Georgia O'Keeffe and the New York Skyline

Summary

In this video, Dr. Zucker and Dr. Padgett discuss Georgia O'Keeffe's painting 'Radiator Building-Night, New York' at the Crystal Bridges Museum. The painting, from the 1920s, captures the modernity and verticality of New York City, influenced by O'Keeffe's experience living in the Shelton Hotel. The piece features the Radiator Building, designed by Raymond Hood, with selective illumination of windows and neon lights, symbolizing the city's economic power and modern art advocacy. O'Keeffe playfully incorporates her husband Stieglitz's name in red neon, highlighting his role in promoting modern art.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Georgia O'Keeffe's painting 'Radiator Building-Night, New York' is a significant representation of New York City's modernity in the 1920s.
• 🏙️ The painting is part of a collection of over 20 cityscapes O'Keeffe created between 1925 and 1930, inspired by her move to the Shelton Hotel.
• 🌃 O'Keeffe's experience of living in a skyscraper influenced her to paint the city's verticality, as seen in the elongated canvas and floating viewer perspective.
• 🏢 The Radiator Building depicted in the painting is a striking black-clad structure designed by Raymond Hood, contrasting with the surrounding buildings.
• 🗽 The painting's composition omits the street level, offering a partial view similar to glimpses of buildings in New York.
• 💡 O'Keeffe simplifies the building's structure, creating an almost perfect grid by removing much of its lower ornamentation.
• 🔴 The use of her husband Alfred Stieglitz's name in red neon in the painting is a playful nod to his advocacy for modern art and his claim of not advertising his galleries.
• 🌌 The painting captures the nighttime atmosphere with the neon sign, vapors, and searchlights, emphasizing the building's nighttime illumination.
• 🏙️ O'Keeffe's selective illumination of windows and streetlights creates a rhythm that plays across the building and adjacent structures.
• 🏛️ The Radiator Building was designed to be a nighttime advertisement for the American Radiator Corporation, becoming an iconic part of the New York skyline.
• 📚 The skyscraper was seen as a symbol of American modernity, with some considering it a uniquely American architectural development.

Q & A

What is the title of the painting discussed in the transcript?

The title of the painting is 'Radiator Building-Night, New York.'

Who is the artist of 'Radiator Building-Night, New York'?

The artist of 'Radiator Building-Night, New York' is Georgia O'Keeffe.

What is the significance of the Radiator Building in the painting?

The Radiator Building is significant because it represents modernity and the verticality of New York City in the 1920s.

Why did Georgia O'Keeffe choose to paint New York City?

Georgia O'Keeffe chose to paint New York City after being inspired by her experience of living in the Shelton Hotel, a skyscraper.

What architectural feature of the Radiator Building stands out in the painting?

The Radiator Building's black cladding stands out, creating a dramatic contrast to the surrounding buildings.

Who designed the Radiator Building?

The Radiator Building was designed by Raymond Hood.

What is the connection between Alfred Stieglitz and the Radiator Building in the painting?

Alfred Stieglitz's name appears in red neon on the building in the painting. He was O'Keeffe's husband, a photographer, and a promoter of modern art in the US.

How does O'Keeffe use the neon sign in the painting?

O'Keeffe uses the neon sign to create a sense of atmosphere and to underscore Stieglitz's connection with the city, while also playing with the idea of advertising.

What is the role of the searchlights and vapors in the painting?

The searchlights and vapors in the painting create a sense of velocity and contribute to the rhythm of the piece.

How does O'Keeffe create rhythm in the painting?

O'Keeffe creates rhythm through the selective illumination of windows and the play of floating streetlights.

What does the skyscraper symbolize according to the architectural theorist Claude Bragdon?

According to Claude Bragdon, the skyscraper symbolizes the American spirit as restless, centrifugal, and perilously poised.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Georgia O'Keeffe's 'Radiator Building-Night, New York'

Dr. Zucker and Dr. Padgett discuss Georgia O'Keeffe's painting 'Radiator Building-Night, New York' at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The painting is part of the Alfred Stieglitz collection, co-owned by Fisk University and the museum. O'Keeffe's work is a representation of New York and modernity in the 1920s, inspired by her experience living in the Shelton Hotel, a skyscraper. The painting features the Radiator Building, designed by Raymond Hood, which was a symbol of American economic power and modernity. O'Keeffe's use of selective illumination and the rhythmic play of lights creates a dynamic nighttime scene, emphasizing the building's role as an advertisement for the American Radiator Corporation and its significance in the New York skyline.

Keywords

💡Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe was an American artist known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. In the video, O'Keeffe's painting 'Radiator Building-Night, New York' is discussed, highlighting her exceptional expression of New York and modernity in the 1920s. Her work is a central theme of the video, illustrating the artistic interpretation of the city's verticality and modern architecture.

💡Radiator Building

The Radiator Building is a skyscraper in New York City, designed by Raymond Hood, and is a subject of O'Keeffe's painting. The building is noted for its black cladding, which contrasts dramatically with its surroundings. In the video, it symbolizes the quintessential expression of modern life and the American spirit of the 1920s, as discussed by the experts.

💡Modernity

Modernity in the context of the video refers to the cultural, artistic, and architectural developments of the early 20th century, particularly in New York. The video discusses how O'Keeffe's painting captures the essence of New York's modernity in the 1920s, with its focus on skyscrapers and the city's vertical growth.

💡Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz was a photographer, gallerist, and husband of Georgia O'Keeffe. In the video, his name appears in red neon in O'Keeffe's painting, symbolizing his role as a promoter of modern art in the United States. His name's inclusion in the artwork underscores his connection to the city and the cultural movement of the time.

💡Shelton Hotel

The Shelton Hotel, where O'Keeffe lived, is mentioned as a residential hotel that influenced her work. Living in a skyscraper and experiencing the verticality of the city had a profound impact on her art, leading her to paint New York City's skyline.

💡Verticality

Verticality refers to the emphasis on height and upward growth in urban architecture, particularly evident in skyscrapers. The video discusses how O'Keeffe's experience of living in a high-rise building influenced her painting, capturing the vertical nature of New York City.

💡Cropping

Cropping in art refers to the technique of focusing on a portion of a subject, often to create a more compelling composition. In the video, it is mentioned that O'Keeffe cropped out the street in her painting, which creates a sense of partial views common in New York's urban landscape.

💡Raymond Hood

Raymond Hood was an American architect who designed the Radiator Building. The video discusses his contribution to the architectural landscape of New York in the 1920s, highlighting the growth and modernity of the city during that period.

💡Neon

Neon lighting is a significant element in the video, particularly in the way O'Keeffe painted the sign with Stieglitz's name. It symbolizes the advertising and commercial aspects of the city, as well as the technological advancements of the time that allowed for such vibrant nighttime illumination.

💡Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building with many stories. In the video, skyscrapers are discussed as symbols of American modernity and economic power, with O'Keeffe's painting capturing the essence of this architectural phenomenon.

💡Selective Illumination

Selective illumination refers to the deliberate choice of which parts of a scene are lit. In the video, O'Keeffe's use of this technique in her painting creates rhythm and movement, emphasizing the building's design to be illuminated at night without signage, making it a jewel in the New York skyline.

Highlights

Georgia O'Keeffe's painting 'Radiator Building-Night, New York' is a significant expression of New York and modernity in the 1920s.

The painting is part of the Alfred Stieglitz collection, co-owned by Fisk University and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

O'Keeffe created over 20 city-themed paintings between 1925 and 1930, inspired by her move to the Shelton Hotel.

Living in a skyscraper had a profound impact on O'Keeffe's work, as she described being excited by the height and wanting to paint New York.

The Shelton Hotel was a residential hotel with hotel amenities, where O'Keeffe initially lived on the 28th floor.

The painting features the Radiator Building, designed by Raymond Hood, standing out due to its black cladding.

O'Keeffe's painting shows the building stretching through the elongated canvas, creating a floating viewer's perspective.

The artist cropped the street out, focusing on the building's structure and creating an almost perfect grid.

The Radiator Building was designed to be illuminated at night, advertising the American Radiator Corporation without signage.

O'Keeffe's use of Alfred Stieglitz's name in red neon plays with the idea of advertising and modern art.

The painting captures the rhythm of selective illumination of windows and floating streetlights, enhancing the city's velocity.

The skyscraper was seen as a symbol of American modernity and was widely discussed in architectural theory.

Claude Bragdon, an American architectural theorist, claimed the skyscraper as the only true original development in architecture.

In 1927, America was seen as the new cultural center of the world, with skyscrapers representing its strength.

O'Keeffe's painting is considered a quintessential expression of modern life, reflecting the excitement of the era.

The painting's portrayal of the Radiator Building at night captures the essence of New York's skyline and the spirit of the 1920s.

Transcripts

(soft piano music)

- [Dr. Zucker] We're in Crystal Bridges Museum

of American Art looking at one of my favorite paintings

by Georgia O'Keeffe.

This is "Radiator Building-Night, New York."

It's part of the Alfred Stieglitz collection

co-owned by Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee

and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

This is such an exceptional expression

of New York and modernity in the 1920s.

- [Dr. Padgett] It comes from a group of over 20 paintings

that O'Keeffe made between 1925 and 1930,

in which she takes on the subject of the city.

Inspired largely by her moving into the Shelton Hotel,

living in a skyscraper herself, at first on the 28th floor,

and then all the way to the 30th

because she felt she wasn't high enough.

When she described the experience of living in the Shelton,

she said, "I had never lived so high up before

and was so excited

that I began talking about trying to paint New York."

Of course, it was an impossible idea.

Even the men hadn't done too well with it.

- [Dr. Zucker] The Sheldon was a residential hotel,

like an apartment building, but it had all the amenities

of a hotel.

- [Dr. Padgett] Living in the Shelton

and having that experience

of the verticality of a city had such an impact on O'Keeffe.

And in this painting, the building stretches

through the center of the canvas, which is quite elongated

and the viewer's position is floating in space.

- [Dr. Zucker] O'Keeffe cropped the street out,

and it reminds me

of partial views that you get of structures

in New York, hidden behind, maybe lower buildings,

maybe buildings just below our line of sight.

But we should be cautious.

We don't want to take this rendering too literally.

O'Keeffe has simplified the structure.

She's stripped off much

of its lower ornament to create this almost perfect grid.

- [Dr. Padgett] The Radiator Building is a striking building

for many reasons, not least of all, because the cladding

of the building is black.

So even during the day, it would stand out

in dramatic contrast to the surrounding buildings.

- [Dr. Zucker] It was designed by Raymond Hood

in fronts 40th Street,

an area that saw tremendous growth in the 1920s.

And in fact, the Shelton, the hotel that O'Keeffe

and Stieglitz lived in

was part of this new generation of skyscrapers.

It was this really exciting moment.

New York was the center of American economic power,

and these buildings were one

of the most tangible examples of that.

- [Dr. Padgett] Curiously, you see the name Alfred Stieglitz

in red neon.

This would've originally been assigned

for advertising in the Scientific American magazine,

and instead, O'Keeffe has used Alfred Stieglitz' name,

the name of her husband, the photographer,

Gallarus collector, and overall advocate and promoter

of modern art in the US.

Stieglitzs' advocacy for modern art

is something that O'Keeffe is playing with,

putting his name in lights, both underscoring his connection

with the city, but also playing a bit of fun.

That sense of an advertisement

for somebody who boasted quite often

that his galleries did not advertise.

- [Dr. Zucker] She frames the building on the left

by the sign by Stieglitz

which has a beautiful quality of neon,

in the way that it's painted a little bit out of focus,

as if we're looking through atmosphere at night,

the sign is almost too bright for our eyes to focus on,

and there is this quality of the way that neon

can break the darkness of the night sky.

And then on the right,

we have the vapors and we have those search lights,

those wonderful beams that create so much velocity

in this painting.

But I think that she does something even more clever.

She creates a kind of rhythm

through the selective illumination of windows

that play across not only the building itself,

but also the buildings adjacent.

And furthered by the rhythmic play of floating streetlights

that we see at the very bottom of the canvas.

The building was designed to be illuminated at night.

It was designed to advertise

the American Radiator Corporation without signage,

and in doing so, it becomes one of the crowning jewels

of the New York skyline.

I think for O'Keeffe, this and many of the other buildings

in the area were the quintessential expression

of modern life.

- [Dr. Padgett] The idea that the skyscraper was a symbol

of American modernity was widely discussed.

The American architectural theorist, Claude Bragdon,

wrote, "Not only is the skyscraper

the symbol of the American spirit, restless, centrifugal,

perilously posed,

but it is the only true original development in the field

of architecture to which we can lay unchallenged claim."

- [Dr. Zucker] So there was a national aspect

to the skyscraper, it was seen as an American invention.

And in 1927, there was this idea

that America was flexing its muscles

as the new cultural center of the world.

(soft piano music)