Table Of ContentArt & Architecture $39.95
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“This is a book that you will want to have open and in
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Shaker buildings have long
sight, turning its pages from time to time, absorbing the e
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meditation its photographs evoke. . . . The photographs been admired for their
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are masterful; their vantage, profound. Plummer’s work simplicity of design and sturdy
not only records stillness and light, it gives them.”
craftsmanship, with form always
—Donlyn Lyndon, following function. Over the
Eva Li Professor of Architecture,
years, their distinctive physical
University of California, Berkeley
S The Silent Eloquence of Shaker Architecture characteristics have invited as
“[Plummer’s] images of Shaker spaces . . . are t
much study as imitation. Their
. . . infused with a sense of reality and epiphany.” i
clean, unadorned lines have been
l
—Juhani Pallasmaa,
henry Plummer is l said to reflect core Shaker beliefs
Ruth and Norman Moore
Professor of Architecture at the Visiting Professor of Architecture, n such as honesty, integrity, purity,
Washington University, St. Louis
University of Illinois at Urbana- e and perfection. In this book,
Champaign, where he is also “When an architect discovers that LIGHT is the main S Henry Plummer focuses on the
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an associate of the Center for subject of architecture, he begins to be a real one. use of natural light in Shaker
How could a real architect not know about LIGHT?
Advanced Study. Among his & architecture, noting that Shaker
How could a good photographer not control LIGHT?
books are Poetics of Light, Light builders manipulated light not
How could a good professor not speak about LIGHT? l
in Japanese Architecture, and The only for practical reasons of
Henry Plummer—a real architect, a splendid i
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Architecture of Natural Light. photographer, and a wonderful professor—does all illumination but also to sculpt
of these things for us in Stillness and Light.” h a deliberately spiritual, visual
—Alberto Campo Baeza, presence within their space.
t
Architect and Visiting Faculty,
Stillness and Light celebrates this
University of Pennsylvania
School of Design subtly beautiful aspect of Shaker
innovation and construction,
captured in more than a hundred
stunning photographs.
P
INDIANA rin
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University Press d
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Bloomington & Indianapolis C
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www.iupress.indiana.edu in Henry Plummer
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1-800-842-6796 indiana
StillneSS
&
light
S t i l l n e S S
The Silent Eloquence of Shaker Architecture
Henry Plummer
I n dI a n a U nI v e r sI t y P r e s s Blo omI ngto n • IndI anaP olIs
S t i l l n e S S
&
l ig h t
The Silent Eloquence of Shaker Architecture
Henry Plummer
I n dI a n a U nI v e r sI t y P r e s s Bloo mI ngton • IndI anaP olIs
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [email protected]
© 2009 by Henry Plummer
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution
on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Manufactured in China
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Plummer, Henry, [date]
Stillness and light : the silent eloquence of
Shaker architecture / Henry Plummer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35362-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Shaker architecture. 2. Light in architecture. I. Title.
NA710.P59 2009
720.88’2898—dc22
2008051743
1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09
to the memory of
Minor White
teacher and frIend
&
For Patty
Who makes It PossIBle to dream
God is a Fountain of perfect light.
—Mother Ann Lee
The light which is established in the heavens or invisible world,
is closely connected with the light which is established on earth;
and they who walk in the light which is manifest on earth,
are compassed about by those who walk
in the same light, although in the invisible world.
—Shaker medium Paulina Bates, 1849
God is a Fountain of perfect light.
—Mother Ann Lee
The light which is established in the heavens or invisible world,
is closely connected with the light which is established on earth;
and they who walk in the light which is manifest on earth,
are compassed about by those who walk
in the same light, although in the invisible world.
—Shaker medium Paulina Bates, 1849
Contents
Preface xi Bibliography 133
Acknowledgments xiii
intrOductiOn 1 Simplicity•priStine light 12 2 Order•FOcuSed light 30
Shaker Light •Building a 14 monotone mass 32 mesmerizing window
State of Grace 1
16 pure white cavity 36 incantation
20 framed whiteness 38 concentric tonalities
24 between wood & plaster 40 double helix
28 wooden cavern 42 twin skylights
43 flying staircase
44 tiered skylights
Contents
3 luminOSity•inner light 48 4 equality•Shared light 76 5 time•cyclic light 92
50 maximum fenestration 78 transom window 94 shadow play on limestone
52 interior shutters 80 interior window 96 spectral colors
54 white kentucky limestone 84 double window 98 tree shadows
56 white-painted stonework 86 enfilade of openings 100 splashes of sun
58 white on white 90 lattice of light 104 coexisting time states
60 yellow light 108 golden cast
64 lustrous wood 114 revolving light & color
66 clasped light 116 crossfire of sun I
70 attic dormer 120 crossfire of sun II
74 cupola 124 light orchestration
