Triangle Modernist Houses Presents “Eames: The Architect and The Painter”

A documentary film on designers Charles and Ray Eames ends the 4th annual Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series.

Charles and Ray Eames

January 23, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) will conclude its 4th Annual Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series with a special screening of “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” on Thursday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Raleigh Grande cinema in Raleigh.

Charles Eames and his wife and partner, Ray, are widely regarded as two of America’s most important designers. They are perhaps best remembered for their mid-century modern plywood and fiberglass furniture, yet their Venice, California-based firm created an astonishing variety of other products, from splints for wounded soldiers during World War II, to photography, interiors, multi-media exhibits, graphics, games, films, and toys.

Their personal lives and their influence on significant events in American life have been less widely understood – from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age.  In its review of the documentary, the New York Times suggested that Charles and Ray Eames’ approach to product design and the presentation of information “was in its way as influential as [Apple founder Steve] Jobs’…[and] left traces in nearly every aspect of contemporary life.”

Created by Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey and narrated by James Franco, “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” is the first film since the Eames’ deaths dedicated to their creative geniuses and work. To view a trailer, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

Lee Hansley Gallery in Raleigh is sponsoring this special screening. Modern Home Auction, Go Realty, The Kitchen Specialist, and Carrington Electric LLC, and VMZinc, as well as Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, have sponsoring the entire series.

Individual admission is $9 per person per film, available at the door. Mod Squad members are admitted free. Proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion programs for modernist residential architecture from the 1950s to today. To order advance tickets, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

The Raleigh Grande is located at 4840 Grove Barton Road, Raleigh NC 27613, just off Lynn Road and Glenwood Avenue/Highway 70 West (919-226-2012).

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

Architecture Movie Series Presents “Modern Tide”

The TMH/Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series continues with midcentury architecture on Long Island.

October 22, 2012 (Cary, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses’ Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series continues on Thursday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. with a special screening of “Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island.”

“Modern Tide” is a new independent documentary that explores the work of the region’s best post-war architects and designers, including Albert Frey, Wallace Harrison, Frank Lloyd Wright, Horace Gifford, Edward Durell Stone, Marcel Breuer, Andrew Geller, Philip Johnson, Charles Gwathmey, Barbara and Julian Neski, and others.

The film features interviews with architects and historians, as well as friends, families and clients of these influential designers. Both rare archival material and current-day cinematography highlight Long Island’s Modernist architectural treasures.

In an article about the film, ArchDaily.com writes: “After WWII, the East End of Long Island played host to a variety of architectural styles.  From modernism, through post-modernism, and deconstructionism, architects experimented with social ideas and aesthetic expressions, which culminated in ‘small’ houses scattered about the Island’s natural backdrop. Now, with the advent of the mega-mansion and the desire for ‘bigger,’ it is becoming increasingly difficult to preserve such iconic and progressive architectural projects.”

Yet 20th century modern residential architecture by top architects and designers is being systematically deleted from Long Island’s cultural landscape. “This rich asset is disappearing,” says director Jake Gorst. “We believe the film will foster renewed awareness and appreciation for Long Island’s remaining modernist structures and its unique architectural history.”

In situ studio is sponsoring this special screening.  Modern Home Auction, Go Realty, The Kitchen Specialist, and Carrington Electric LLC, and VMZinc, as well as Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, are sponsoring the entire series.

Admission is $9 per person per film, available at the door each night. TMH Mod Squad members are admitted free. Proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion programs.

To see the entire series line-up, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies. The Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard (www.mygalaxycinema.com; 919-463-9959).

To view a trailer of “Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island,” go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com

The TMH/Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series Presents “God’s Architects”

A documentary celebrating five men who create their own architectural worlds.

February 8, 2011 (Cary, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses continues the 2011-2012 Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series this month with a special screening of “God’s Architects,” a moving documentary that studies and celebrates five solitary designer/builders from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The film will be shown Thursday, February 16, at 7:30 p.m. in Cary’s Galaxy Cinema.

Created by young filmmaker Zach Godshall, the documentary details how and why these five men, who operate without funding or blueprints and completely unknown to each other, dedicate their lives to create architectural worlds drawn from nothing more than their imagination.

“I think I was initially attracted to these guys because they are working without blueprints, without funding and really going off what they felt was intuition or inspiration,” Godshall says, “and to me that was an inspiring situation to be in.”  The young filmmaker says he learned a lot while working with these self-taught builders. “These guys really do bare their hearts in this movie. They’re very genuine, and I think it comes across, and people feel that.”

Rusty Long Architect is sponsoring this special screening of “God’s Architects.” Sponsors for the entire TMH Architecture Movie Series include Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Dail Dixon FAIA, Studio B Architecture/BuildSense, Modern Home Auction, Cherry Modern, Kontek, and Alphin Design+Build.

Tickets to the film are $9. The Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard, Cary, NC  27511 (919-463-9989).

Hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses, the Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series features hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture. Films are shown one Thursday of each month from October through March. For a complete list of upcoming films, to buy advance tickets, and to see a trailer of upcoming films, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

All proceeds from ticket sales support Triangle Modernist Houses’ mission of documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design from the 1950s to today. For more information on the award-wining organization, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series Concludes with “Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio”

March 3, 2011 (Cary, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) will conclude this winter’s Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series with a special screening of “Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio” on Thursday, March 17, 7 p.m., at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.

 

“Citizen Architect” is a documentary that celebrates the legacy of the late architect, artist, and educator Samuel “Sambo” Mockbee and the design-build Rural Studio he co-founded with Auburn University in Hale County, Alabama, to provide sustainable shelter for those who cannot afford it. Hale County is home to some of the most impoverished communities in America. Mockbee dedicated his life and the Rural Studio to creating architecture that not only elevated the living standards of the rural poor but also provided “shelter for the soul.”

Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series Continues with “Sketches of Frank Gehry”

The second in a series of four films hosted by Triangle Modernist  Houses.com

 

January 3, 2010 (CARY, NC) – The second annual Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series, featuring hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture, continues with a special screening of “Sketches of Frank Gehry” directed by Sydney Pollack on Thursday, January 13, 7 p.m. at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.

 

Presented by the nonprofit historic preservation group Triangle Modernist Houses, “Sketches of Frank Gehry” was Pollack’s first feature-length documentary. Through film, digital video, and deliberate informality, he explores the life, work, and work process of his long-time friend, the brilliant and sometimes controversial Los Angeles architect dubbed “the most important architect of our age” by Vanity Fair.

Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series Kicks Off With “My Architect: A Son’s Journey”

The first in a series of four films hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses.com  

 

November 29, 2010 (CARY, NC) – The second annual Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series, featuring hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture, opens Thursday, December 16, at 7 p.m. at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary with a special screening of “My Architect: A Son’s Journey.”

 

Presented by the nonprofit historic preservation group Triangle Modernist Houses, “My Architect: A Son’s Journey” is the Oscar-nominated documentary about the life and work of the world-renowned American architect Louis I. Kahn as told by his son, Nathaniel Kahn.

 

One of the most influential architects of the mid-20^th century, Kahn’s taught at Yale University in 1947, received his Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects in 1953, was named Professor of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962, and Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. The buildings he designed tended to be monolithic and monumental yet poetic in their use of space and light. His work included such iconic structures as the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the National Assembly Building in Bangladesh.

 

After returning from a trip to Bangladesh in 1974, Kahn died of a heart attack in a men’s restroom in New York’s Pennsylvania Station. He went unidentified for three days because he had crossed out the home address on his passport. And despite his long career, he was deeply in debt when he died. Nathanial Kahn uses the unusual manner of his father’s death as a point of departure and a metaphor for Kahn’s extraordinary life.

 

Originally released in 2003, “My Architect” offers glimpses of Kahn’s architecture while his son talks with the people who knew him. It includes interviews with some of Kahn’s renowned contemporaries, such as architects B. V. Doshi, Frank Gehry, Ed Bacon, Philip Johnson, I. M. Pei, and Robert A. M. Stern. It also offers an insider’s view of Kahn’s eccentric family arrangements.

 

Tickets to “My Architect” are $7.95 in advance or $9 at the door. Tickets to the entire Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series are $27.95. To see a trailer of the film, the list of upcoming movies and to purchase advance tickets, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/register.htm.

 

This screening of “My Architect” is sponsored by Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Kontek, LightTech Architectural Lighting Design, Center Studio Architecture, Foundation bar and lounge, and blueplate pr.

 

The Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard. For more information visit www.mygalaxycinema.com.

 

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

 

Triangle Modernist Houses.com Presents “Visual Acoustics” at Galaxy Cinema

April 12, 2010 (CARY, NC) –Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) and Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture will conclude this year’s Architecture Movie Series with a special screening of “Visual Acoustics” on Thursday, April 22, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, “Visual Acoustics” celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman (1910-2009), widely considered the world’s greatest architectural photographer. His images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream., capturing the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry.

Triangle Modernist Houses Presents “Infinite Space” at Galaxy Cinema

The "Chemosphere" house, W. Hollywood, 1960.

March 12, 2010 (CARY, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses and Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture continue the Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series this month with a special screening of “Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner,” on Thursday, March 18, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.

“Infinite Space” is the story of brilliance and a complicated life – and some of the most sensual architecture of the 20th century.

The 90-minute film also features commentary by architect/author Frank Escher on eight of Lautner’s residential masterpieces: the houses Marbrisa, Elrod, Pearlman, Walstrom, Turner, Silvertop, Schaffer and Chemosphere.

TMH Presents “The Lake House” at Galaxy Cinema

January 26, 2010 (CARY, NC) – For Valentine’s week, Triangle Modernist Houses.com (TMH) and Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture present the romantic movie “The Lake House” (2006) on Thursday, February 18, at 7 p.m. at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.

The house Nathan Crowley designed just for the film.

“The Lake House” stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. It is the story of two people who communicate via the house’s unique time-traveling mailbox.

“But the real star,” according to TMH founder George Smart, “is the modern, glass and steel house designed by British architect/set designer Nathan Crowley.”

Crowley was hired for “The Lake House” in 2004, Smart notes on the TMH website at http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lakehouse.htm. He wanted to build on a lake with nothing on it — no piers, no houses – but few of those locations exist.  Through negotiations with a nature preserve, he took the project from sketches to completion in just 10 weeks with a construction crew of nearly 100 people. As part of the agreement to with the nature preserve, the house was destroyed afterwards.

Stunning modernist architecture is the star.

November 11, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – George Smart, founder and executive director of Triangle Modernist Houses.com (TMH), has announced the first TMH Architecture Movie Series, four monthly Thursday night events at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary, N.C.

The first film is Thursday, December 10 — “Visual Acoustics,” a documentary on Julius Shulman, arguably the most important architectural photographer of the 20th century. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman and directed by Eric Bricker, “Visual Acoustics” chronicles Shulman’s life and work as he shaped the careers of influential architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, and John Lautner.

On Thursday, January 14, TMH will screen Ayn Rand’s 1949 classic “The Fountainhead,” based on philosopher Rand’s seminal novel by the same name. “Protagonist Howard Roark is a fiercely individualistic young, modernist architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision,” Smart said. “Roark is the embodiment of the human spirit and his struggle represents the triumph of individualism over collectivism.”