Design Historian Judith Gura to Present Oct. 5 Lecture, 'Preserving the Past, Allowing for Change'

Photo by Larry Lederman

The Rotunda of New York City Hall.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Judith Gura will present a lecture titled "Preserving the Past, Allowing for Change: Landmark Buildings and Historic Interiors" at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, in Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Room 250 of Vol Walker Hall, on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, as part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design lecture series.

Gura is on the faculty of the New York School of Interior Design and has taught at Pratt Institute and the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is a design historian and author whose published works include A History of Interior Design (co-author); Design After Modernism: Furniture and Interiors, 1970-2010; New York Interior Design, 1935-1985; Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture: Designs for the 21st Century; Guide to Period Styles for Interiors; Harvey Probber: Modernist Furniture, Artworks and Design; and Edward Wormley: The Other Face of Modernism.

In this lecture, Gura will discuss how history is not only told in the spoken or written word, but also in studying the places in which it happened. The preservation of those places, by designating them as landmarks, enables people to learn about the history of their cities and their communities, tracing differences in social practice and changing tastes.

Though the exteriors of landmark buildings are their most public faces, it is within their interiors that daily lives are conducted. This lecture and presentation will discuss how preservationists are dealing with the special challenges presented by interiors, which by their very nature are subject to change.

The different approaches to preserving interiors will be illustrated by examples in a variety of styles from Neoclassical to Art Deco to International Style, and a variety of functions from office building to bank, theater, library or transportation center. Some were saved from destruction, while some were revived after neglect or misguided "modernizations," and still others were converted to entirely new uses. Though very different, all make the point that historic spaces can be rescued, restored or reimagined to both encapsulate history and function efficiently in today's world.

A graduate of Cornell University, she has a master's degree in History of Design and the Decorative Arts from the Bard Graduate Center. She curated exhibitions at the New York School of Interior Design and worked on exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, the Whitney Museum and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

The public is invited to attend. Admission is free, with limited seating.

For more information, contact 479-575-4704 or architecture.uark.edu.