Tag Archives: 1920

RIP Wayne Thiebaud (1920 – 2021)


Wayne Thiebaud was an American painter, one of the more interesting American painters of the 20th century.

I particularly like his Refrigerator Pies (1962) which I first came across in Art Now (1976) by Lucie-Smith.

Two good texts on the early period of his career are “The Slice-of-Cake School” (1962) and “An Interview with Wayne Thiebaud” (1966).

The first text has some intelligent remarks on lighting. The second has Thiebaud talking about the significance of pies in the American mind.

Not a Thiebaud painting: Mound of Butter (c. 1875–1885), a painting by French artist Antoine Vollon.

Because there is no good Youtube footage of Thiebaud and as an non-journalist I cannot reproduce content in copyright, I give you one of my favorite paintings, Mound of Butter.

RIP Quentin Fiore (1920 – 2019)

This happened two years ago but I only just found out.

Quentin Fiore was an American graphic designer best-known for The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects (1967) which he made with Marshall McLuhan, being a rumination on the adagium the medium is the message.

1967 recording based on the book, part 1
1967 recording based on the book, part 2

RIP Gottfried Böhm (1920 – 2021)

Maria, Königin des Friedens (detail)

Gottfried Böhm was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass.

He is best-known for the brutalist church Maria, Königin des Friedens.

Other brutalist churches include Wotruba Church.