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The Cranbrook Connection: Right Place, Right Time

Connections often happen in the places where we least expect to find them. At Optima®, a connection sprang from a love of modernization, to an idea, backed by an ever-lasting willingness to adapt through experimentation in the right place, at the right time. Imagine our surprise when a number of world renown architects and designers such as Florence Knoll, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Harry Bertoia met at Cranbrook Academy of Art at the right place, at the right time, becoming colleagues, collaborators, and lifelong friends. 

The Cranbrook Campus was designed by Eliel Saarinen in the years 1925-1942. He also had help from his wife and artist, Loja, and his kids, Eero and Pipsan at the request of founders — George and Ellen Booth. Everything on campus was highly considered — from the masonry, to the walls, the chairs, textiles, and colors through the use of what they called — total design.  When Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Charles and Ray Eames, and Harry Bertoia were on campus, Cranbrook was essentially a crucible for the beginnings of modernism in which many of these luminary architects and designers practiced and perfected their craft. 

Cranbrook Academy of Art

In late 2022, the design studio at Herman Miller released a short film entitled, The Cranbrook Connection. The film traces the history of Cranbrook as one of America’s greatest examples of modernist architecture and design, weaving in a thoughtful examination of furniture designed and produced by mid-century visionaries for Herman Miller and Knoll. This sweeping survey brings into sharp focus the staying power of total design, while inspiring us with the power of bringing structure and interior space into harmonic alignment.

During these seminal years, Cranbrook encouraged its students to practice experimentation in design, alongside the use of new materials. Eero and Charles had an interesting obsession with plywood. How it bent, how it felt, and sat in space. They later entered into a number of competitions with and sometimes against one another using this material. At one point, they entered the Organic Design for Home Furnishings competition with a suite of modular furniture using molded plywood chairs, and tables that would come to be the seeds of some of the most successful lines of furniture such as the Eames chair, and Womb chair.

Cranbrook Academy of Art (1940) Eliel Saarienen, Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, Flickr

Today, the Cranbrook Academy of Art remains one of the country’s top-ranked, graduate-only programs in architecture, design, and fine art. Just 75 students are invited to study and live on the Saarinen-designed campus, which features a suite of private studios, state-of-the-art workshops, a renowned Art Museum, and 300 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of 11 disciplines: Architecture, 2D, 3D, and 4D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture.

Landscape + Light: David Wallace Haskins at the Edith Farnsworth House

For the architectural icon Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, his impact continues to resonate throughout the worlds of design, architecture, and art. For our spotlight series, we’re happy to introduce the most recent exhibition of Chicago conceptual artist David Wallace Haskins, Landscape + Light, at the Edith Farnsworth House, which engages in a fantastic dialogue with one of van der Rohe’s most legendary homes.

The Edith Farnsworth House, formerly the Farnsworth House, is an historical house designed and constructed by van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951. The house was constructed as a one-room weekend retreat in Plano, Illinois. A rural community 60 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, and was opened to the public in 2004 as a National Historic Landmark.

Over the past decade, Haskins has had the opportunity to create experiential sculptures and architectural interventions in response to various works by van der Rohe. Haskins is one of the few midwestern artists working in the tradition of the Light & Space movement and considers Mies to be one of its earliest pioneers as he was creating minimalist works of light and space thirty years before the movement took hold in southern California in the 1960s. 

As part of the solo exhibition for his 2022 artist-in-residence — Landscape + Light  is composed of three installations across the Farnsworth wooded property including The Memory of Glass, Image Continuous, and Stone Landing. 

Edith Farnsworth House
Memory of Glass, Photo: courtesy of David Wallace Haskins

Memory of Glass examines the recent scientific discovery that certain types of glass retain memories in a form resembling neurons. It envisions Farnsworth House as hearing and remembering an ambient soundscape that has washed over it for the last 70 years. Haskins engineered a way for these sonic memories to emanate from the house. The structure’s 12 large glass panels to reverberate as floor-to-ceiling glass speakers. Sound is both sent inward and outward, further blurring the lines between the indoors and outdoors. “Dissolving the boundary between the interior and exterior world” Haskins notes.

Landscape + Light is also the world premiere of the site-specific sculpture, Image Continuous from Haskins’ Skycube series — fabricated from a ton of skyscraper glass, which is actually half of the glass van der Rohe used to glaze Edith’s home. This visually perplexing sculpture turns the sky inside-out. Thus engaging the spectator as a participant as their position in space shifts. 

Concerning its sculptural presence, Haskins explains: “We tend to ignore the sky as it enwraps and illuminates the landscape, but with Image Continuous, the dynamic is reversed — the landscape enwraps the sky, giving it presence and form. We forget the sky, or troposphere, starts at the ground and rises 10 miles high. Here, we see ourselves in the landscape in relationship with the sky. Whilst allowing us to behold its presence in a truly personal and embodied way.”

Stone Koan
Stone Koan. Photo: courtesy of David Wallace Haskins

The final installation of Landscape + Light consists of a large meditative monolith from Haskins’ Stone Koan series, made from the original Italian travertine that van der Rohe used to cover the stairs and terrace of Farnsworth House from 1951-2021. Due to severe weathering, these stones were replaced in 2021, allowing Haskins to utilize them to create a number of Stone Koans and a smaller Skycube. 

With our heads and hearts firmly rooted in the Modernist tradition. It’s a joy for the Optima team to see how the legacy of Mies van der Rohe continues to inspire contemporary artists. And if you’re a lover of all things Modernist, you won’t want to miss this extraordinary experience.

Landscape + Light continues through May 2023. Visit the Edith Farnsworth House website to learn more about visits and tours.

Chicago Public Art Spotlight: Agrifolia Majoris

With deep affection for Chicago and its commitment to public art, we can’t get enough of the monumental sculptures that abound in the city of big shoulders, from locked-land to lakefront. Today, we’re spotlighting Agrifolia Majoris by Nancy Rubins.

Nancy Rubins is an American sculptor, represented by the global gallery, Gagosian and Rhona Hoffman Gallery. She’s widely known for her otherworldly yet familiar assemblages of objects — toasters, hair dryers, canoes, mobile trailers, cast iron animals, plane parts — the list of objects continues to grow. 

As seen with Agrifolia Majoris, Rubins situates these forms in relation to one another using steel wiring, all of them cantilevering over the people that stand beneath them. The tension of these objects bound together investigates their static nature as sculptures, thus revealing their monumentality and ever-lasting plasticity. 

Blooming from its concrete base floats Agrifolia Majoris, recently installed (June 2022) just north of legendary Promontory Point on the lakefront in Hyde Park. To the observer or passerby, the sculpture seems to explode into a vortex of metallic animals fabricated from cast iron, each held together solely by steel wiring. This form multiplies into a variety of animals — alligators, hogs, elk, buffalo, and even a horse, much like the equestrian sculpture we recently covered, Impulsion in Scottsdale.

While completed in 2017, the installation at Promontory Point did not go as smoothly as one may have hoped. A supercell storm, with winds clocking in at 84 mph at O’Hare Airport, bypassed downtown Chicago entirely — but swept through Hyde Park instead, causing the installers to seek shelter. This left Agrifolia Majoris to brave the night ungrounded. One hundred and fifty trees fell that night. Thirty of which were found along the Lakefront near 51st Street, but the Majoris remained intact.

Dense Bud, 2016
Dense Bud, 2016, installation view, Chicago © Nancy Rubins. Photo: Brian Guido

Agrifolia Majoris, brimming with character and charm, isn’t the only Rubins work sharing the Chicago spotlight. Dense Bud, located on the North Side in Edgewater, at roughly 5300 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, is made of cast iron and a subdued patina of bronze, hinting towards the passage of time. The heavier animals featured — hippos and wolves — spill out of its concrete base. These two sculptures are part of Rubins’ sculptural series Diversifolia (meaning ‘separated leaves), and function as “bookends” to the lakefront.

Rubins’ sculptures join the long list of legendary public artworks across the city, including Picasso’s armadillo, the Calder Flamingo and Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa.

Scottsdale Public Art: Impulsion

As part of our ongoing public art series, we’ve been exploring exceptional creations to be found across Scottsdale such as Water to Water, Pinball Wizard and today’s breathtaking focus, Impulsion.

Project Background

The project was commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art, and installed in December, 2014. It was announced that Impulsion, a work created by Jeff Zischke, had been chosen from 200 applicants as the new sculpture for the entrance of one of the most recognized equestrian centers in the country, WestWorld. The city of Scottsdale undertook an expansion that added 40,000 square feet of space to host special events and renovated their equidome, and wanted to celebrate the newly-opened space with a public art commission.

Today, you’ll find that the equestrian experience at WestWorld is complemented by any number of non-equestrian events ranging from dog shows to auto auctions, including the Barrett-Jackson Car Show. These various events provide great financial benefits to the community while contributing to Scottsdale’s treasure trove of things to do. 

Construction of Impulsion

Power, Nobility, and Beauty

Made of stainless steel tubing, the reflective quality of Impulsion exhibits the brilliance of an equestrian structure floating in formation. The artist’s desire was to create an iconic sculpture to welcome visitors with a grand entry experience as they step inside North Hall at WestWorld. 

Construction of Impulsion

Impulsion is an amalgamation of several horse breeds, projecting the excitement of explosive movement in equine form. In a recent interview, Zischke explains, “At the fundamental level, my intention is to create a site-specific work that is unique, educational, and interactive. To create a catalyst for an experience that tells visitors that Scottsdale is a place on the move. A place containing all the power of the large, elegant horse they are gazing at.” 

Jeff Zischke is an Arizona artist who works in both the public and private art sectors, creating sculptures, mixed media and urban transformation pieces. His viewpoint on the environment he lives in is addressed through varying installations centered on organic shapes and modern technology. 

Next time you’re out and about in your hometown or visiting Scottsdale from outside the community, don’t miss an excursion to WestWorld and check out Impulsion!

Scottsdale Public Art: Windows to the West

As part of our ongoing public art series, we’ve been exploring exceptional creations to be found across Scottsdale, from the unique Water to Water, to the latest installation, Pinball Wizard. Today however, the spotlight is on Windows to the West, Scottsdale’s first public art installation and one that still inspires the city today after more than 50 years in the city. 

In June 1970, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the City of Scottsdale a $20,000 matching grant to commission its own notable work of art by an American sculptor. The NEA program, Works of Arts in Public Places, would go on to fund more than 700 works of public art across the country, and Scottsdale was the first small city they approached at the time. 

Two years later, in February 1972, the City of Scottsdale finished raising their $20,000 of the matching grant, and the Scottsdale Fine Arts Commision chose acclaimed sculptor Louise Nevelson to create the first work of public art for the city. Nevelson, who is regarded as one of the best sculptors of the 20th century, completed the expressionist sculpture out of monochromatic corten steel designed to patina with time. Its abstract structure and shapes resemble some of her other iconic creations. 

Louise Nevelson, the creator of Window to the West, Gazing at her other artwork, 1978, Courtesy of Dixie Guerrero, ©Pedro E. Guerrero Archives

Although the sculpture was originally titled Atmosphere and Environments XVIII, thanks to its westward placement after its completion, it quickly became known as Windows to the West. Since its dedication in 1973, the sculpture has remained a treasured landmark of Scottsdale and continues to showcase how far the city’s appreciation for art has come.

Today, due to renovations on the Scottsdale Civic Center where the Windows to the West lived, the sculpture is in storage until the construction is finished in 2023. When it returns, art enthusiasts can expect the beloved sculpture to find its new home closer to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, but with the same western spirit as before.

Scottsdale Public Art: Pinball Wizard

Scottsdale’s appreciation for art enables artists to publicize their talents and add to the environment’s imaginative aesthetic year-round. From initiatives like IN FLUX Cycle 10 to classic installations like Knight Rise, Scottsdale proudly embraces the impact behind sharing art with others. Today, we’re spotlighting Scottsdale’s latest addition of public art, Pinball Wizard

Completed in June 2022, Old Town Scottsdale welcomes Pinball Wizard as the city’s newest public art installation. Public Artist Annette Coleman worked with Scottsdale Public Art to design and construct the vibrant project using colored glass. Coleman is well-known for her illustrative mosaic public art installations, many of which reside in Colorado, and embraces a public art philosophy rooted in stimulating inspiration and creating community. 

Pinball Wizard resides at the Stetson Plaza Splash Pad at the Scottsdale Waterfront and features 30 disco-like mosaic orbs and various mosaic waves built into the environment. Designed to catch light from every angle, the myriad of shapes and bright colored glass in Coleman’s design embraces the playful attitude that already fills the area. 

Annette Coleman installing Pinball Wizard, Courtesy of Scottsdale Public Art
Annette Coleman installing Pinball Wizard, Courtesy of Scottsdale Public Art

Drawing inspiration from her appreciation for the outdoors, specifically water, wind, flora and fauna, Coleman included various serpent-shaped waves throughout the concrete wall of the splash pad. Her inspiration behind Pinball Wizard, and many of her other projects, also draws from television shows, games and science productions, and other pop culture references. 

Pinball Wizard brings a splash of color to the already lively surrounding at Scottsdale’s Stetson Plaza Splash Pad. Visit the public art yourself and hear more from Coleman about its creation here

The Synthesis of Art and Architecture

Art and architecture share a rich, timeless connection rooted in their design, creators and intended meaning. Both forms of expression become envisioned and constructed through similar principles, visual elements and ambition to engage with one’s senses. Today, we’re exploring this essential relationship and what happens when the two worlds collide. 

David Hovey Sr., FAIA, Optima’s CEO and Founder, says it best when describing the linkage between art – in particular, sculptures – and architecture, saying that “architecture is about function, as well as aesthetics, while sculpture is really just about aesthetics.”

Architecture is traditionally informed by functionality first, with aesthetics coming into play as with a significant role. Art, on the other hand, is commonly guided by aesthetics, without any burdens to deliver an object or outcome that is functional. However, both forms of expression are typically influenced by similar social and political factors that affect the environment surrounding the work or structure. 

Centuries-old cultural movements, including the Renaissance, where art imitated life and vice versa, demonstrate the linkage between art and architecture. However,  it wasn’t until the Avant-Garde movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the integration of the two took a new meaning. 

This integration between the disciplines quickly became a core characteristic of modernism and modernist design, and is distinctly present in the work of some of the greatest architects and artists of the time period. Because artists use their art as a tool to shape emotions, modernism emerged as an expectation in which art and architecture would provide a new value when combined. 

Oscar Niemeyer’s Oscar Niemeyer Museum exhibits the synthesis of art and architecture, displaying bold geometric forms, sculptural curves and vivid murals in a functional structure, reminiscent of a human eye.

The Bauhaus Movement was one of the first to introduce this idea, encouraging the unification of all arts and coupling aesthetics with the technology of the time. Notably, this ideology was cultivated through Le Corbusier’s use of painting and sculpture within his established concepts of architecture. Le Corbusier also argued that it was of equal importance to architects, painters and sculpturists to contribute constructive collaborations to the world by designing and creating in harmony with one another. 

Along with Le Corbusier, various other artists throughout the past century have tried to synthesize art and architecture throughout their work, particularly Oscar Niemeyer, Mies van der Rohe and Zaha Hadid. Today, architects and artists continue to collaborate and integrate their disciplines more than ever, exploring and expanding the dynamic relationship shared between the two.

Scottsdale Public Art: Knight Rise

One of the many reasons we love Scottsdale is its appetite for some of the country’s most thoughtful architecture and art installations. Found in the Nancy and Art Schwaim Sculpture Garden at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, a very short drive from Optima Sonoran Village, is one of those extraordinary displays, Knight Rise by James Turrell.

This inspiring work of art frames the dynamic colors of Scottsdale’s sky through an oculus or skylight. The skyspace is situated at the peak of a concrete dome with concrete benches encircling the room. Knight Rise gives guests their own unique experience with every visit. As the sky overhead changes constantly, so do the perceptions of light and color being framed through the skyscape, inviting visitors’ imaginations to run wild. In a simple, physical act of viewing the sky purely as light, hue, and texture, the artwork completes itself. More specifically, an engaged visitor completes the experience that is Turrell’s artwork.

Part art, part science, the skyspace is an unparalleled creation, and only 14 others are open to the public across the country. Those who experience Knight Rise find it to be meditative and inspiring; a space where one can find tranquility and peace within the confines of the concrete space.

Vibrant sunlight coming in from Knight Rise illuminates the concrete surface of the installation’s interior
Vibrant sunlight coming in from Knight Rise illuminates the concrete surface of the installation’s interior

Knight Rise was completed in 2001 by Turrell, known as a “sculptor of light.” He is an artist of international acclaim considered to be one of the most significant and influential artists working in the world today. And while many artists use paint to replicate light, he uses light itself — sometimes manmade, sometimes natural — to create visual effects. Turell has been creating skyscapes across the United States for nearly five decades, mastering his craft along the way. Inspired by legendary artists from Monet to Mark Rothko, Turell tangibly employs color as the focal point of his practice. 

Knight Rise is a permanent installation located in the Nancy and Art Schwalm Sculpture Garden at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. To experience Knight Rise, visit the Museum anytime from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Scottsdale Public Art: Water to Water

Scottsdale is a diverse community with a deep appreciation for its environment, its history and the arts, which are some of the many reasons we love it. Home to the Scottsdale Arts District, the city recognizes the significant benefits that public art provides to neighborhoods, a value we share in our Optima communities. Today, we’re exploring one of Scottsdale’s most unique public works that highlights an essential aspect of life, Water to Water.

Water to Water was completed in 1999 by Christine Tanz in collaboration with Paul Edwards. Edwards is a renowned designer who received the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Design award in 1990. Both artists are recognized in Arizona for their impressive contributions to public art, including their instrumental involvement in developing a public art plan for Metropolitan Tucson.

Located 15 minutes north of Optima Kierland Apartments, Water to Water sits at the entry of the Scottsdale Water Campus, one of the leading water recycling plants in the world and Arizona’s first potable water reuse facility. While Water to Water is acknowledged as a public art display, it operates as a kind of performance, highlighting the water’s importance to Arizona and its encompassing deserts.

Visitors first witness a pierced metal façade, mirroring the walls in our kitchens, bathrooms and gardens, through which many of us have access to water. Once sensors around the display recognize movement, the installation comes alive, and water sprays from the showerheads and faucets that line the metal wall. 

The “interior” of Water to Water revealing its extensive network of pipes
The “interior” of Water to Water revealing its extensive network of pipes

The unique fountain takes advantage of the freshwater stream that stretches across the campus. After the water travels through the extensive network of pipes that lives behind its metal wall and retreats through the various spouts on its other side, it returns directly back into the facility’s stream – a fully-sustainable process. The skeletal framework of the work provides visitors with new understandings of water, a natural element that many take for granted, and tells a powerful, physical story about how life prospers in its barren surroundings. 

Scottsdale Water Campus, where Water to Water resides, is located at 8787 E Hualapai Drive and is open from 6 to 5 most weekdays. The art can be viewed at no cost to visitors.

Chicago Public Art: AMENDS

When people think of public art in Chicago, their minds often wander to Millennium Park, where iconic pieces like Crown Fountain and Cloud Gate live. However, throughout the city, art is discoverable in every neighborhood. Today, we’re exploring the community-art project: AMENDS. In addition to being an interactive project, the expansive goal of AMENDS is to lay the foundation for the eradication of racism.

Created by internationally-renowned artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust, AMENDS is a multifaceted project living at the Chicago creative space, Facility. The collaborators first envisioned the project after the death of George Floyd in 2020. The engaging experience encourages individuals to publicly share confessions and apologies that recognize how they may be independently responsible for the continued expansion of racism.

The adversarial action is simple but an extremely intimate and impassioned way to acknowledge where individuals make change and, with hope, where society can too. AMENDS consists of three dynamic phases, each expanding on the project over time.

The first phase,“Letters to the World Toward the Eradication of Racism,” is an assemblage of letters, quotes and notes brought to life by Chicago community leaders on the windows of Facility. The remarks contain various raw and emotional expressions that are on view to everyone in the public.

“Dirty Laundry,” the second phase of AMENDS, Photo from Facility
“Dirty Laundry,” the second phase of AMENDS, Photo from Facility

“Dirty Laundry,” the second phase of AMENDS, progresses at Carl Schurz Public High School across the street from Facility. “Dirty Laundry” challenges the public to address any roles they have played in advancing racism throughout their lives. The declarations of apology metamorphose into yellow ribbons that are tied to clotheslines, creating a public collection of community remorse.

Building upon the previous phases, “Called to Action” asks for participation on a much larger scale. In the form of a hashtag — #AMENDS — the final chapter encourages people across the world to voice their avowals and invite ensuing change for the near future. Bringing together artists, community leaders and everyday people, AMENDS serves as a beacon for Chicago and pushes to keep the city moving forward. 

The power of public art is rooted in its ability to welcome beauty into communities. At the same time, it can be a driving force for inquiry, engagement and participation. The values inherent in public art are also core to the character of Optima, which we express through our commitment to incorporating thoughtful art programs into each community we build.

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