American Academy of Arts and Letters Recognizes Professor Marlon Blackwell

Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Photo by Timothy Hursley.

Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Photo by Timothy Hursley.

Museum Store at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Ark.

Steven L. Anderson Design Center, University of Arkansas, computer rendering.

St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Springdale, Ark. Photo by Timothy Hursley.

Gentry Public Library, Gentry Ark. Photo: Timothy Hursley.

L-Stack House, Fayetteville, Ark. Photo by Timothy Hursley.

Blessings Golf Clubhouse, Johnson, Ark. Photo by Timothy Hursley.

Keenan TowerHouse, Fayetteville, Ark. Photo by Timothy Hursley.

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The Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion at the Indianapolis Museum of Art was designed by professor Marlon Blackwell. Blackwell is a recipient of a 2012 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. (Photo by Timothy Hursley)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Architecture professor Marlon Blackwell is a recipient of a 2012 Arts and Letters Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The academy was established in 1898 to “foster, assist and sustain an interest in literature, music and the fine arts.” The 250 academy members represent the fields of music, art, architecture and literature.

Marlon Blackwell is a Distinguished Professor and head of the architecture department in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. His firm, Marlon Blackwell Architect, is based in Fayetteville.

Since 1991, the academy has recognized American architects whose work is “characterized by a strong personal direction” with the Arts and Letters Awards (formerly called Academy Awards). The award comes with a $7,500 check.

As Blackwell looked over a list of previous architecture winners – 59 of them since 1991 – he shook his head in amazement.

“It’s a who’s who – it’s a pretty amazing list,” Blackwell said.

Many on the list have been guest lecturers or visiting professors for the Fay Jones School, among them, Wendell Burnette, William E. Massie, Julie VandenBerg Snow, Tom Kundig, Monica Ponce de Leon and Gregg Pasquarelli.

But the names belong to architects from firms in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and other major cities. None are from Arkansas, until now.

Billie Tsien, a member of the selection committee, said this of Blackwell: “He enters the national discourse from a position that is rooted in the vernacular of his region – the South. Working outside of the mainstream, Blackwell has developed a voice that is uniquely his own.” Tsien said the St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Springdale “has a facade that recalls the iconography of a Stuart Davis painting and possesses the stark strength of a totem. This is truthful architecture – simple, powerful and steadfast.”

Upon receiving his nomination letter, Blackwell was required to submit just two documents and a curriculum vitae. These alone had to speak for his work. He wanted to make his entry unique and substantive, but also unified in look and presentation.

So, he took his monograph, An Architecture of the Ozarks, published in 2005 by Princeton Architectural Press, and had it rebound by a local bookbinder, Lesha Shaver of Little Mountain Bindery. Shaver bound an additional book, in matching gray cloth, which includes works done since then.

“Half the fun was making the book,” Blackwell said.

That new book, “Figures and Types,” shows a range of work, featuring architectural drawings, as well as photographs by Timothy Hursley and Richard Johnson. The book opens with the Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and also includes the Moore HoneyHouse, the Keenan TowerHouse, Srygley Office Building, St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Fayetteville High School, Gentry Public Library, the museum store at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Steven L. Anderson Design Center, an addition to Vol Walker Hall on the university campus, and home to the architecture school.

“It shows the range and dexterity of the work, and how the architecture is situational rather than bound by one overarching theory,” Blackwell said of the collection of projects.

For Blackwell, this recognition is like none before.

“This is the first time that the value of the body of work has been acknowledged as truly significant in the context of the United States,” he said. “And it’s been confirmed as having national significance by some of the most renowned architects of our time.”

This recognition brings attention to the ongoing support for creative activity that he’s received during his 20 years in the architecture school – and without which he wouldn’t have been able to achieve what he has.

“It helps confirm that the making of architecture at the highest level is possible anywhere, in the spirit of Fay Jones,” he said.

Dean Jeff Shannon has followed Blackwell’s career as both professor and practitioner.

“It’s been a pleasure watching Marlon’s practice mature. His talent, persistence and clarity of vision have made him one of the top architects in the country. We are very honored to have him as an integral part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture,” Shannon said.

Blackwell and his fellow award winners will be celebrated at a May 16 event in New York City. Their work will be exhibited from May 17 to June 10 in the galleries of the American Academy of Arts and Letters located at Audubon Terrace in upper Manhattan.