Bruce Goff/Celebration X: Day Three

My third day in Oklahoma started out bright and sunny again. Today we headed directly for the Fred Jones Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. All morning there were presentations from different Kebyar folks. These included one on Goff's Riverside Studio in Tulsa from 1928, one from Nelson Brackin, one from Gary McCowan, and one on Dean Vollendorf.

Presentation on the Riverside Studio

There was a box lunch, and then some more presentations and discussions before a lecture by Aaron Betsky. After the lecture there was to be the opening reception, a dinner with the University President, and then Cocktails at the Ledbetter House on campus. The Museum Director, Ghislain d'Humieres, currently lives in the house. Ghislain was ever the gracious host to everyone.

Box Lunch














Talking with Howard Alan

I skipped the lecture. I was pretty tired out from being up late the night before, so Bill Scott and I went back to the hotel for a nap.

We came back for the opening reception. The place was packed, and the final touches had been put on the Goff exhibits. The videos were extraordinary.

The dinner was nice, but the highlight was the Ledbetter House (1947). The house is in almost pristine condition, being the property of the university. I say "almost" because of something Nelson and I discovered two days later. More to follow on that. We were able to enjoy the house at our leisure that evening, which is not a very common situation in such an iconic piece of architecture. It was a great close to a day packed solid with organic architecture.

The Ledbetter House

FOK Celebration X/Fred Jones Museum: Day Two

The second day in Oklahoma was a beautiful sunny day with pleasant temperatures. Really, the weather the whole week was great. Before breakfast an architect from India used Skype to talk to Nelson. He would be giving a presentation at the Dinner that evening via Skype as well.














Nelson (on right) and myself

After breakfast we ran a few errands with Nelson, including a stop-off at the Fred Jones Museum, where we got a little preview of the exhibit. It looked very interesting, with video renderings created of a number of Goff buildings that were either never built, or that have been destroyed.

Later in the morning, we made our way to Goff's Pollock House. This was my first visit to a Goff house since seeing the Ford House outside Chicago in 1990. Photos do not do it justice. I was much more impressed in person. The Pollock house is not an expensive house, but it is a finely detailed house, with special attention given to the small things. Very organic in nature. It is currently owned by Laura Warriner and her husband. They have done a lot to improve and maintain the house and the grounds. I found them very friendly and hospitable. They graciously allowed the FOK board to meet in their living room.










































The board meeting took place at 2:00pm, and a reception followed. Later in the afternoon, I helped Laura prepare for the Dinner at her Gallery. The dinner was delicious, and did include the Skype presentation on the work of Nari Gandhi from India. Day three is next.





















The Warriners with Robert Bowlby