DESIGN DISPATCH

Robert Smith's Spiral Jetty Joins the National Register of Historic Places, and Other News

Plus, Calvin Klein returns to New York Fashion Week, and the fashion and photography worlds mourn Gian Paolo Barbieri.

“Spiral Jetty” (1970) by Robert Smithson. Photography by George Steinmetz, courtesy of the Holt/Smithson Foundation and Dia Art Foundation

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is now a National Register-official historic landmark in Utah.

Robert Smithson’s Land Art sculpture Spiral Jetty (1970) at Utah’s Great Salt Lake has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, signifying its cultural and environmental significance. Built with 6,650 tons of basalt, the 1,500-foot-long spiral reflects themes of entropy and change, as it has alternated between submersion and exposure over decades due to fluctuating water levels.  

On Feb. 7, Calvin Klein will end its six year New York Fashion Week hiatus with a runway show.

Calvin Klein will return to New York Fashion Week on February 7, marking its first runway show since 2018 and debuting a new vision under creative director Veronica Leoni. Known for her work at luxury houses like Jil Sander and The Row, Leoni promises a refined take on the brand’s minimalist heritage. 

Courtesy of Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri

Renowned Italian fashion photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri has died at the age of 89 years old.

Gian Paolo Barbieri, who recently passed away at the age of 89 after a long illness, was known for a pioneering body of work that shaped the visual identity of luxury brands like Versace and Armani. He also captured timeless portraits of luminaries such as Audrey Hepburn and Naomi Campbell. Through his namesake foundation, he later championed photographic culture and nurtured emerging talent, leaving behind a profound artistic legacy.

Researchers can’t identify the ancient language inscribed on the Georgian Bashplemi tablet.

Researchers in Georgia are puzzling over the Bashplemi tablet, a basalt artifact inscribed with an unknown script featuring 39 unique characters. Discovered in 2021, the tablet dates to the Late Bronze or Early Iron Age and shows stylistic similarities to Proto-Kartvelian and other ancient scripts but aligns with no known language. While its purpose remains uncertain, hypotheses range from numerical records of military or construction activity to a religious offering, though the text’s direction and full content remain undeciphered.

King Arthur’s Hall in Cornwall, England, is 4,000 years older than archeologists’ estimates.

Archaeologists have determined that King Arthur’s Hall in Cornwall dates back over 5,000 years to the Neolithic era, overturning earlier beliefs that it was a medieval structure. Excavations using advanced soil dating techniques revealed its unique design of rectangular earthworks and interior stone orthostats, unparalleled in prehistoric architecture. While its exact purpose remains uncertain, experts theorize it served as a site for community or ceremonial gatherings.

A close-up of Hillary Taymour's Christmas tree for the New York EDITION. Credit: Lexi Lambros, courtesy of the New York EDITION.

Today’s attractive distractions:

This year’s most zeitgeist-y Christmas tree decoration is… the humble bow. 

Hey, fitness resolutioners, this Manhattan townhouse has a rock-climbing wall

If traveling more is your modus operandi, get inspired by this Copenhagen houseboat.

Aspirant readers: don’t sleep on the tale of John Lennon’s lost and found watch

 

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