Herzog and DeMurion

March 10, 2006

I must be in a hibernation period with my journal.  We have been home from Hawaii almost two weeks and I have not written anything since the plane.  It took several days to recover from the night plane ride and get back into my stride.  Then I got another cold that felt similar to the Roman infection that thankfully proved not as destructive to me but did give me several days of runny nose and eyes, ears that hurt and general stuffiness.  I am not quite well yet but at least most of my energy has returned.  Last night in preparation for a squash tournament at the University Club my shoulder basically gave up and today I am unable to put my arms above my head, I will have to see a doctor on this issue.  I cannot give up squash for too long.  I was forced to cancel my participation in a tournament and leave my pal and squash partner of 20 plus years in the lurch.

Yesterday, I received my first walk through in the utterly striking Fine Arts Museum’s new building, the De Young.  I think the building is beautifully conceived and rendered.  It is very large and crowned with a tower overlooking San Francisco in all directions.  The tower is separate building but attached to the main museum structure.  Herzog and DeMurion, two Swiss guys, designed the entire complex and architecture.  I met with Karin Breuer who is the curator of prints and drawing for the museum.  She is a good guide. Several years ago I met DeMurion after a lecture at the  California College of the Arts.  He is very sophisticated and well spoken in English and he and his partner had at that time just won the Pritzker Prize for Architecture which is equivalent to something like the Nobel prize only in this case for Architecture.  As Karen and I got deeper into our tour I thought how well done it was because this striking building did not subsume the art but enhanced it with the wonderful design and finishes that were used in the building.  We will go back to the Museum for a party next week and I will get another look.  Our friends, George and Dorthy Saxe have donated their staggering collection of glass and craft to the Museum and their gallery was outstanding.  Kiki Smith has done a fantastic sculptural piece that hangs from the ceiling.  It is all very impressive.