For Memorial Day this year I want to honor a fallen hero, not from the battlefield, but from the art world - Georgia O’Keeffe. Did you know that last week a Georgia O’Keeffe painting, Red Poppy, sold for US$16.5 million with fees at a Christie’s auction in London, according to ArtNews? I am pretty sure you/we read that right. $16.5 million, for a painting that she probably knocked out in a week or less. That is some serious talent; true millennial talent.
I am hoping to build the valuation of my company to an amount like that in the near future, but it has taken me almost 20 years to get here, not the 20 hours it took Georgia to paint Red Poppy. The only problem for her? She’s not here to enjoy the spoils. Art is funny, until it isn’t? That is why, even though I went to art school in New Zealand (after completing a degree in Civil Engineering in the US) and thought briefly about making a career out of art, I am running Nova Terra and trying to change the building world instead. I want to see the fruits of my (and others) labor.
O’Keeffe was one of America’s greatest painters while she was alive. It is not like she was a starving artist. Her eye and ability to deliver that vision on canvas turned on millions of viewers and has ever since, on a personal and collective level. She has moved many of us in one way or another. Her sense of style and design extended beyond the canvas to her personal fashion, her carefree lifestyle in New Mexico and her love for its landscapes and adobe structures. That’s right, she was in love with the aesthetics of adobe. One of our world’s greatest painters had an eye for earthen construction materials! So much so, she lived in two different adobe homes during her time in Santa Fe.
According to the O’Keeffe museum, Georgia’s “home in Abiquiú reveals her commitment to design and the aesthetics of her surroundings. Traditional adobe structures are found throughout the region, but O’Keeffe made her home distinctly modern, with abundant natural light, updated amenities, and mid century modern furniture.”
An article published by the Window Research Institute states that, “in 1959, OʼKeeffe decided that she no longer wanted to have her house replastered with adobe mud, a process that was necessary at least once a year and took an entire crew of local workers. Instead, she had the exterior covered in brown concrete stucco even though she hated how it looked compared to the original adobe. OʼKeeffeʼs decision to switch to cement stucco rather than mud plaster in the late 1950s saved on maintenance costs and trouble for her but has posed some preservation issues. Stucco does not breathe like traditional adobe, and moisture can accrue inside the walls, leading to structural issues.”
This is the main reason why my brand and I are participating in NREL’s West Gate program! By applying pressure to the right mix of dirt, which is essentially a waste product from aggregate quarries, I am evolving traditional adobe structures by deeply understanding the material science and how lime plasters play a role in providing a durable “skin” to the EcoBlox. Right now we are researching the thermal performance on EcoBlox in different climates and how to adjust our wall assemblies to meet the demands of those climates. In some studies we are testing the effects of incorporating advanced phase change materials into our wall structures, as a possible replacement for insulation. We are pushing hard on the research in order to give every American the opportunity to own a home that passes the bar aesthetically for one of history’s best artists, while also meeting today’s energy standards.
As someone who studied art on a collegiate level, I appreciate Georgia’s raw talent, her eye, her bold approach with the brush and her ability to create according to who she was. I would like to think that we would enjoy each other’s company on multiple levels if we were given a chance to hang out. Georgia O'Keeffe had a unique connection with New Mexico and its desert shapes and structures; one that I too feel deep in my bones when I am in Santa Fe. The United States feels like it is ripe for an infusion of nature-based building materials ; one big, eco-friendly upgrade from side-to-side and front-to-back. BTW, the US state currently employing the most renewable energy solutions? Texas! ;)
Sincerely,
Lisa
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