Čičmany

Franz Bauer is a photographer in Austria who has documented many European towns and their architecture. I like his photos of folk architecture, but none more than the town of Čičmany, Slovakia. Čičmany is well known for its painted wooden houses, used by the owners as weekend houses and kept well as reminder of the past and the old traditions. It's now a national cultural monument.

Renzo Piano in Chicago

Piano's modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago opens this weekend and I've got to see it. The elegance of this building isn't surprising--it is a Renzo Piano building after all-- but it is no less impressive because it's somewhat expected. The new wing allows the AIC to show it's works in an optimal setting and the building is so large the curators have pulled out works that haven't been shown in decades. (Alex Katz and Cy Twombly pictured.)