Justin Benjamin Shubow | |
---|---|
Chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts | |
In office January 2021 –June 2021 | |
Preceded by | Earl A. Powell III |
Member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts | |
In office November 2018 –January 2021 | |
Personal details | |
Spouse | Idris Eleanor Leppla |
Alma mater | Columbia University (BA) University of Michigan (MPhil) Yale Law School (JD) |
Occupation | architectural critic |
Justin Shubow is an American architectural critic who currently serves as the president of the National Civic Art Society,a nonprofit organization that advocates and promotes public art and architecture in the classical tradition. He was a member of the United States Commission of Fine Arts from 2018 to 2021 and served as its chairman in 2021,being the first Jew to hold that position. [1]
Shubow graduated,magna cum laude,from Columbia University in 1999,where he was a member of the Columbia University Marching Band, [2] and received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School. [3] [4]
He served as an instructor at the University of Michigan and Yale University teaching courses in philosophy. [5] He also served as an editor of The Forward newspaper and Commentary magazine. [1] [6]
Shubow has been a proponent of Classical architecture and is critical of Brutalist architecture. He is known for his criticism and lobbying against Frank Gehry's Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. [7] [6] He is also reported to have played a key role in the passage of the Executive Order "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture," which encouraged traditional and classical architecture for federal buildings. [8] [9] [10] [11]
In November 2018,he was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the United States Commission of Fine Arts,an independent federal agency that oversees the design and construction of all buildings,monuments,and memorials in Washington,D.C. [12]
On January 25,2021,he was named chairman of the commission,succeeding Earl A. Powell III,former director of the National Gallery of Art. [13]
In May 2021,he was removed from the commission by President Joe Biden. [14] Shubow issued a statement to the White House,saying,"As chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts,I was shocked and dismayed to learn that three of my fellow commissioners,along with myself,have been asked to resign or be terminated by the President. In the Commission’s 110-year history,no commissioner has ever been removed by a President,let alone the commission’s chairman. Any such removal would set a terrible precedent.” [15]
He is married to Idris Leppla,an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. [3] [16] He is of Jewish descent. [17]
Frank Owen Gehry,,FAIA is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings,including his private residence in Santa Monica,California,have become world-renowned attractions.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is the United States National Cultural Center,located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington,D.C. It was named in 1964 as a memorial to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Opened on September 8,1971,the center hosts many different genres of performance art,such as theater,dance,orchestras,jazz,pop,psychedelic,and folk music.
Paul Philippe Cret was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years,he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.
William Adams Delano,an American architect,was a partner with Chester Holmes Aldrich in the firm of Delano &Aldrich. The firm worked in the Beaux-Arts tradition for elite clients in New York City,Long Island and elsewhere,building townhouses,country houses,clubs,banks and buildings for colleges and private schools. Moving on from the classical and baroque Beaux-Arts repertory,they often designed in the neo-Georgian and neo-Federal styles,and many of their buildings were clad in brick with limestone or white marble trim,a combination which came to be their trademark.
Milton Bennett Medary Jr. was an American architect from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,practicing with the firm Zantzinger,Borie and Medary from 1910 until his death.
The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is an advisory committee to the President of the United States on cultural issues. It works directly with the White House and the three primary cultural agencies:the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA),National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH),and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),as well as other federal partners and the private sector,to advance wide-ranging policy objectives in the arts and humanities. These include considerations for how the arts and humanities sectors can positively impact community well-being,economic development,public health,education,civic engagement,and climate change across the United States.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is a United States presidential memorial in Washington,D.C. honoring Dwight D. Eisenhower,the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States.
Gilmore David Clarke was an American civil engineer and landscape architect who designed many parks and public spaces in and around New York City.
Wallach Hall is the second oldest residence hall on the campus of Columbia University,and currently houses undergraduate students from Columbia College as well as the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. It opened in 1905 as "Livingston Hall" after Robert Livingston,a Founding Father of the United States and alumnus of King's College,Columbia's predecessor,but its name was changed after Ira D. Wallach donated approximately $2 million towards its renovation. This gave rise to the joke,"Livingston signed the Declaration of Independence,Wallach signed a check."
Bruce Milan Cole was a longtime professor of art history at Indiana University,a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington,D.C.,a member of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission,and the eighth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Carman Hall is a dormitory located on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus and currently houses first-year students from Columbia College as well as the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States,and was established in 1910. The CFA has review authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction within Washington,D.C. In accordance with the Old Georgetown Act,the CFA appoints the Old Georgetown Board. The Old Georgetown Board has design review authority over all semipublic and private structures within the boundaries of the Georgetown Historic District. The CFA was granted approval authority by the Shipstead-Luce Act over the design and height of public and private buildings which front or abut the grounds of the United States Capitol,the grounds of the White House,Pennsylvania Avenue NW extending from the Capitol to the White House,Lafayette Square,Rock Creek Park,the National Zoological Park,the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway,Potomac Park,and the National Mall and its constituent parks.
Frederick van Pelt Bryan was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Michael A. Waldman is an American attorney and presidential speechwriter and political advisor,currently serving as the president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law,a nonprofit law and policy institute. Waldman has led the center since 2005.
Charles Moore (1855-1942) was an American journalist,historian and city planner.
James Danly is an American attorney serving as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2019 and took office on March 31,2020. He formerly served as the agency's general counsel. On November 5,2020,he was named chairman of FERC. After serving for only 77 days,Danly was demoted on January 21,2021,when President Biden named Richard Glick Chairman.
The National Civic Art Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates and promotes public art,architecture,and urbanism in the classical tradition and opposes the inclusion of modern and contemporary architectural styles. The Society has various regional chapters that host local events and outreach. The organization is headquartered in Washington,D.C. The Society has been active in discussions regarding memorials in Washington,D.C. and the rebuilding of the original Penn Station in New York City. The Society led a six-year campaign against Frank Gehry's proposed design for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial,which forced the architect to make changes to his original scheme.
Felix Edgar Wormser was an American engineering and former government official who served as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Mineral Resources in the United States Department of the Interior from 1954 to 1957.
Daniel A. Ninivaggi is an American automobile executive who currently serves as the executive chairman of Lordstown Motors,and formerly its CEO. He is also the chairman of Garrett Motion,and was formerly the CEO of Icahn Enterprises as well as co-chairman,co-CEO of Federal-Mogul.
Art in Architecture,a program of the General Services Administration,oversees the creation of art in American federal buildings that launched in 1962. The art commissioned and selected is funded through the reserving of half a percent of the projected construction costs. As of 1982,the program had funded 250 works at a cost of US$8,600,000.