Writing

Newburgh's Greek-Revival Treasure

Brief account of the glories and sad state of Newburgh's former Dutch Reformed Church: the fabulous Greek-Revival structure designed in 1835 by Alexander Jackson Davis. Created for the Newburgh Historical Soceity's blog (May 2021).

Photo: Joe Santacroce

Memoir: "My Quest to be Cool"

This is a short autobiographical piece (pdf) I wrote as part of a memoir-writing workshop with memoirist-novelist Danielle Trussoni. It's about my adolescent attempt to separate from my family by learning to be "cool" (March, 2020).

A Manual of Style for Interactive Media

I wrote several style guides for various projects and companies. This generic 23-page Style Manual for Interactive Media includes sections on Structure & Navigation, Interaction Design, Presentation Design, Standard Ingredients, and Writing Style.The guide holds up pretty well for 1991. Some current apps and websites could do worse than follow these guidelines.

Book Review: Central Park

This is a book review (pdf) of a re-issue of the first book on Central Park, written by Clarence Cook (a member of the A.J. Downing circle) and published in 1869. The new edition has an insightful introduction by Maureen Meister. My review was published the Hudson River Valley Review (Marist College), 36:1 (Autumn 2019).

Artforum - Architectural Drawings

A critical review of two exhibitions of architectural drawings, at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and the Drawing Center in New York, published in Artforum magazine in 1977.

Movie Reviews

In college I headed the film council, which presented films on campus. In this Film Program Schedule for 1968, I wrote some pithy capsule reviews of a dozen classics. (I also wrote weekly film reviews for the Interpreter, an upstart local Grand Rapids newspaper, but these have disappeared.)

Academic Papers

Can't imagine these will interest anyone, but for the record, here are a few artifacts from my art history grad school days.

• Paper on Lévi-Strauss and structuralism for art history (PDF, 11pp, 1970), written for the class on "Theory and Methods of Art History" given by Columbia's legendary professor Meyer Schapiro. (Sorry - scan is a little hard to read.)
• A classic style art history paper investigating sources for a Carolingian Ivory Book Cover (PDF, 30pp, 1970).
• Did Roman Mérida in Spain have a replica of the Forum of Augustus? Maybe, says this paper on The Pan Caliente Find in Mérida (PDF). With separate Illustrations (PDF).
• Alberti's Della Pittura: A Renaissance Theory of Painting (PDF, 25pp, 1970). History major final paper in college. The bibliographical note is the best part, IMHO.

Miscellaneous Pieces

• Review of Gaudi drawings from Soho Weekly News (PDF, 1977).
• Review of a Gustave Caillebotte exhibition, Arts Magazine, with a note from the exhibit's curator (PDF, 1977).
• Review of exhibit Women in Architecture, Soho Weekly News (PNG, 1977).
• Art as Transformed Subversion: The Elusive Aesthetics of Paul Kael (PDF, 4pp, 1976). This piece appeared in a college journal and in Story Magazine. Ms Kael quoted the title (without citing the author) in her next collection of reviews, Going Steady (1970).
• A rationalist sermon given at the Unitarian Fellowship (PDF, 5pp, 1990).
• Johnson's AT&T Building: My mother asked why it was controversial; this was my two-page reply, handwritten, with sketches (1982).
• Brief human-interest story published in a local paper (2004) about how a group of volunteers persuades a few neighbor kids to help paint a picket fence.

Holiday Newsletters

I've long taken pleasure in writing annual holiday newsletters (and receiving them). For me, the goal was to be amusing. With kids and pets around, this often came easily; other years, however, not so much.

• 1985 - Jim & Laura working in Atlanta for IBM, then back to Utah.
• 1986 - Jim takes job for Crawford in D.C. Jim & Laura move to Frederick MD.
• 1990 - Jim & Colin in apartment in Frederick, MD; Wendy in the picture.
• 1991 - Jim & Wendy & blend their families; the wedding; Wendy at Octagon House; Jim consulting for Philips Media Europe.
• 1993 - Brussels: Jim at Philips, kids at International School; Livia the dog arrives.
• 1994 - London (Kingston): Jim at Philips Media Europe; kids at their new English schools.
• 1995 - London: move from Kingston to Battersea; kids' schools; work change.
• 1996-97: Newsletters for these interesting years are missing!
• 1998 - Jim, Wendy & kids move to Balmville (Newburgh) NY. Jim starts at Philips.
• 1999 - Balmville (2nd year): Jim at Philips Digital TV; Wendy volunteering.
• 2000 - Jim at Philips; Wendy is Alumni director at MSM College; news of kids.
• 2001 - Sobering time after 9/11; trip to Spain; news of kids & pets.
• 2002 - Wendy now in real estate; Colin out of college, Sanford at Alfred, Emma in high school; Jim's Philips job ending soon.
• 2003-04: newsletters omitted.
• 2005 - End of marriage; move to Foundry condo (Newburgh); Sanford leaves Air Force; Emma to L.A.; working at Mobius; design & edit Newburgh city website.
• 2006 - House sold, divorce final; working at Mobius; volunteering for DRC & Historical Society; Colin working at a clothing store; Sanford & Em in L.A.
• 2007 - Mom dies; visit Sanford & Em in L.A.; Colin loses tech job; my job at Mobius ends, working as a consultant.
• 2008 - Work as independent consultant, then start at Accenture (Chicago, Toronto, Tampa); visit Helen; first sibling reunion in Michigan; Colin struggling; Sanford & Emma in L.A.
• 2009 - Trip to L.A.; kids all unemployed; sibling reunion; Accenture travel to NYC, Phoenix, Chicago. Colin engaged.
• 2010 - Accenture (Chicago, NYC, webinars); conference in Portland; flooding in condo; Emma’s cat; Colin medical issues; Sanford & Emily move to Phoenix.
• 2012 - Colin’s addiction & rehab; join Al Anon; working at Accenture (Charlotte, London, Chicago, Sacramento); meet Alice.
• 2013 - Travel with Alice to Sarah’s wedding (UK) & London; trip to Buffalo; Sanford graduates Arizona State (Phoenix); Accenture work in CA, Charlotte, NJ, Chicago. Colin completes rehab, then relapses, to county jail.
• 2014 - Colin dies in March; resume working at Accenture (NJ, Houston, SF, Peoria); trips with Alice to NYC (New Years), Boston (Winston wedding), Michigan (Hannah, sibs, friends).
• 2015 - Accenture (Peoria, Phila., Charlotte); Alice teaching at SUNY New Paltz; Sanford to L.A., engaged; Alice teaching while I take drawing at Penland, NC; Cleveland (book conference); Alice’s fall, recovery chez moi.
• 2016 - End of Accenture job (retirement); president Historical Society; Emma pregnant, gives “gender reveal” party; Sanford & Courtney get married in Palm Springs. Trips to Tucson (sibling reunion), Michigan (Hannah’s MFA), Charleston SC (book workers), and UK & Netherlands.
• 2017 - Retired; architecture & preservation trips; 70th birthday party; visit Em & baby in Phoenix; trips w Alice to Boston & 2 magical weeks in Maine.
• 2018 - Alice & I move to Grand Street apt; give talk on ‘Art Game’ at conference in Lyon, France (then to Nimes); later trip w Alice to Dublin & Amsterdam (sibling reunion), then solo to Basel; Sanford & Courtney move L.A. to Phoenix; Emma & Ryan move Phoenix to L.A.
• 2019 - Happy & healthy on Grand Street; give talk in Orlando, visit Key West; road trip to Michigan; travel to Rome & Pompeii. Kids prospering. Win tickets to “Hamilton."
• 2020 - A great Broadway show, a splendid trip to Rome — but then the Covid lockdown, followed by diabetes and then pancreatic cancer for me. A few escapes, some visits with friends.