herbert muschamp ( i miss artistry)

Herbert Muschamp died today. Read the article in the NYT if you feel so inclined.

I had the opportunity to have dinner with him once. I wasn't alone, anyway he was gay and wouldn't have had interest in a one on one with me... it was a dinner meeting with the board of my organization and they invited him. he was fabulous. astute, cynical, articulate, sensual, interesting. knew good food, could make a joke. I loved it! I knew how lucky I was to meet him. he talked about the built environment in the way that I experienced it. it was personal and reminiscent. not clinical and power-driven. it was never about who had built what, but about who had to live in it.

After that dinner/board meeting Barbaralee Diamonstien-Speilvogel asked us to buy him a present. An out of print book about Palladio ( I think) from the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan. I called the general line and after dropping BLDS's name, I spoke directly with Fred Bass the owner of the Strand, and had the book put on hold for me to pick up and then messenger to BLDS's house so she could write a personal note and then on to HM. I took the subway across town, was ushered into the rare books section, and a huge tome, out of print, rare, in excellent condition was put in my hands. all i knew was that the book was worth a lot and that it was for a rather miraculous person who would not only appreciate the content, but the ephemeral nature of the object itself.

i am really sad that he was considered brilliant, emotional and abstract, and that that was the exception, rather than the rule. he was my kind of people: gentle, visionary, artistic and never wed to conventions or the pressures of capitalism, even though he worked within them. at least i aspired to that.

have a great re-birth, Mr. Herbert! Love you and miss you.