

F
...and finally the prettiest shoes at the show

and an endearing exhibitor from Northern Canada showing her father's tables

 

 

 

The Social Agenda

The MAD Museum (Museum of Art & Design) used Design Week for its annual Gala dinner honoring the young emerging designer Sebastian Errazuriz. I was honored to introduce my friend at this Gala dinner. At only thirty seven year old, Sebastian is one of the hottest, most talented multi-faceted artists today. (I had devoted an earlier Blog to his provocative work - look him up on the internet)

Dapper Sebastian Errazuriz got to hug the two most beautiful women at the Gala

...but I got the Kiss!

 

Saturday evening, I was invited to a night of impromptu jazz at my friends the Vales, who do this once or twice a year. The entire family is into jazz and each member performed with the twenty-five invited musicians at the party.

 

Look for Part Two of this review shortly

The Flight of the Snowbird - A Farewell to Florida (part 1)

Reflections on a Little Treasure in South Florida

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, April 26, 2015

 

 

I Have just returned to frigid New York after spending the last month in balmy Florida. The next few Blogs are my recollections of what I have left behind.

 +++++

Barreling down a six-lane highway on route to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, you hardly think of exiting in Delray Beach for a visit to a Japanese garden. It has always been on my back-burner until I needed some entertainment for visiting friends and family.

 

 

A Japanese garden in Florida? With lakes – pagodas - topiary trees - Bonsai trees - Koi fish? A respectable Japanese restaurant topped off with an irresistible gift shop? … All this is available just six miles off bustling I-95 in the hinterland of Delray Beach!

 

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, is one of Palm Beach County’s most treasured cultural attractions. Located in a tranquil natural setting, its 200-acre park features nature trails, pine forests and picnic areas. The gardens reflect major periods of Japanese garden design, from the eighth to the 20th century. According to the garden’s designer, Hoichi Kurisu, each sequence of gardens is intended to express the character and ideas of a counterpart in Japan. As you follow its swirling pebbled trails, each garden flows seamlessly one into the another to becomes a paradisiacal landscape.

I was surprised to discover a century-old connection between Japan and South Florida. In 1904, Jo Sakai, a recent graduate of New York University, returned to his homeland of Miyazu, Japan, to organize a group of pioneering farmers and led them to what is now northern Boca Raton. With the help of the Model Land Company, a subsidiary of Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railroad, they formed a farming colony they named Yamato, an ancient name for Japan. Ultimately, the results of their crop experimentation were disappointing and the Yamato Colony fell far short of its goals. By the 1920s the community, which had never grown beyond 30 to 35 individuals, finally fell apart. One by one, the families left for other parts of the United States or returned to Japan. All that remains on the map is Yamato Avenue – exit 00 on I-95. (Now I finally understand why the Japanese Name!)

 

 
 Me. the eternal tree hugger, on my scooter, scouting out the trees

Every tree and shrub has been carefully "topiaried" - they look like grown-up Bonsais

And this is the real "mcCoy" - a beautiful Bonsai forest

 

 

 As most of you know, I love bridges... here are two charming examples

 

The garden is full of beautiful flowers

  

A heron in search of lunch - the Koi fish were too large for his appetite

   

A dipping fountain - water drips into one bamboo stem which slowly tilts to empty it into the pond below

 
  

A walled garden is enclosed with elegant glazed tiles

 

 

...and then you come out into a wilderness waterfall

You can rest assured that there will be one of these Japanese lanterns in my garden this summer!

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Addendum from my daughter Jessica's I-phone photos

I love this guy because he reminds me a bit of me!

   
 

 

 My design motto "When in doubt, dress it up with a bit of red" 

 

Jessica and I doing a selfie - me tootling on my scooter

 

The Gardens are named for George Morikami, who over the years gifted all the land to the town of Delray Beach. The Museum offers a plethora of cultural events, but it was my leisurely stroll through this tranquil garden that has inspired this Blog.

 

 

An Easter Message

Spring is Sprung

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, April 5, 2015

 

It is Easter weekend and it looks as though spring has finally sprung.

 

I am a snow worshipper… but if I say this to my family, who have endured the severest winter in many years, I had better duck…. shoes, pots, snowballs and glowers will fly at me.

 

 I am visiting my daughter Jessica in Connecticut and she had promised me snow was still on the ground… and sure enough, when I arrived on Thursday night, clusters of snow were still obstructing the driveway.

   

There is something special about the lingering winter with its barren trees. Light penetrates unobstructed through the forest.  A spring wind makes their tender stems dance like a synchronized ballet. And in spite of the severe winter winds and snows, there are still some trees with leaves clinging to their branches. Why?

 

Friday was a cheerless day with intermittent downpours; the pond was still covered with a layer of ice and rimmed with snow. A winter chill was in the air. Cold was everywhere, inside and outside of the house. There were rude noises about the fu-----ing snow. I bundled up in a blanket. In spite of the glum weather, I went to work trying to concentrate on a design project.  Nothing creative flowed onto the paper.

 

But, oh what a difference a day makes! Saturday I woke to a brilliant orange sun trying to penetrate through the shades of my bedroom, a promise of a break in the weather. By the time I got up, the ice on the pond had started to melt and at the end of the day, it was gone. A walk through the garden revealed clumps of snowbells, crocuses and daffodils pushing through the melting snow. Spring was definitely on its way. Finally, sitting on the deck after dinner, nothing says spring more than the ear-splitting cacophony of lovesick tree frogs in search of a mate!

    

In a few days, even before a single leaf appears, the forest will take on a pale, fuzzy, green hue. It is the start of nature’s metamorphoses from its winter sleep into a brilliant new awakening. It may last only a few days before all hell will break loose. The trees and the earth will explode with all their might. Trees will burst with new leaves; the earth will part for ferns and flowers to emerge. The energy is almost palatable. Buds will burst open; pussy willows will morph into delicate flowers, forsythia bushes will paint a bright yellow everywhere, magnolia trees will bloom even before they send forth a single leaf. Spring at last!

 

What a joy to be a witness to this marvel.

  

P.S. Alas, while we had no Easter egg hunt in Connecticut, Jessica provided a plethora of candies that needed no hunting.

 

 

 

Home at Last

 

 

Remembrances Of Switzerland

Bits and Pieces

 

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, March 23, 2015

 

Mission accomplished…. . Having dealt with two major losses within one year, my sister desperately needed a change of pace. It took me two months to convinced her to come with me to sunny Palm Beach.

 

LOOKING BACK

Two months in Geneva was too long – two months was not enough. No matter how you slice it- you want more – you’ve had enough.

 

It took time to slow my engine down. Coming from hyper paced New York City to placid Geneva I learned to move at a snail’s pace. You open your eyes to see things you’ve missed.

 

NATURE

Take the Plain Trees. Plain trees are particularly suited for city planting, as they don’t shed bark! Instead they peel as they grow, shedding paper-thin bits of their outer skin, giving the stems a freckled look. They are ubiquitous in every city. In New York, they are primarily pissoires for dogs. In Geneva they take on certain majesty. For one thing, they are pollarded*. This process gives the trees abundant energy to rejuvenate during the winter and burst forth with clusters of branches and leaves that form a dense umbrella for shade. As their growth is stunted vertically, they develop impressive trunks, some as much as three feet in diameter. The pruned stubs of the branches are knurly and picturesque (or gross, however you look at them).

 *Pollarding is a pruning system in which the upper branches of a tree are removed, promoting a dense head of foliage and branches. It has been common in Europe since medieval times.

 

Pollarded plain Trees on Geneva's streets


 Roses in the famous flower clock on Lake Geneva

In Geneva one could take the time out to smell the roses.  They grew prolifically along the paths of the Lake. No more! Eco minded Genovese, have found that the fertilizer required to keep them in bloom was polluting their lake. (American communities take note!)

 

PEOPLE WATCHING

Girls: I am an expert in observing beautiful ladies. While the rest of the world worships blonds, Geneva is the Mecca for lovely brunettes.

If Genovese ladies take to the bottle (hair dyes, that is) they seem to prefer auburn tints to blond.

 

ARCHITECTURE

Swiss industrial buildings are a joy to behold. Drive along the well groomed Swiss Throughways and you’ll see gems of contemporary designs; not just box architecture dressed with surface graphics, but factories thoroughly innovative from the ground up.

 

A modern factory outside of Bulle in the Swiss Alps

 

(While in my last Blog I lamented new developments as the desecrators of the countryside. Here are some buildings that I admire.)

You might not think of the Swiss as particularly colorful, but I have found beautiful use of color in their modern architecture.

In downtown Geneva, I discovered an exciting new bridge that crosses the Arle. A feast for the eyes.
 

The Bulle bypass

The Swiss have always been master tunnel and bridge builders. Driving into the mountains, the small towns along the way have built impressive bypass roads and tunnels that move congesting traffic out of their picturesque main streets. Their costs are extravagant, but the Swiss are long-range planners

 

ROOFS AND CHIMNEYS

On my daily walks, I noticed things often overlooked while driving. I became enthralled with Geneva’s turn of the century buildings; their gabled roofs and the amusing chimneys that grew out of them.

     

 

Geneva has managed to bury its unsightly telephone wires. The wiring is neatly packaged in decorated junction boxes.

 

TRANSPORTATION

Geneva can boast the most Eco friendly public transportation system. All their buses and trams are clean air electric. The bi-product: a spider’s web of electric wiring overhead… but their trams and buses are streamlined and modern. All silently gliding through the city.

 

MOUNTAINS

I could not leave Switzerland without my ‘Ode to the Mountains.’ This is where I find peace and happiness. It is where Erica and I “sat out” 9/11 when all flights were canceled to the USA; It’s where we skied, summered, brought up kids, and recharged our batteries. It is the home of fondues and aged mountain cheese. In the springtime, the air is perfumed with freshly spread manure (an aroma that is an acquired taste) and in summer, there is nothing like the smell of fresh-cut hay.

 

 

A photo out of the picture window above and my sketch below

 

 

This is the end of my Swiss sermon (But I already have my return ticket.)

 

And now back in the US of A… It has been a hoot entertaining my sister in the Florida sunshine. She has just returned home to her beloved dogs, refreshed and well rested.

 

Clowning around with the family in the Key Lime Restaurant in Lantana, near Palm Beach

Left to right: Matt, Isabelle visiting from England, Vladi, Tanya,  Gigi in front, in back: Capt. Hook, Vanessa and Olivia

 

 

 

 

 

My Swiss friends and their foibles

Are They Obtuse or Obstinate

Copyright Vladimir Kagan February 21, 2015

  

This Blog is written to entertain you and keep me from going stir-crazy…

 When groping for something to write, I go to the dictionary; the word OBTUSE had become a favorite word in my lexicon.

 

        OBTUSE

        [uh b-toos, -tyoos]            adjective

1.             not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.

2.             Not sharp, or pointed: blunt in form

        

Reflecting on the definition of ‘obtuse’ I thought the word OBSTINATE was missing in the description. So, like a good scholar, I went back to my Webster’s Dictionary and found OBSTINATE

 

        OBSTINATE

        Ob-sti-nate                        adjective

1. stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or chosen course of action, despite attempts to persuade one to do so.

  

I had thought that the Swiss were OBTUSE…. and so was my Slavica “Gloria”…(just the name Slavica sounded obtuse). However, I must beg forgiveness of both: I have maligned them –The proper adjective might be more appropriatly : OBSTINATE. 

 

Having enjoyed Swiss hospitality for the past two months, it is very ungrateful of me to criticize my hosts, but here are some examples of Swiss Obtuseness and Obstinacy:

 

• Obsessed with security:  The Swiss imprison themselves at night, secured behind impenetrable shutters. In doing so, they keep out one of the reasons for loving Switzerland, the fresh scrubbed mountain air. Dare to leave them open and you are immediately identified as a foreigner. Swiss obsessions with security and punctuality go hand in hand, both go to the absurd.

• I remember some years ago being invited to a Fondue fest on a ski mountain. The lift stops operating at 7 PM… Erica and I arrived one-minute late. The attendant gleefully announced “Fertig” - Closed! So we sadly watched as our friends in the gondola ahead departed cheerfully up the mountain and we were left behind in the cold.

• The Genovese have a propensity for destroying their beautifully groomed farms and vineyards, replacing them with apartment houses. This is ostensibly to provide housing for an overcrowded city.  But the housing they built is so expensive, locals seeking shelter move to France… 60% of Geneva’s Policemen live in France!

 

 

These luxury condos are often occupied by foreigners on lush expense accounts. In typical Swiss fashion, the buildings are beautiful with many balconies and amenities, security being one of the featured amenities. These beautiful buildings are clad with rich marble, burnished concrete or subtle glass facades. They are clustered in manicured gardens. However, should you want to visit anyone living there, access requires a hike, sometimes a city block or more. That is fine for hardy Swiss mountaineers but almost impossible for impaired old folks like me.

   

The exit from the garage spill out into the middle of the plaza - the ominous retractable cylinders block any vehicular traffic from entering the compound.

 

A very attractive central plaza connects all the buildings of the complex - you can't even park a bicycle there without being reported to the police. You must park it in the proper enclosure

 

They do recycle in Geneva and these are the attractive bins provided for careful separation of the trash

 

The bicycle prison

Try to approach any of these buildings by car and you must drive into their subterranean parking lot. There you find a neatly designated handicap parking space and grab it while available and hobble to the security gate. Naturally the gate is locked; accessible only by a coded electronic device. There is no intercom to find the correct tenant, that would impinge on their privacy…  So you climb the stairs to the street level, which expels you into the middle of the “garden.” On rainy days, (not infrequent in Geneva) you must scurry to the front door, which is again locked with a secret code – no names.  The elevator is designated as “0” or sometimes RC. But try to get into the building and you are stymied.

 

•Every street intersection is monitored by a security camera. Go through a yellow light and you are tagged for speeding as you obviously were trying to beat the stop signal. Whammo - a double penalty.

 

• Weekends are the time to go out with family and friends – perhaps even to a museum, have a nice dinner in a restaurant. Not in Geneva, the Calvinist spirit prevails. Restaurants are closed on weekends, only the museums are open.

 

   

Geneva's latest cultural addition, the new Ethnological Museum

  

The mysterious entrance to the museum - find it if you can!

 

Approach the mirror and it magically swings open

 

First stop: the cafeteria for lunch with our Swiss friend Krista Nyfenneger and my sister

• Geneva’s latest cultural attraction is the M.E.G. The Ethnological Museum. It is an architectural masterpiece, a perfect aggrandizement for the team that designed it. Practical? Who needs it? There is an entrance ramp to ease access, but should you by chance stray to its unguarded edge and you are in danger of falling off and losing your life. Get to the front door – it appears that there is none - only a huge mirror reflecting your approach. As you near this barrier, the mirror opens magically and you walk into a pleasant cafeteria. No museum in sight: the museum is subterranean!  The Swiss have an inclination to build things underground. (must come from their long experience of building masterful tunnels.) I love this museum, it was my second visit and I happily will go a third time. If the  M.E.G’s architecture deserves the title of obtuse, the exhibit is a gem. Arranged in beautiful display cases, exquisitely curated, the displays are also identified in that other language; English.

      

 It's a mixes" kettle of fish" but what else can you expect from an Ethnological Museum?


 

• A few days ago, I had the pleasure of visiting a dear friend in the Maternity Ward of the Cantonal Hospital. This was her fourth baby, so she was no amateur in producing these bundles of joys. Still with Swiss obstinance, the little boy decided to take 7 hours to materialize in spite of induced labor.

   

After nine months and seven hours, a beautiful baby boy - just minutes old

• To further illustrate the obtuseness of Swiss architecture, join me in walking down the corridors of this immaculate hospital. The walls are decorated with mock-graffiti, enough to make anyone dizzy – certainly not befitting a maternity floor.

 

The inappropriate wall decorations on the Maternity Floor

• Finally: Slavica aka Gloria: She is the sweetest thing that has happened to me since Swiss chocolate. She responds to my every whim. But asked to do one thing out of her routine and her face darkens, the charm evaporates. She gets morose and stubborn. Right or wrong, she is always right!  She tidies to perfection. I am somewhat messy, perhaps more than somewhat! Still I like to be tidy, perhaps not as tidy as she would like me be. I like everything in its place – but if it’s not HER place, beware! Some women waddle, others mince, but Slavica parades like a soldier. Hers is a distinct thumping with a rhythmic beat that is audible throughout the apartment.

Sadly, Slavica and I will soon be parting company as I return home and she to her family in Serbia…

I miss her already!

 

P.S. This Blog is a farewell and thank-you gift to “Gloria” as she and I had conceptualized it over a month ago when I first referred to her as Obtuse. The image stuck. Over the following weeks, the Blog fell into place - hope you were amused.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

The Spoiling of Vladimir Kagan

Copyright Vladimir Kagan February 14, 2015

 

Syb-a-rite
Noun
Plural noun: sybarites

A person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for serious luxury
Synonym: hedonist, sensualist, voluptuary, libertine, pleasure-seeker, epicure, bon vivant, bon viveur

A Sybarite was a native of Sybaris, an ancient Greek city in southern Italy. Sybarites were stereotyped as seekers of pleasure and luxury, and "sybarite" and "sybaritism" now connote such sensualism.


The Sybarites never had it so good!

I came to visit my sister and console her after the loss of her husband, David. Two weeks, perhaps three… who would have guessed that I would still be here almost two months later? For someone who thrives on activity and diversity, this could have bordered on insanity; incarceration in a sanitarium. No one stirs in the house until 10 am

But, why get up at 7 or 7:30, my usual “rise and shine” hour, when we get to bed closer to one-thirty or two? My wake-up call is the muffled sound of the steel security blinds being electrically retracted to allow the morning to penetrate. My room has a picture window overlooking a wooded landscape and a grandly restored turn-of-the-century mansion. Each morning I am greeted with a different setting; one day covered with a blanket of white glistening snow, the next brilliant sunshine, all too often though, the day is a gloomy gray with a thick cloud cover with no chance of burning off. Consequently, the occasional bright sunshine is a special treat.

 

Breakfast at 11, lunch at 2:30, tea at 4 and dinner always after eight… and often considerably later. Breakfast can be served in bed or on a small table in the library overlooking a bucolic winter scene. We face east and west so there is never a time of day when streaks of sunlight, if in fact there is sunshine, cannot penetrate the rooms.

Lunch is set out on a beautiful dining table capable of sitting fourteen but graciously set for five or six depending on who will drop in unannounced. The table is always replete with fresh flowers. Like most of the furniture in my sister’s house, the table is early Kagan vintage, beautifully preserved and loved. That alone makes me feel at home.

 

None of this would be possible without my sister's devoted staff: Espy who hails from Peru and Albano from Portugal - my Gloria in the middle is from Serbia

And then there is my sister’s loving attention. Need a manicure? The next day a delightful Spanish lady turns up to trim my nails: feet and hands. Feel stiff? - A charming Swiss masseuse appears to ease the pain. Need a haircut? you don't go to a barber, she takes me to her coiffeur.

A selfie at the hairdresser 

The cook in the kitchen prepares divine meals, but my sister is an inveterate chef and cannot stay out of the kitchen. Her soups are to die for! The cuisine hovers between healthy and Asian, neither of which catch my fancy… but never mind, Tanya gives me a free hand to shop for my favorite food: “Schweinerei” – pig food: sausages, salami, jambon cru, prosciutto, cheeses galore and crispy fresh-baked bread… And of course after dinner chocolates. Have I gained weight? Of course not. Ha ha!

My favorite "Pig" food

To ease my anticipated tedium, Tanya wisely assigned Slavica Rnjak, better known as Gloria, to entertain me; keep me out of trouble and definitely spoil me. (Not in the biblical sense), But pampered I am. Every morning my clothing is carefully laid out – color matched from head to toe. It helped that my departed brother-in-law had a closet full of the finest polo shirt with Hermes labels; cashmere sweaters from Italy, and sweat suits in every color imaginable. My sheets are changed every other day… new linens bring new colors. The chest of drawers, now assigned to me, was originally built by my father, one of my earliest designs dating to the mid-forties. The drawers are carefully organized and tidied daily… open one and it looks like a display at Saks 5th Avenue or any high-class men’s haberdashery.

                                                    These photos don't need a caption!

I have a desk bigger than any in my homes in America. I have two screens for my computer to keep me in touch with my office and monitor new design development. I sketch, I scan, I write Blogs… why bother to come home?

She invites friends for fun musical evenings -Fabrizio Chiavetta is a concert pianist, who plays magnificent accordion... here is is playing both at the same time

When Tanya's daughter Vicki arrived from Milano, we went straight out for a great steak dinner... Do you see the family resemblance?

Polly Hering, Tanya's devoted daughter, who lives in Geneva,  at  Art Expo

 

We go out for lunches - Tanya makes certain that I have a pretty girl as my guest: Nadege Chambrier studies environmental engineering in Lausanne - Albano and Gloria joined the fun 

some afternoons are so sunny and warm that I can sit on the balcony and do designs

A frigid walk along Lake Geneva with "ice fences" created by the freezing name of lake fish dish in genevaspray

The reward for a frigid walk; a delicious Peche de lac lunch with my friends Marion and Jullius

A twilight stroll along the lake

On one of our cultural outings: a visited to the Fondation Martin Bodmer that houses a World class book collection. the exhibit space is purposely located underground not to obstruct the magnificent view of the lake. The Swiss architect  Mario Botta did a sensitive design inserting a modern structure into an historic landscape

 

How do I keep fit in such a sybaritic environment? It’s not easy. Gloria and I take walks in the neighborhood and photograph chimneys, iron gates, old buildings and gnarly trees. Friends take me walking along the lake. Geneva has diverse museums to visit on gray days. I have found a superb trainer who makes me crawl on the floor and works on my abs. When I do finally leave here, I will surely have the much treasured six-pack stomach muscles Arnold Schwarzenegger is so famous for!

Doing my abs in the gyms with my  trainer

Vladi the tree huger can't resist an ancient tree

And finally: a clear sign to curb your dog!

 

 

 

Thinking of you!

 

 

Happy Valentine to all my girlfriends 

See you stateside…sooner or later. 

A Visit to Art-Geneve

A Visit to the Art World

and

The Bullshit Factor!

 

 

Copyright Vladimir Kagan - February 6, 2015

 

My sister, Tanya, is an artist and an experienced art collector. She knows what’s good. On my arrival in Geneva, she showed me her latest acquisition, a delightful little Jeff Koons bunny. You know how much I dislike Koons, but in fairness this one was masterfully finished and a livable scale.

Except it wasn’t a Koons.  It actually came from the candy section at the local Co-Op grocery store!

 

The bunny lives behind an aquarium in Tanya's studio!

 

So much for the true value of art…the Bullshit Factor

 

Art Basel –  has become an International phenomenon. The copycat syndrome has generated numerous wannabes: Art Basel - Miami… Art Basel – Hong Kong… Art  Palm Beach…. the Armory Show in New York, a precursor of Basel and now Artgenève are just a few of these..  Artgenève started tenuously four years ago and has grown into a full-fledged international show. There must have been 70 or more exhibitors from all over Europe. You know that it’s a major show when 50% of the exhibits fall into the Bullshit Factor.  Admittedly, the rating of bullshit is a subjective issue; one person’s bullshit is another’s intellectual masterpiece. My sister’s candy bunny is a case-in-point.

 

As usual, I browse through these events looking for the oddities and do not give adequate credit to the genuine art. There were some very fine examples of both.

 

What is “real” art? How can you tell it apart from the bullshit?  Can you judge it?  What are your qualifications over the person that loves it?  Art is subjective, its value is in the eyes of the observer.  One person’s masterpiece is another’s bullshit.

This Blog is a picture story, as I do not qualify as a bona fide art critic.

 

 

 

My discoveries at the Geneva Art show

Do you remember Salvador Dali - this lamp and chair appeared in his paintings

 

Two pieces - a fourteen foot table and a wallhanging - I really liked them both

 Beware - here comes the latest in Boudoir fashion

Which salvaged car part do you prefer? Door or Hood?

Geneva is the watch capital of the world - how about a 1,000 carat diamond?

This was one of my favorites!

A walk dow one of the aisles of the Art exhibit in PalExpo

 

Who is not a work of art?

The piece on the left is an eerily animated squawking head - the one on the right is your author!

This is Gloria, my friend from Serbia, who has been assigned to me to keep me out of trouble

 

Carpenters Workshop exhibit - one of the best in the show 

 

Some of the featured artists in the Carpenter exhibit

Much of the new art is experimenting with new materials - this is an illuminated wall-hanging woven on fiber optic strands

 

Two of my favorite pieces of nonsense - A  lovely girl imitating the human sign-carriers on America's street corners.... And of course the usual pile of rocks that represents "installation art". No art show is complete without one!

 

 

 

 

The latest in Women's fashion - a bed of nails to stimulate the feet

 

A  chair built in hundreds of layers of wood - is it art or is it a chair?

 

A 3D painting of things not identifiable - experimental art?

 

 

Waste not - want not - a recycled toilet seat

 

 

 

 

 

 

White was definitely the theme of many of the exhibits. I particularly liked these three framed white canvases - Just the right touch of minimalism. ha ha

This is my contribution to the show - the staircase to the exhibit floor - two views - one turned 90 degrees - aren't I clever!

....and finally, the wheelchair brigade - my sister and I getting a free ride

Post Script

     

 

 

We are not in a museum or an art show. This is a wall in a friend's living room.

 

Can you identify the artists?

 

 

A little Weekend Excursion

A Visit Across The Border Into France

BOUTIQUE BOTANIC

 

Copyright Vladimir Kagan February 1, 2015

 

 

This Blog is not going to be Earthshaking, but my life in Geneva has taken an introverted course. Trivia becomes important and so I will entertain you with an afternoon’s outing.

 

France is only minutes from my sister’s home. The border is unmanned but if you cross it as a foreigner, you’d better have your passport… just in case.

 

Gaillard is a none-descript town on the other side of the border. It is a bedroom community for a lot of foreigners who work in Geneva but can’t afford its housing.

 

A selfie with my friend Gloria at the entrance to the Boutique Botanic

  A

        Magnetized plant holders for the refrigerator

 Tanya’s favorite destination is Boutique Botanic – a supermarket for all things creepy, crawly, swimming or that fly. If it grows in the garden, on a terrace or in a pot, it is a gardener’s heaven. When Tanya gets into the doldrums, this is her destination.

    

Things Creepy crawly that live in the water

Bug eating flowers                        Friendly flowers

Bonsai trees - not the best I've ever seen - but good for starts

 

My sister Tanya with her adorable dogs - two miniature poodles and a chihuahua 

The mission: Buy dog food for her three adorable little yappy dogs; get some pots for repotting her plants; pick-up a fish or two for her aquariums. Yesterday she was the mid-wife to 13 guppy babies. It took her three hours to help the mother-fish through her ordeal. If ever there were a fish veterinarian, Tanya would qualify. She massaged the mother’s tummy until one by one they popped out into the fish-world. It is important to separate these babies from the mother and the adults in the tank as they are cannibals and consider their offspring’s a great hors d’oeuvre.

 

 

Thousands of fish and coral aquariums

Thai fighting fish in prison - if you put them into the same tank they'll kill each other

 

But I divert: Tanya can never pass a birdcage without acquiring just one more tiny member for her aviary. Selection is a delicate process; watching their flight, ferreting out the weak from the most energetic and prettiest.

      

Birds galore


...and for decorating your shelves there is an entire menagerie

Tanya's great friend, Isabella, choosing greens for the salad

An amazing selection of raw honey

On this visit we bypassed, the mice, hamsters, turtles, guinea pigs chinchillas, and rabbits. However, we selected a few more must-have fish for the aquarium, chose two pots for her plants and to fill the balcony, selected one more tree. I nearly forgot to mention: attached to this Nature Emporium is a grocery store selling only bio-foods. (None of which looked appealing to me) but Tanya stocked up a week’s supply…I longed for a French Crepe Suzette… not available at Botanic. But we did make them at home, loaded with sugar and flambéed Grand Marnier… not bad for an afternoon’s outing.