Scrunity & Temptation: While Avarice Has Its Way

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"A lollipop can be oh so nice
Especially when covered with sugar and spice
Though when secretly filled with fish eyes and lice
Joy and delight turns to horror and fright"

(Scrutiny and Temptation, a limerick by Max Eternity)

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Marcel Breuer's iconic Atlanta-Fulton Central Branch Library is at risk. And with yesterday's passage of Fulton County's Library Bond Referendum, the public has unwittingly been sold a civic investment package based on hollow rhetoric and gross manipulation that was supplied by an outright campaign of misinformation, courtesy of County Commissioner Robb Pitts, Library Director John Szabo and Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer David Bennett.

We all want better libraries. No doubt about that. But in a quest to inspire, ensure, upgrade and improve, whether individual or collective, it behooves us all to make sure that what we wish to pursue passes the almighty "smell test".

Here's a comparison. Just think of all the people who have recently lost their homes. It is an unfolding tragedy, mostly because the homeowners signed on the dotted lined, entering into a legally binding arrangement, without fully understanding what they had agreed to. These individuals were boondoggled by finely dressed, smooth-talking loan officers who promised all sorts of pie in the sky, but in the end, what they ended up with was a bloated budget, in the form of an unsustainable mortgage loan which proved itself to be more trouble than it's worth. We've all heard about this in the recent months and years. Some readers may even have a personal testimony? But if one is to learn from such a painful lesson, the question to be asked is, did things have to happen this way?

I don't think so.

And again, we've all heard about the federal governments $700 billion dollar bailout, taxpayer money that is being used to rescue private investment banks who's interconnected debts threatened to swallow us all. But did this have to happen?

I don't think so.

There are countless other examples that could be put forth...truly. Yet, self-evident accountability comes through transparency and sober analysis. I wrote about this in a 4 paged letter (found here). And further still, the bottom line is this. Haste makes waste. Just think of Iraq. And just like Iraq (war) Fulton's Library Bond seemed to make sense, at first glance.

But does it really?

We trust our leaders instinctively, sometimes to our own peril. I say this because, based on staggering list of soundly based facts, I felt compelled to craft said letter which was addressed to our local leaders and the local press. That letter was presented as a collection of common sense questions which one would expect to be standard issue. Nonetheless, these questions were never answered. Not by the press, not by the politicians.

Again, the letter that I speak of can be found here.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news and from the start, it has not been pleasing to go against the grain in order to speak truth to power. But worst than that, in my heart of hearts, I earnestly feel that knowing what I know about what has transpired, it would have been absolutely unconscionable to stand by idle while avarice has its way.

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Buono & Bergdol Discuss The Central Branch

On September 18^th 2008 at DOCOMOMO’s International Architectural Conference (held in Rotterdam, Netherlands), preservation advocate Jon Buono spoke on the current threats facing Atlanta’s under-recognized historic modern architecture; of which includes The Central Branch Public Library. Also speaking at the multi-day event was Barry Bergdol, Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In his lecture, Bergdol discussed the challenges and threats that often confront preservation efforts for 20^th-century architecture; highlighting in his talk, the uncertain future of the The Central Branch Public Library, designed by legendary architect and designer, Marcel Breuer…(more)

Coming Soon: Isabelle Hyman @ Georgia Tech

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Isabelle Hyman Lecture: Marcel Breuer and The Downtown Library

DATE: October 28, 2008
TIME: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Georgia Tech Architecture Library
FEES: none

At a public lecture co-sponsored by the Georgia Chapter of DOCOMOMO and Georgia Tech College of Architecture, Isabelle Hyman will explore the 28-year-old Central Library of the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System designed by Marcel Breuer.

Hyman is Professor Emerita of the Department of Art History at New York University. An accomplished historian of art and architecture, she has published a number of works on Marcel Breuer, a preeminent figure of the modern movement.

Hyman was educated at Vassar College and Columbia, and received her PhD in Art History at the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU. Most recently, she received the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award for "most distinguished work of scholarship in the history of architecture" by the Society of Architectural Historians.

About: DOCOMOMO

DOCOMOMO stands for DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement.

DOCOMOMO promotes the study, interpretation and protection of the architecture, landscape and urban design of the Modern Movement. It promotes the exchange of knowledge about this important legacy which extends from the planned city and the iconic monument to the house next door. DOCOMOMO is an international organization. Founded in 1988 in The Netherlands, today it has national chapters or working parties in 54 countries and over 2000 individual members. It is an important presence in conservation and in architectural culture, worldwide, working in partnership with other international organizations, national governments, and regional and national associations. Click here for DOCOMOMO International.

Visit the Georgia Chapter of DOCOMOMO at http://docomomoga.org

EVENT CONTACT:
Teri Nagel, College of Architecture
Contact Teri Nagel
404-385-2156

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Marcel Breuer: Architect of The Central Branch

Born in 1902 in Pecs, Hungary, Marcel Breuer, is remembered as one of the most influential architects and designers of the 20th Century. Early in life he developed an interest in art, which led him to Weimar, Germany where he studied and taught at the famed Bauhaus school. Once there he participated first as a student from 1920 til his graduation in 1924. Thereafter, he became a faculty member or "Bauhaus Master" from 1924 to 1928; by which time the school had relocated from Weimar to Dessau.

From the outset, Breuer had a clear understanding of the "form follows function" principle. To this, he embraced the concept of unit construction, and in 1925, with his innovative use of raw materials, Breuer was credited with being the first to use tubular steel in furniture; a now ubiquitous, modernist technique applied around the world. As well, Breuer was also one of the pioneers of minimalism.

In Europe, from 1928 to 1937, Breuer enjoyed a flourishing architectural practice. However, because of the outbreak of The Second World War, he made a decision to relocate in America. It was during this time when Harvard University offered him an Associate Professorship at it's School of Design. Simultaneously, many of his other colleagues were migrating to the U.S. including Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier and Bauhaus (faculty) colleagues Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. At Harvard Breuer was joined by Gropius, who taught at the school as well. Breuer continued to teach at Harvard University until 1946. And in 1970 he received the only Honorary Doctorate in Architecture ever awarded by that school.

Throughout his illustrious career, Marcel Breuer was commissioned for numerous, monumental civic structures, with some of the more notable being The UNESCO World Headquarters (Paris), The Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC), The University of Massachusetts Campus Center in Amherst, the headquarters of The Departments of HUD and HEW in Washington D.C., St. John's Abbey (Minnesota) and The Atlanta-Fulton Central Branch Public Library (Atlanta). In addition to his civic commissions, Breuer also received many residential commissions, including The Wolfson House, Breuer House and The Frank House, which he created in collaboration with Walter Gropius.

A major Exhibition of Breuer's work was shown at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in November 1972, and at Paris' Louvre Museum in the summer of 1974. More recently, in 2002 The Smithsonian Institution created an exhibition entitled Marcel Breuer: A Centennial Celebration

Marcel Breuer 1902-1981

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Sources:
AFPL Central Branch - Special Collections
Archives @ The Smithsonian Institution
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The Whitney NYC: A Letter From John Stanley

From: John_Stanley@whitney.org
Sent: Mon 9/22/08 2:31 PM
To: maxeternity@hotmail.com

Dear Mr. Eternity:

Thank you for your thoughtful e-mail, which the Director's Office forwarded to me. As I hope you can understand, it is difficult for The Whitney to take an institutional stand, one way or another, on a subject that is in another city with issues and players that we cannot begin to know or understand. Having said that, however, as one who works with a Breuer building, and has had the privilege of working with many world-class architects over the years, I would like to send my personal hope that all possible uses might be examined and exhausted before this building is torn down.

As a frequent visitor to Atlanta, I can appreciate the desire for those there to try to preserve its architectural heritage. The sort of 60's concrete brutalism is much unloved, as I can attest having lived in Boston for a long time, witnessing the attacks on its Kallman, McKinnel City Hall building. Long term gain can sometimes be lost with short term thinking. I suspect at some point in the future this style architecture will be embraced for what it is, a raw, beautiful art form.

Best of luck in your quest. Regards,

John


John S. Stanley

Deputy Director

Whitney Museum of American Art

945 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10021

212.671.8354 office

212.535.6186 fax

Pimping The Public: Literary Bliss Or A Shotgun Wedding?

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Since all the world now knows that this country was led into a trillion dollar war through a hijacked foreign policy of fear, lies and deception, are we really that shocked to experience more of the same at a local level? Yes, does it really come as a surprise that we Metro Atlantans now find ourselves being pigeon marched into submission by a group of greedy myopic public officials, with Commissioner Rob Pitt's and Library Director John Szabo dragging us down the isle while holding a $275M library bond 'shotgun' to our heads?

Really?

And though of course, a new war will not come out of this, still, second only to pimping and prostitution, it's the oldest trick in the book...a shotgun wedding. It starts with a misappropriation of sperm (sexual recklessness) a compulsive, selfish deed that then leads to unwanted pregnancy and a forced wedding. But of course, in this case, it's not some individual's metaphorical seed or sperm bank, it's a real live bank (roll) of $275 million dollars. And it's not an imaginary wedding of some giddy knocked-up girl to some freckle-faced, hormonal young man, it's the current, brutal reality of the public being hog-tied to the special-interest-wet-dream of two grossly egocentric, public officials who have absolutely no problem with lying and deceiving us all the way to the chapel...or in this case, the poorhouse.

Sounds outrageous, but do I exaggerate?

Well, if you think this scenario sounds scandalous, over-the-top, vulgar and horrifically grotesque, you better think again, because that's exactly what it is. For this, the November 4th Library Bond Referendum, is nothing short of a crucible to the soul of greater Atlanta's literary and architectural future. Pitts and Szabo knew that. Which is why, Pitts and Szabo exploited that. And in the weeks that have passed since Fulton County's once perfect Library Master Plan got transformed into a $275M legal deception of a pet project nightmare that can only be described as a financial Frankenstein. I have come to discover that I am not alone in my conflicted feelings about whether or not to allow myself to be hijacked and forced to support the now radically amended version of the original Library Master Plan; a plan which was originally designed to equally distribute money throughout the county, that now instead uses 30% of said funding to go directly toward new construction of yet another downtown library.

What?

Now spending so much money, $84M, toward the construction of a new Central Branch library would be a good thing if it were something needed and asked for. But here's the thing, it's not needed and it wasn't asked for. Because anyone who'd been downtown in the last decade knows that we already have two massive public libraries already standing in the downtown area, the Marcel Breuer designed Central Branch Library and the civil rights inspired Auburn Avenue Research Library. Thus for reasons other than political profiteering, we do NOT need another library built in that area. It makes absolutely no sense. But the public be damned, because Pitts and Szabo decided that this is what they wanted (for their own socio-political careers?) and that that's what they'd manipulate us to get. And sure enough, it's stuck in our craw like a taco going down sideways.

Though if that were not enough, guess what. That $84M that I just mentioned, it doesn't buy us a whole library. It just gets our foot in the door. As we'd need more than $150M additionally (including the cost of land) to actually complete such a massive project, not to mention the laundry list of lingering questions that would still swirl around this completely ridiculous idea.

So make no mistake, we are being pimped. Pie is not falling from the sky. Osama Bush-Bin Laden has neither been caught nor impeached. And we Atlantans will not be getting the library system we asked for. Because in this high-wire walk of financial philandering, the public is the prey. It's a win/lose situation no matter how you slice it. Pitts and Szabo made sure of that. And as far as I can tell, the only real way out of this conundrum is to reject the referendum and expose Pitts and Szabo as the hideous frauds that they are.

I'd prefer not to advocate doing this, but these men fit the perfect description of wolves in sheep's' clothing. They have the public trust in their hand, but they have their own self will in their hearts. They have hijacked the democratic process. They have subverted the will of the people, and in turn they have perverted the outcome of the vote. Hence, instead of a vetted process of literary bliss, we are now stuck with a $275M last-minute, shotgun wedding, which appears to stave off the wolves, but ultimately leaves us economically anemic and civically deprived.

It's like something straight out of Karl Rove's playbook, cynicism at it's worst. But to this proposition I say no.

Hell no.

And a final word of advice to Rob Pitts and John Szabo. Do what's asked of you and serve the public honestly or find new work. For whether federal or local, we the people are still in power.

Questions For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2008 @ 9:08 PM

To: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATTN: Angela Tuck, Public Editor/Ombudsman
CC: AJC Staff Writer, Alan Judd
CC: AJC Staff Writer, David Bennett


Dear Angela,

As a engaged citizen who's deeply concerned about Greater Atlanta's legacy of cultural diversity, artistic excellence, sustainable "greenliness" and long-term economic success, I now write to you in the hopes of having a few rather vexing questions answered. The subject on which these questions are based pertains to The AJC's media coverage of Fulton County's recently drafted bond referendum for it's Library Facility Master Plan; a risky plan which may have grave consequences for the entire public library system, as well as specifically horrific consequence for the future of it's flagship library, The Atlanta-Fulton Central Branch. That building being a monumental structure designed by a creative genius of epic proportions, the late Marcel Breuer.

Nonetheless, before I ask these questions, allow me to state for the record, that I consider The AJC to be a respectable organization, which employs many a fine journalist. And because I have in the past, found the paper to be worthy of merit, I trust and believe that the paper's management takes the view that critical self-analysis is an asset and not a liability. And again, before I pose these questions, I also ask that one be mindful of the fact that the future of 30+ libraries is at stake as well as $275,000,000.00 taxpayer dollars.

Here are the questions:

The original Library Master Plan went through a 2-year public vetting process, but the last-minute, radically- amended plan did not. Why is this not emphasized and clearly stated by the AJC?

Recorded in FCC public documents (transcripts of meetings & video) is a procession of opposition to the Robb Pitts (amended) version of the Library Master Plan, but in reading several news articles by AJC writer, David Bennett, it occurred to me and some of my colleagues that while there are seven members on the FCC Board, one seems get his voice heard in every published piece, that person being none other than Commissioner Rob Pitts. Why is this? Why, I ask, has one individual been allowed to molest public dialog and shape the entire public debate for his own personal will, especially when that same person's voice grossly misrepresents the will of the people who had already made their intent very clear through the heavily documented two-year vetting process?

The 2 year public vetting process for the original Library Master Plan included input for every public library in the system and was unanimously supported by all parties involved, with not one single individual asking that the current Central Branch be demolished, sold or otherwise disposed of. Why is this not clearly stated by the AJC?

FCC Chair John Eaves, as well as Commissioners Bill Edwards and Lynn Riley, are on the record stating that they had received hundreds and hundreds of phone calls and emails voicing support for keeping and renovating the current Central Branch, and they also said that not a single person (absolutely no one) ever called or wrote for anything otherwise. In other words, in the last two years, there was never any desire expressed in the public process by any citizen to build a new Central Branch, but instead there was overwhelming consent of a desire to keep the iconic structure that we already have. Why then is this point not emphasized and/or clearly stated by the AJC?

Led by Commissioner Rob Pitts and the library system's executive director John Szabo, with the auspices of a few additional "self-will-run-riot" commissioners, a PR campaign is in full force. It is a PR campaign, which mentions none of the information I now inquire about, though I will say that some of these omissions were very beautifully written about by Cynthia Rogers, in an op-ed AJC piece entitled Progress In Preservation. Still however, the assigned writer(s) who are supposed to be reporting on all sides have never really confronted Pitts et all on all these omissions. Why is this?

Furthermore, while heading Clearwater/Tampa's Public Library System, John Szabo is credited with getting a new central branch library built there. Now the same thing appears to be happening here. Is this a coincidence? Or was he hired with the intention to work stealthily towards doing away with our current central branch, in exchange for Pitt's vision of a "bigger better" newer one? And keep in mind, whether being coincidence or deliberate action, shouldn't the public know about this bit of potent information?

FCC Chair John Eaves, as well as Commissioner Lynn Riley, expressed much dissent against Pitt's et all, with (at a later date) Lynn Riley, in response to an email that I had sent to her thanking her for voting to honor the people's will by supporting only the original Library Master Plan, she wrote back in her reply saying "It was disappointing that a comprehensive library facility master plan could be hijacked for an un-substantiated purpose". By any measure, that statement packs a punch. So, with the question being that if I, a private citizen with no special access to public officials, was able to learn this directly from the source, why could the infinitely more powerful staff at The AJC not gather this very important quote…and so much more?

Moving on.

The Executive Director of American Institute of Architects Atlanta Chapter, Susan Ellis Proper, as well as the organization's president, Bruce McEvoy, are ardent supporters of the original Library Master Plan. I know this information as I have personally spoken with both of them. However they like I, do not support the Pitts/Szabo amended plan that has now become the stated bond referendum. Thus with both of these very knowledgeable architects and many of their architectural peers having expressed these same sentiments at FCC meeting(s) and through the AIA Atlanta website, why have neither they, nor young architect leader Newel Watkins, not been given, as respected cultural stewards of Greater Atlanta, a proper interview? Yes, why haven't any of these distinguished individuals been asked to weigh in on this issue via The AJC?

Too this, with an onslaught of daily news reports around the globe which speak of the collapsing state of the U.S. economy, with some economist essentially equating our current recession as fast approaching the very same dynamics and fallout of the 1929 Great Depression, why has Commissioner Rob Pitts and Library Director John Szabo been allowed to dramatically fatten the projected budget of the Library Master Plan by approximately almost 25% with virtually no public input, or rigorous scrutiny from your paper; a paper which itself is feeling the direct effect of the prior mentioned economic woes i.e. with the laying off of 200 of your own employees. Where is the objectivity and scrutiny that ought to be de rigueur, especially in such dire economic times?

And, another question…. with local and global concern for environmental preservation increasing daily, why hasn't The AJC thought to ask a LEED certified expert or some other knowledgeable individuals in the field of project sustainability and urban renewal, about the impact of the wholesale "junking" of a large civic structure? Wouldn't that have been an appropriate line of questioning for the commissioners, which may have shown a sign of sane, reflective, leadership on the behalf of the FCC Board?

And then there is this looming question, with Marcel Breuer having been such a phenomenal artist, architect and industrial engineer, and given the fact that Atlanta-Fulton has the very last public structure built by such a towering figure, why hasn't The AJC asked the same type of questions that one would expect to be asked if a structure of said significance had such historic value to African-Americans causes and the Civil Rights Movement. In other words, as an African-American myself, who is very proud of that fact and who prides himself of the legacy of equanimity and justice that our own Dr. King and Coretta Scott King left with us, why then has the AJC not inquired to the commissioners as to why that the same sensitivity of one subculture cultural value is not being given to another subculture. I make this point because as a fair-minded human being (that happens to be African-American) who can chew gum and walk at the same time, meaning that I understand the win/win of a multi-faceted system of just inclusion, I have a deep appreciation of civic equity where ever it may be. From this place of vision, it is a logical step that an awareness should exist, which facilitates that the Marcel Breuer building represents an easily seen parallel equation in the world of architecture and civic preservation to the civil rights world? Meaning that if one were to draw a direct comparison between the Civil Rights aesthetic and the Artistic aesthetic, Marcel Breuer would easily rank as an Andrew Young, Malcolm X, or Rosa Parks. So again, to rephrase, why wasn't The AJC able to parse the need for common sense wisdom, historical sensitivity and civic stewardship, when dealing with the legacy of ALL the great contributors to our society?

And what about the one off, site-specific monumental sculpture by famed African American sculpture Richard Hunt. It is a piece ironically titled "The Wisdom Bridge". What's to happen to that irreplaceable piece and doesn't such an epic work of art deserve to be thought of in advance? Why aren't we talking about this?

Jere Woods, mayor of one of Fulton's largest cities, The City of Roswell, spoke eloquently (with the endorsement of Sandy Springs Mayor, Eva Galambos) at the July 16th FCC meeting about why he stridently endorses the original Library Master plan and not the Pitts/Szabo amended one. Shouldn't some of his remarks have shown up in a subsequent AJC news article, given the fact that he represents such a huge populace in the metro area?

Through my own independent studies as a freelance artist and layman's intellectual, and through the engagement of a discourse with government officials, past and present library employees, a plethora of reputable architects, school teachers, urban "green" stewards and private citizens from all walks of life, more often than not, I have encountered a sheer befuddlement at the idea of ditching the ever fabulous current central branch, and that in effect doing so would essentially be tantamount to cultural genocide. Why then has this diversely held, public perception been utterly ignored in The AJC's ongoing reporting effort?

And about the money, with there being $275,000,000.00 at stake, shouldn't the "watchdog" element of The AJC's journalistic ethic, have automatically kick in…Isn't that appropriate, just as a natural response to the prospects of such a staggering amount of money being misappropriated; this being especially true when one considers that the county's largest city, Atlanta, is now (last time I checked) facing a class-action law suit for it's own misappropriations of public funds with the Percent for Art program?

And finally, what is The AJC's position when it comes to espousing a civic duty of holding public officials publicly accountable?

I look forward to your reply

Bests,

Max