Editor's note: Classical architecture is the physical expression of the American foundation. Modern architecture is the physical expression of the current awakening regime. Lifeless, antisocial, bureaucratic and elitist, he rejects a constant standard of beauty. And more generally, he rejects America.
Classical architecture, the founders' preference for the nation's capital, is the physical manifestation of the American form of government, its Western roots, and its political aspirations. It embodies good order, benevolent hierarchy and reason. Classical architecture reflects permanent principles, reinforcing the natural law foundation of the American foundation.
As classical architecture is the physical expression of the American regime, modern architecture is the physical expression of the awakened regime. Representative of awakened architecture is Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York, which is located on the rat maze, or hell hole, known as Penn Station. This structure replaced the original Penn Station, a glorious tribute to our past, which was torn down in an act of cultural revenge, or at least malignant indifference.
Unlike the original Penn Station, MSG and the train station below make no reference to the past or acknowledge their neighbors, or if there is an acknowledgment, it's in the form of a middle finger. MSG sits alone, self-absorbed and uninterested in the life around him. The building has no observable entrance, but the one thing that is clear is that if you somehow found your way inside, there would be no escape. MSG is as welcoming as a prison. No wonder it attracts crime, homelessness and litter.
MSG makes not the slightest pretense of style or grandeur; in fact, these things seem absurd. There is no melody or anything that lifts the human spirit. He has no ambition or the slightest self-confidence. In fact, like wokeism in general, it is a tribute to self-loathing.
For modernists, there is nothing inherently good or even remarkable about classical architecture; it is simply the architecture of a certain era, neither better nor worse. And yet, in the same breath, modernists believe that it is actually much worse because it recalls the period of our founding, which, they say, was conceived in white supremacy and slavery and committed to its preservation. So you see, wokeism is both relative and absolute, whatever is necessary to serve the power-grabbing purposes of the woke left.
In some important ways, architecture is different from other forms of art. For one thing, you can't walk away. This is unlike modern painting, and the most modern sculpture which will leave you alone if you do not frequent the museums where this art is exhibited; museums, by the way, which tend to be as bleak and dehumanizing as the art they house. In New York City, think of the Whitney; in Washington DC, think of the Hirshhorns.
More than other arts, architecture directly influences our sense of well-being. If it's good, it can encourage us, give us a sense of belonging, even motivate us. If it's bad, it makes us feel, it makes us feel small, worthless and isolated. Calhoun School, located in my neighborhood, the Upper West Side of Manhattan, is a good example of the latter. It is said to look like a TV. To me, it looks like the watchful eye of big brother.
Whatever it looks like, it scares me. If I feel the need to test my inner strength, I go through it. But mostly, I go around. Most people probably wouldn't be bothered (however small) but I'm sure they, like me, are uneasy about this building, which was certainly the architect's intention.
There came a time when Calhoun School needed to expand. One of the architects bidding for the commission asked the school principal what kind of statement the school would like to make with the addition. The director replied: “We made our statement and now we want to retract it.” There would be many more such retractors!
Modern architecture is monotonous and sexless, non-binary if you prefer. It is made very long to avoid decoration. Like an intravenous meal, it provides the necessary nutrients (functional insides), but none of the companionship and sensual pleasure of a good meal.
There is something else different about architecture. We, the lay people, are not allowed to comment on it. What the general public thinks is irrelevant. Film and television are different. In such cases, we have the right to criticize, as we do with any commercial product. Producers try to make things that we like; otherwise we won't buy them, and they will break. There are professional film critics, supposed experts, but it is not so much them as our friends, fellow citizens, who tell us what is worth seeing.
Today, in some areas of American life, people stand up for themselves and reject the rules of experts (e.g., K-12 education), but in the case of architecture, we all feel perfectly still and we take it on the chin. There are a few dissidents, but they, like all critics of the awakened regime, are shamed and censured. For the most part, we don't have architecture critics in our newspapers anymore, which is another way of telling us that we shouldn't worry about something that obviously worries us. “Don't worry about your little heads,” they tell us, “just leave it to the Anthony Fauci of the architecture world.”
Would anyone take an out of town visitor to look at the outside of MSG? Classical architecture is a source of civic pride, but how could anyone be proud of something that takes so little pride in itself? It's akin to being proud of a homeless camp.
Where did we get such horrible architecture? In the same place where we get most of what is horrible in modern life: the academy. Survey after survey reveals that the American public overwhelmingly prefers classical to modern architecture. But this falls on deaf ears of the awakened elite. Or maybe they listen but decide to punish us. The more public objects in modern architecture, the more elites celebrate and encourage it.
The awakened elite makes us say that modern architecture is beautiful (or at least forces us to hold our tongues), while our own eyes tell us that it is ugly. Like totalitarian regimes everywhere, the awakened regime is training us to accept its version of reality, which includes the denial that there is a permanent standard of beauty. This is criminal.
In some good news, President Trump, common-sense, independent, and generally unimpressed by pundits, issued an executive order toward the end of his term that encouraged federal buildings to be built in a classical style.
Naturally, the modernists rose up in righteous indignation, calling classical architecture racist and white supremacist. Surprise, surprise. The architectural lobby published an absurd open letter this sounds like a parody of wokeism, but unfortunately it's very serious:
“Neoclassicism in the US is directly related to the construction of whiteness. It was whiteness that was sought after in the many plantation houses that chose the style, justifying it as an emulation of ancient Greek “culture” to separate themselves from the indigenous peoples who stole the land and slaves African forced to build and work there. they… The [Trump] The administration's chosen style glorifies an imperialist, colonialist and white supremacist past.”
We will certainly be told, perhaps already have been told, that classical architecture causes emotional distress. But what about those, the overwhelming majority, who feel elevated by the presence of good classical architecture, ennobled by human achievement approaching the transcendent? Of course, in the awakening regime, these people don't count for much. We have to make them count. Our country depends on it.
Predictably, Biden immediately revoked Trump's executive order. If Republicans regain power, they will most likely renew Trump's executive order. But in the meantime, we the people can take matters into our own hands.
A privileged opportunity is a proposal from a new organization, Grand Penn Community Alliancewhich proposes to move Madison Square Garden to a different location, replacing it with a large park, which gracefully slides into the neighboring 8.th classic avenue US post office. On the east side of the park there would be a large train hall heavily modeled on the main hall of the original, which consisted of Roman glass vaults supported by a bare steel frame. A classic colonnade on the 7thth The avenue would end with the similar colonnade of the post office.
Instead of relying on my description of Grand Penn, check out the slideshow below. If you like it, and it's hard not to, tell your neighbors.
Yes, moving Madison Square Garden is a challenge, but it's not impossible. Like all noble endeavors, the project faces strong headwinds, both political and cultural. Therefore, it is time for us, the people, to stand up and claim the heritage that is rightfully ours.
The construction of Grand Penn would prove that America is part of Western civilization and that it is worth perpetuating. The construction of Grand Penn would also constitute a revival of the idea that public buildings are for the public and that such buildings should inspire and instill noble citizenship, civility in the truest sense.
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