Opening of the exhibition. Photo by Eleri Ever
On Monday, April 8th Arne Maasik’s photo exhibition called “From Island to Island: The Creative Journey of Louis Kahn” opened at the UN Headquarters in New York. For the exhibition, architect and photographic artist Arne Maasik has recorded the architectural legacy of Louis Kahn, one of the most significant American architects of the 20th century, on various continents.
The exhibition was opened by Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Estonia, Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the United Nations General Assembly, and Louis Kahn’s son Nathaniel Kahn.
The memory of the Kuressaare Castle, which is located near the childhood home of LOUIS KAHN, who was born in Estonia in 1901, was etched into memory when he was a young child. And he spoke about it later throughout his life in the U.S. His life’s work, the parliament building in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is also reminiscent of fortress architecture.
The architect’s last project, which he completed in 1974 shortly before his death, was a memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in New York. The installation on New York’s Roosevelt Island, which was not completed until 2012, is a kind of code for the world-famous architect’s life and creative journey, which linked various cultures, people and countries. And the starting and ending points of which are two islands – in Estonia and New York. This reflects the main positions expressed in President Roosevelt’s historical speech which he gave in 1941, emphasizing that everyone should be ensured four basic freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. These four fundamental freedoms also form the cornerstones of the Charter and Human Rights Declaration of the United Nations. Located on the East River, opposite Roosevelt Island, the UN is the only organization where all the nations of the world are gathered under one roof.
Arne Maasik’s photo exhibition will travel from New York to the Center for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia, where it opens in May. At the same time, the museum will announce this year’s winner of the Louis Kahn Memorial Award. The award, which has been presented since 1983, recognizes the world’s most influential and successful architects.
The management of the Four Freedoms memorial, which was designed by Kahn, has commissioned an “Island to Island” photo exhibition from Arne Maasik for the fall, which is based on the long-term work of the Kahn research group located in Tallinn. The nucleus of the group is comprised of Arne Maasik, Heie Marie Treier, art historian at Tallinn University’s Baltic Film and Media School, graphic designer Martin Pedanik and Ott Rätsep, the head of the Louis Kahn Estonia Foundation. The United Nations exhibition was completed as a joint project of the Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Louis Kahn Estonia Foundation.
The exhibition was produced by the Louis Kahn Estonia Foundation
louiskahn.org
More information:
Arne Maasik,
[email protected]
Jaanika Peerna, Cultural Affairs Coordinator, Consulate General of Estonia, New York
tel (+1 212) 883-0636
[email protected]
