Stillness and Light: The Silent Eloquence of Shaker Architecture
"These images of historic Shaker buildings are stunning." —Stephen J. Stein, author of The Shaker Experience in America(Stephen J. Stein, author of The Shaker Experience in America)"These spaces... are mirages infused with a sense of reality and epiphany." —Juhani Pallasmaa, Former professor of architecture at Helsinki University of Technology and currently Ruth and Norman Moore Visiting Professor of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis(Juhani Pallasmaa, Former professor of architecture at Helsinki University of Technology and currently Ruth and Norman Moore Visiting Professor of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis)"I have written that when an architect finds out that LIGHT is the main subject of Architecture, he begins to be a real one. How could a real architect not know about LIGHT? How could a good photographer not control LIGHT? How could a good professor not speak to his students about LIGHT? Henry Plummer, who is a real architect, a splendid photographer, and also a wonderful professor, does all of these things for us in Stillness and Light." —Alberto Campo Baeza, Architect and Visiting Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design(Alberto Campo Baeza, Architect and Visiting Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design)"This is a book that you will want to have open and in sight, turning its pages from time to time, absorbing the meditation its photographs evoke. The stillness is the stillness of concentration, a quieting of the mind that could be termed soulful. The light glowing from its pages is transformative. The words bring thought to place, echoing original intent, giving their own illumination to the qualities of Shaker life and thought. The quality of color and light indeed give "earthbound rooms a skyward inflection". The photographs are masterful; their vantage, profound. Plummer’s work not only records Stillness and Light, it gives them." —Donlyn Lyndon, Eva Li Professor of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley(Donlyn Lyndon, Eva Li Professor of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley)"I highly recommend this book for anyone who is appraising Shaker items or Shaker architecture or for those who simply love high quality art photographs. A welcome addition to your book shelves." —www.examiner.com, 9/24/2009(www.examiner.com2009-01-00)"[A] stunning color photographic essay... Plummer's discerning photographic eye not only captures the feeling of serenity and peace that pervades these buildings, but also reminds us that for the Shakers, daily work was prayer and every space in their community was a chapel... This book is a must for libraries and any religious group planning to construct significant spiritual space." —Nova Religio, Vol. 15, No. 1 August, 2011(Nova Religio2011-01-00)