Episode 71: A 40,000-point 9

Ivan Chermayeff, who spent 60 years running Chermayeff & Geismar, died last week. Michael and Jessica discuss his spirit and his work, from his posters for PBS to the large red sculpture of a 9 outside 9 West 57th Street.

Next time you walk by the building, look closely and you’ll see Chermayeff’s signature etched into it, The signature, Michael says,

establishes it as a kind of art. It’s sitting where alternately a Calder statue could sit or a Noguchi sculpture could sit there, but instead it’s just this fantastic piece of typography. And I’ve always felt like it looks really big .And the reason it looks big is because it’s a thing you’re accustomed to seeing small. You know, that is, like, a 40,000-point number 9.

Also mentioned this week:

• Steven Heller and Michael Rock on Chermayeff
• Robert Brownjohn
• Michael and Jessica’s holiday book list
• Obituaries for Vincent Scully New York Times, Washington Post
• Ivo van Hove, The Fountainhead at BAM
• Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, Brothers in Arms

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