3,341 words
To be sure, [Heidegger’s] empty formula of “thoughtful remembrance” can also be filled in with a different attitudinal syndrome, for example with the anarchist demand for a subversive stance of refusal, which corresponds more to present moods than does blind submission to something superior. But the arbitrariness with which the same thought-figure can be given contemporary actualization remains irritating. (more…)
2,115 words
Library of Congress Reading Room
Earlier this month, the Architectural Record obtained a draft copy of an executive order that, if implemented, would have a significant impact on federal architecture. Titled “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again,” the order states that “the classical architectural style shall be the preferred and default style” (more…)
206 words / 73:53
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Greg Johnson talks to Rich Houck about the importance of the English conservative philosopher Roger Scruton, who died on January 12, 2020. Then they answer reader questions about how to persuade normies and hostiles of White Nationalism. (more…)
2,155 words
I took an interest in architecture a few years back, after reading Crawford’s The World Beyond Your Head. The book described the effects of the arrangement of space on how we perceived and acted in the world. The effects of arranged space could be negative—the distraction of eye-catching advertisements and flashing lights—or positive—the machine-like feeling of cooking in a well-stocked and well-organized kitchen. (more…)
3,042 words
Frederic Spotts
Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics
New York: The Overlook Press, 2003
Leaders throughout history have frequently deployed the arts as a means by which to display their power. Hitler is unusual, however, in that art was central to his political vision. He was intensely interested in the arts (painting, sculpture, music, and architecture) and dreamed of forging a state whose artistic and cultural achievements would rival those of ancient Greece and Rome. (more…)
1,626 words
Imre Makovecz was one of the great architects of the late twentieth century and the most notable proponent of organic architecture in Hungary. His works are characterized by an idiosyncratic style that melds modern influences with motifs inspired by Hungarian folklore. He designed nearly five hundred buildings over the course of his life, about half of which were built.
4,508 words
Part 3
Hitler is awake all the 24 hours of the day in perfecting his sadhana [self-transcendence]. He wins because he pays the price. His inventions surprise his enemies. But it is his single-minded devotion to his purpose that should be the object of our admiration and emulation. Although he works all his waking hours, his intellect is unclouded and unerring. Are our intellects unclouded and unerring? — Mahatma Gandhi[1] (more…)
5,595 words
“Architecture is the art of how to waste space.” — Philip Johnson[1]
“You know I’ve always wanted to pretend to be an architect.” — George Costanza [2]
“Don’t be stupid, be a smarty / Come and join the Nazi Party” — Mel Brooks, The Producers
Damn you, Philip Johnson! (more…)
June 8, 1867–April 9, 1959
2,943 words
So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
I can’t believe your song is gone so soon.
I barely learned the tune
So soon, So soon.
Architects may come and
Architects may go and
Never change your point of view.
When I run dry
I stop awhile and think of you.
— Simon and Garfunkel, 1969 (more…)
2,690 words
Lars Holger Holm
Hiding in Broad Daylight: An Analysis of the Political Radicalisation and Commercialisation of Artistic Modernism
London: Arktos, 2015
“Charles,” said Cordelia, “Modern Art is all bosh, isn’t it?”
“Great bosh.”
—Brideshead Revisited (1945) (more…)
3,744 words
The current debate on architectural styles, stimulated as it has been by a number of broadsides against modern architects by no less a public figure than the Prince of Wales, (more…)
1,601 words
Roger Griffin
Modernism and Fascism: The Sense of a Beginning under Mussolini and Hitler
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
Roger Griffin, Professor in Modern History at Oxford Brookes University, first introduced the idea of “Palingenesis” to the field of fascist studies over 15 years ago, making him immediately a leading figure in his chosen vocation. (more…)
5,888 words
Podcast here
Welcome to Counter Currents Radio. I’m your host Greg Johnson. With us today is Jonathan Bowden. First of all, I need to ask you is it “Boden” or Bowden?
JB: Depends where you are in England basically, if you are in the North of England you say “Boden,” but if you are from the South of England, and I’m from the South of England, you say Bowden. (more…)
2,775 words
Ralph Adams Cram, 1863–1942
“We all understand that intriguing tribal rites are acted out beyond the groomed exteriors and purple-tinged bow windows of Louisburg Square, but except for what some literary, chosen-few Bostonians have divulged, we don’t know what these coded rituals are, and never will.” — Truman Capote, “Hidden Gardens” [1]
“Great cathedrals, such as colonial Spain built between Mexico City and Buenos Aires, have had little appeal to a people disparaging greatness and grandeur.” (more…)
