Art Center Sarasota features Pirman's work along with three other exhibits
Some people move to Sarasota for our beaches and sunshine. John Pirman is a big fan of both. But our architectural legacy is really what won his heart.
The illustrator had visited the area as a child and fell in love with the cool mid-century modern structures surrounding him. As an adult, that love affair blossomed after he and his partner, Steve Tetreault, moved into one of Paul Rudolph’s poured concrete and glass “Lamolithic” beach houses on Siesta Key. Soon, Pirman’s love poured into his art. His portraits of the buildings he loved found a wide audience in his ongoing illustrations for Sarasota Magazine.
That romance is plain to see in the artist’s current solo exhibition at Art Center Sarasota. “My Sarasota: Works by John Pirman” features 13 archival inkjet prints of some of his favorite modernist structures.
While his work is reality based, it’s not realistic. Pirman simplifies, stylizes, and kills clutter. He zeroes in on the essence of each structure and casts it in the perfect light.
Pirman’s “Round House” captures the geometric simplicity of the circular structure Jack West designed for Hilton Leech in 1960. His print reveals the proud owners of today — Charlotte and Charles Perret. “Capturing that simplicity wasn’t a simple process,” he says. “The landscaping was very lush and blocked most of my views from the ground. Finding the perfect point of view took a lot of experimentation — and a nine-foot ladder.”
“Matthew McClendon on Lido Shores” shows a solitary man in a basketwork of structure and shadow. The subject is McClendon, of course: Pirman’s friend and The Ringling’s former curator of modern and contemporary art. He leans comfortably against one of the L-shaped buttresses (since removed) projecting from the house. The pool at the viewer’s right is placid, with barely a ripple.
“Spencer House” riffs on the geometrical simplicity of Guy Peterson’s high-profile residence. It’s a nested series of bone-white rectilinear volumes, the sheer facades broken with two projecting balconies and rows of square windows. Balconies and trees cast precise shadows on the white walls. You know exactly where the light source is — and precisely how high the sun is in the sky. That sky is darkening. A hint of the storm of controversy that greeted the structure, perhaps.
The goal behind Pirman’s loving architectural portraits?
“I hope the viewer will come away with a deeper appreciation of the wonderful architecture all around us,” he says. “If you see an interesting building, don’t just drive by — take an extra moment to truly study it. Stop, and look closer. Then give it a second look. Drink in the details.”
Artist’s Insights
Technique: As an illustrator, Pirman had originally worked with precisely cut colored paper. After the dawn of the digital age, he exchanged his X-acto knife for a mouse and a computer armed with Adobe Illustrator. Low-tech or high-tech, the results are the same: Precisely defined forms, conveyed in stylized areas of uniform color. Pirman creates his architectural studies with an intuitive approach. He starts with abundant photo references, then subtracts distracting details and clarifies the central focus. “What you take away is far more important than what you put in.”
Inspiration: Pirman’s multiple influences include mid-century modern design, WPA-era posters, Swiss design, pop culture, and the hip, modernist legacy of Sarasota itself — not to mention our unique quality of sunlight. “I still make a lot of discoveries riding around on my bicycle or in my convertible. Joe King and Christopher Domin’s ‘Paul Rudolph: The Florida Houses’ is also a great resource. But I know there’s still so much to discover.”
Favorite Contemporary Architects: “I’ll have to pass on that question. I know most of the architects in town — and I don’t want to leave anybody out. The list is too long to name them all.”