Charlie Rose

archspace  10/21/2012 03:09 AM Report

I know Todd and Billy and I have a lot of respect for them as very talented architects. But I just watched "The Art of the Steal" and I have to QUESTION their own objectivity. As an architect myself, I know that it would be tempting to self-justify the ethics of breaking a gentleman's will in order to build an amazing project. As an AIA architect, we are bound by ethics as stewards for the public good (and environment). Their argument (Drexel University interview) was that the spirit of Barne's philosophy was to allow his art to be viewed as a teaching tool for as many people as possible. If we focus on JUST this issue: from watching the documentary, I didn't get THAT AT ALL as what Barnes wanted. It seemed to me that he wanted to provide the "have-nots" with an elite art collection of their own that was BETTER than that owned by the rich establishment. It also seemed to me that he wanted to keep the rich out of this collection. So as an architect, I would have to ask:

Q: Is it ethical to break a legal will based on my interpretation of the spirit of his will?

I'm not questioning legal aspects here, since politics and establishment have ripped that argument away.

Q: But is it ethical?

lippa02  07/09/2012 05:56 PM Report

Walking along Paul Cret's Ben Franklin Parkway (and in Philadelphia as a whole) you see a lot of impressive architecture, history, and gardens, but I was blown away by the integrity and "solidness" of the new Barnes. These two are fabulous architects.

Max83  06/21/2012 01:55 PM Report

Hello dianesis,

I think Charlie meant this as an inside joke. These days with the harsh economic climate we are in many companies cannot afford to invest in avantgarde architecture and only private billionaires or the foundations that they have established, which are non-profit organizations, are the last entities that have the funds to commission new architecture projects.

You have probably heard of the Rockefeller Foundation, which is a 501 (c) (3).

Here is a list of the biggest charitable foundations from around the world, which will give you an idea how much money they have available to them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_charitable_foundations

The Rockefeller Foundation with an endowment of 3.8 billion US Dollars is only number 25 on the list and these entities do not have to pay taxes.

dianesis  06/20/2012 10:56 PM Report

I think Charlie Rose is getting hard of hearing.

After Billie says they don't do commercial work and have really only done work for non-profit, I think he misunderstood when he jokingly replied "you mean nobody has enough money to get you to design fancy commercial office?"

I thought non-profits don't have any money and fancy commercial people do. Am I missing something?

finalfantasytown  06/20/2012 05:10 AM Report

Garden? What kind of garden? I would probably visit this garden 20 years ago because I think it is a kindergarden, or children playground, or children toy collection. I am really tired of this Chinese-like childish expression, sound, and response after watching enough programs in TV and movies, experiencing real life, conversations, It doesn't mean they are young. Oppositely, it means primitive, or ancient, or old. No matter how old they are, their mind remains there.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  06/20/2012 01:25 AM Report

Billie tells us she decides not to read the blogs.

Charlie, you say, 'that happens to all of us' with folded arms and head bowed.

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, whatever did you mean?

SharkswithfrikingLazers  06/20/2012 01:22 AM Report

When I look at these photos I say "the emperor has no clothes"--especially photo 5:

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2012/04/10/ellsworth-kelly-sculpture-installed-at.html?s =image_gallery

When I look at these photos I am taken aback:

http://www.knightarts.org/community/philadelphia/inside-the-barnes-foundations-grand-opening

Yes, you have to the right perspective to enjoy $25 BILLION in art.

Max83  06/19/2012 07:55 PM Report

I watched ''The Art of the Steal'' about two years ago and you are absolutely correct odstudios that there are always two sides to a story at least, often times even more than two hahaha I have spent the last 10 years of my life listening to many different stories from many different sides of the opinion spectrum and I feel that I can now start telling my own story, because I feel confident that I now know all the important sides and stories that a person needs to understand to understand this world we live in.

Yes, the noise of public debate and 24/7 media propaganda through the internet and new portable high speed media devices has become almost unbearable and many people are overloaded by it and do not know how to cope with it properly. I hope though that the reasonable, balanced and authentic voices will continue to be part of the public dialogue and not isolate themselves and completely withdraw from this arena, because they are needed, otherwise only the radicals and hyper activists will dominate the conversation. I agree Charlie Rose is one of the last bastions of good, constructive and progressive conversation.

What surprised me the most was Charlie's ''confession'' of his love of Love. True Love is my expertise. True Love has to be felt and generated first within oneself, before it can be attracted and experienced in the outer material world. Self-Love(which is Self-Respect and Self-Sufficiency(both materially and as well as emotionally) comes before the Love of others or between two people can be experienced.

Anybody who is on the same quest as Charlie is for true Love, I recommend the books by Sanaya Roman to, found at: http://www.orindaben.com/

odstudios  06/19/2012 04:47 PM Report

A very fascinating epilogue to the documentary 'The Art of the Steal'. I must say that when I began watching I wanted to detest these people - primarily because of the information in the Doc about the Barnes Collection and it's history. Then it became apparent that the Architects assigned to this project were quite aware of the controversy and offered a great deal of logic to the conversation. In the end I feel compelled to plan a trip to a city I know thing about just to see this amazing effort. I'm also reminded that there are always different sides to a story. Thanks again CR. You remain the last word on good conversation.

REMant  06/19/2012 11:08 AM Report

It doesn't look as if they were particularly hurting for money.