Rental Unit 

"My Architect"

Kahn was a not a prolific builder, with surprisingly few finished projects to his name by the time he died at 73. Quantity however, as his rival I.M. Pei magnanimously points out in this recent documentary, is not the same thing as quality. Reputation resting on a handful of masterpieces, Kahn was a giant. "He was his own artist," Philip Johnson notes from his famous New Canaan, Conn., Glass House. "He was free compared to me."

The film was directed by Nathaniel Kahn, Louis' only son and one of two out-of-wedlock children Louis fathered by different women. Nathaniel never saw much more of his father than dreamlike visits in the middle of the night. This intimate investigation is partly a biography and partly a search, both attempted by a son seeking a closer understanding of the father he barely knew.

The results are mixed. The son's constant imposition into the frame sometimes gets in the way of the more important figure. Bad editing decisions result. Important details go missing. And while understandably poignant to Nathaniel, the subterranean matter beneath Louis' career comes across a tad gaudy in the shining light of his awesome achievements.

"My Architect" walks a fine line between the sentimental and the sublime. Its saving grace is that it does not shy away from this awkward juxtaposition.— Wayne Melton



Comments (0)

Subscribe to this thread:

Add a comment

Visual Art Studio

"Arcade Complex," featuring new paintings by Dan Rhett....

Petersburg Area Art League

Skateboards designed by students from Brunswick High School; Elkin Rodriguez’s acrylic paintings;...

Studio Four: Ershter Vals

The centerpiece for the season's final program will be "Ershter Vals," created...

View all of today's events

  • Re: Cashmere Jungle Lords at LuLu’s

    • ugh. these guys sound very amateur for being on the Richmond scene for over 3…

    • on May 17, 2013
  • Re: Sermon on the Mount

    • I used to feed Justice carrots after the sermon. He was in a pasture across…

    • on May 17, 2013
  • Re: Review: James "Saxsmo" Gates at the Capital Ale House (May 14)

    • Another successful production by Richmond Jazz Society!

    • on May 16, 2013
  • More »
  • Facebook Recommendations

    Latest in Arts and Culture

    • Outside the Lines

      At-risk youth find solace in the art classroom at the John G. Wood School.
      • May 14, 2013
    • Photographic Memory

      "Still Action" at 1708 Gallery embraces the little mistakes.
      • May 14, 2013
    • High Art

      A new exhibit mixes painting and photography in layers at Candela Books and Gallery.
      • May 14, 2013
    • More »

    Copyright © 2013 Style Weekly
    Richmond's alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion
    All rights reserved
    Powered by Foundation