Category Archives: Historic Preservation

Robert Stark interviews Ross Calvin about his American Colossus Project

aesthetics, American Culture, Ancient Greece, Archeofuturism, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, California, censorship, China, Cities, cryptocurrency, Culture, Donald Trump, Drugs, Economics, Historic Preservation, History, Jason Reza Jorjani, Jeffery Mishlove, Kamala Harris, Mythology, Philosophy, Prison, Retro Futurism, Ross Calvin, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, technology, Urbanism

Robert Stark speaks with Ross Calvin about his American Colossus Project, a proposal to construct a statue of the Greek Titan, Prometheus, on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Ross Calvin is from New Mexico, has a finance background, running an Austrian economics-focused investment fund in global macro, frontier markets, and volatility for 10 years. He transitioned to become a bitcoin miner, and developed a blockchain platform for oil and gas. Subscribe to Ross Calvin on Substack, and check out the American Colossus project on Substack, X/Twitter, and Instagram.

Topics:
-The tie in between the Mythos of Prometheus and Sound Money
-Prometheus as a symbol of triumph, beauty, the power of technology, and the regenerative spirit of man
-Ross’s inspiration from Jason Jorjani’s Prometheism, who is no longer involved with the project
-The hope that the Prometheus Statue can usher in a new renaissance for America and California
-The enormous reasons for optimism to counter pessimism and demoralization
-The significance and meaning of “The Pursuit of Happiness”
-How the Prometheus Statue will be a bookend to the Statue of Liberty, but much larger
-San Francisco’s natural and architectural beauty, and significance as the Manifest Destiny City
-The negative publicity about San Francisco’s decay and the drug crisis
-The oppressive symbolism of the Alcatraz prison and why Calvin does not think it has any historic preservation value
-The Statue’s designer and sculptor, Fen de Villiers
-The contrast between the archeo-futurist symbolism of Art Deco vs “the staidness of institutions” of Neo-Classicalism
-The plan to appeal to Trump, as presidents have the authority to create National Monuments
-Trump’s persona as a builder, his proposal to create a statue memorial garden, and his neoclassical executive order
-The project countering the iconoclasm and spirit of deconstruction
-Why artists should have a greater role in the economy and technological innovation
-How Silicon Valley has become monolithic, State oriented, and less creative
-How Prometheus stands against censorship
-Plans for a documentary and a museum that will be a temple to the Promethean spirit

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark interviews BLAUERGEIST! about Aesthetics

1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Beverly Hills, BLAUERGEIST!, Blue Velvet, Brutalism, California, Californication, capitalism, Cinema, Cities, comedy, Culture, Curb Your Enthusiasm, David Lynch, Disneyland, Film, Film Noire, Hellraiser, Historic Preservation, History, Hollywood, horror, horror films, humor, Instagram, Jacob's Ladder, John C. Portman Jr, Larry David, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Malls, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Mulholland Drive, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Retro Wave, New York, Oregon, Photography, Political Correctness, Portland, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Science Fiction, South Africa, Southbound, Steampunk, Surrealism, technology, Traditionalism, Travel, Twin Peaks, Urbanism, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Portland based blogger BLAUERGEIST! about architecture, interior design, art, and cinema. Check out BLAUERGEIST! on Twitter, his podcast Ellroy Boys, and new web magazine Apocalypse Confidential.

Topics:

The #BathistGang: love of 80s bathroom aesthetics
20th Century interior design genres
80s malls, Robert and Matt’s LA N O S T A L G I A  Mall series, the Breezewood meme, The Canal Walk Mall in Cape Town, and value of Interior Urbanism
Retrofuturism, trends in nostalgia, and Theme Park Urbanism
Eco Brutalism and the Interior Garden Aesthetic
Artists Patrick Nagel, Jim Buckels, and Daniel Merriam, and various sci-fi illustrators
Political symbolism in aesthetics
Aesthetics in cinema: directors Dario Argento and Peter Greenaway, and 80s films Year of the Dragon and Scarface
Horror films 3615 code Père Noël, Child’s Play, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Jacob’s Ladder, Hellraiser: Inferno, Southbound, and Silent Hill: Revelation
The work of David Lynch and the Lynchian Aesthetic
Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson.

The Starkian Bay Area

Aesthetic Socialism, aesthetics, Alt Center, American Culture, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Asian Culture, Baby Boomers, Berkeley, California, capitalism, China, Cities, Class, coronavirus, Crime, Culture, Danville CA, demographics, Diversity, Economics, Environment, ethnopluralism, Frank Lloyd Wright, Futurism, gentrification, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Liberalism, Los Angeles, Marin County, Mass Transit, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Millennials, Mount Diablo, Multiculturalism, neo-tribalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Urbanism, New York, Oakland, Orinda CA, overdevelopment, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Politics, Prison, Race Relations, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, social capital, Suburbia, SWPL, The Gospel of Gibson, Travel, Urbanism, Utopia, Walnut Creek CA, Wealth, welfare state, Wilderness, Zoning

Robert Stark and Matt Pegas discuss their trip to the San Francisco Bay Area over the last Labor Day weekend, their past trips in 2018 (extended segment: 20 minutes in), and how the Bay Area relates to Alt-Urbanism and cultural, aesthetic, societal, and Alt-Center political themes from the show.

Topics:

Observations of the impact of the pandemic including an increase in homelessness
Why the Bay Area is the center of the Gray Tribe political sphere
The degree to which there is a unique and authentic regional culture and aesthetic
The John C. Portman designed Embarcadero Center, concept of Interior Urbanism, and how Portman was unique in that he was both an artistic visionary and a capitalist
The impact of wealth on aesthetics
The magic of travel and appreciating the tourist traps
San Francisco Neon
The Bay Area’s Geography, microclimates, and urban layout
Wilderness locations including Mount Diablo, Tilden Regional Park, Alpine and Bon Tempe Lakes in Marin, and the region’s extensive Greenbelts
Unique attributes of the Bay Area suburbs of Marin County, Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, Alamo, and Danville, Ski-Lodge Urbanism, and Retrofitting The Aesthetically Pleasing Suburb
Bay Area demographics trends
Does California need a rightest version of Multiculturalism?

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island.

Robert Stark talks to Logo Daedalus about America’s Promethean Aesthetics

1980's, aesthetics, American Culture, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, capitalism, Christianity, Cities, Class, Communism, Conservatives, Culture, Dallas, David Lynch, demographics, Disneyland, Donald Trump, Economics, Elon Musk, Europe, Futurism, Globalization, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Jean Baudrillard, Kanye West, Las Vegas, Logo Daedalus, Malls, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Media, Mid-Century Modern, Mormonism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Urbanism, New York, Oligarchy, Philosophy, Politics, Postmodernism, Religion, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Sweden, technology, The Perfume Nationalist, Traditionalism, Travel, Twin Peaks, Urbanism, Utah, Utopia, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Logo Daedalus to analyze the Promethean themes throughout American history in regards to culture and aesthetics. Logo is the author of Selfie, Suicide: or Cairey Turnbull’s Blue Skiddoo and you can follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

Online Trad subculture as a search for authenticity within the Simulation
Embracing America as a theme park
Archeofuturism: progress fused with nostalgia
How cultural elitism can contradict economic elitism and vice versa
Popularity of Neoclassical architecture in 19th Century America, The Soviet’s later adoption of Neoclassical architecture, and Art Deco as the pinnacle of archeofuturism in early 20th Century America
The Minimalist architectural trend of the 2010s, focus on functionality, Puritanical origins, and popularity in the Silicon Valley
Logo’s experience living in New York, notable architectural sites, and it’s state of decay
Neo-Trad architectural fad
What Internet Memes Get Wrong About Breezewood, Pennsylvania
Finding political symbolism in architecture
Celebrity Futurism
The ironies of Trump’s aesthetics
Mormonism as a manifest of America’s Promethean Spirit
How modern America started at the Chicago World’s Fair
The early Electric Park and Freedomland U.S.A. Theme Parks
Utopian Societies in 19th Century America and Utopianism through accessing the capital to build rather than politics


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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter,  Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island


Robert Stark talks about the symbolic vs. material causes of our Nation’s political turmoil

2020 Riots, aesthetics, Alt Center, American Culture, Architecture, Baby Boomers, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, capitalism, censorship, Cities, Class, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, income inequality, Joe Biden, Joel Kotkin, Leftism, Los Angeles, Marxism, materialism, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Middle Class, Millennials, Morality, Neoliberalism, New Urbanism, New York, Political Correctness, Politics, Race Relations, Radical Center, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, social capital, Socialism, Suburbia, SWPL, Urbanism, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark is joined with Matt Pegan to discuss issues relating to Robert’s Unz Review article, The Real Wealth Gap:
The intergenerational wealth gap, the housing crisis, and how “BLM vs. MAGA” poisons the discussion on every issue.

Topics:

The material vs. symbolic factors of our current political turmoil
The material based critique of woke ideology and limitations of a purely material based outlook
Comparing data on the racial wealth gap with the generational wealth gap
Millennials’ screwed economic status, the appeal of Bernie’s campaign, and an overall failure to invest in future generations
More on the motivation of corporate support for woke causes
The iconoclastic nature of neoliberalism to erase history and conceal power
Political symbolism in architecture(ex. statues, skyscrapers, single family homes, and public spaces)
Christopher Lasch’s The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy
Fox News host Lara Logan compares up-zoning to agenda of Antifa
Woke urbanist thought vs. the material benefits of YIMBY polices for millennials
Whether this new generation of urban flight to the suburbs will sustain the power of Woke neoliberalism

 

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram


Robert Stark interviews Rich Houck

1980's, aesthetics, American Culture, Animal Cruelty, animals, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Cities, Class, Communism, coronavirus, Crime, Culture, demographics, Diversity, Economics, education, Environment, Fascism, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, Immigration, income inequality, Japanese Culture, Journey to Vapor Island, Los Angeles, Malls, Mental illness, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Urbanism, New York, Philadelphia, Photography, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Rich Houck, Robert Putnam, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, social capital, Social Isolation, social trust, Toronto, Traditionalism, Urbanism, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Rich Houck about urbanism, aesthetics, and the need for social capital. Rich is a recent law school grad and you can check out his blog on Patreon and his Twitter account.

Topics:

Rich’s interest in photography
Rich’s patronage of independent artists
Interest in both traditional and Retro-Futurist aesthetics
Neon nationalism: reclaiming the future we should have had
80s nostalgia: the 80s as a going away party
The Last Mall Rat OR The Decline and Transformation of The American Mall
The importance of communal spaces, whether it’s Interior Urbanism or a traditional village space
How urban planning models and density relate to social cohesion
Does Diversity Create Distrust?
Crime prevention through environmental design and A New Way of Understanding ‘Eyes on the Street‘ 
Impression of San Francisco, how it could have been an American Paris with a uniquely American European aesthetic
The spring COVID-19 took from me
How the pandemic is exposing a wide range of problems from open borders to factory farming
Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island’s lesson about taking the best from all sides
Symbolism of the Neon-Raccoon

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about Urbanist observations from trip to San Diego

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, American Culture, Andrew Yang, Architecture, Basic Income, Calexit, California, Cities, Class, Culture, demographics, Economics, Environment, Erasure, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, John C. Portman Jr, Los Angeles, Malibu, Malls, Matthew Pegas, Mexico, Middle Class, Music, Politics, Postmodernism, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, SWPL, Travel, Urbanism, Wealth, Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about their recent trip to San Diego and their observations on cultural and urbanist trends.

Topics:

San Diego’s reputation as a smaller, cleaner, nicer version of LA and its unique attributes
The layout of the city with a centralized downtown near the waterfront surrounded by suburban sprawl
San Diego and Orange County among the largest areas of upper middle class sprawl in the nation
Politics of San Diego as a historically Republican stronghold that has trended Democratic in recent years
Demographics of San Diego and how they relate to overall CA trends
The most stereotypical American City located in CA while the State is culturally drifting apart from the rest of the Country
After decades of suburban sprawl, San Diego eyes big shift to dense development
The historic Gaslamp Quarter which is the one section that feels truly urban
Horton Plaza: Will this PoMo wonderland in San Diego be saved?
Architect Jon Jerde’s inspiration for Horton Plaza from Ray Bradbury’s “The Aesthetic of Lostness” extolling the virtues of getting “safely lost”
Wealthy beach community La Jolla and it’s village layout
The importance of investing in communal places that the public can enjoy, particularly in wealthy areas
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
The Victorian Hotel del Coronado
Friendship Park at the US/Mexico Border and political symbolism of the border wall
The Inland Empire
Heavenly Action by Erasure, the soundtrack of the trip with a message that friendship, love, and positivity can conquer anything

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Will Durham about the Nevada Neon Project

aesthetics, Architecture, Art, Cities, Culture, Gambling, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Reno, Will Durham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will Durham has been collecting and preserving neon signs for over 25 years, and has one of the largest collections in the world. Check out the Nevada Neon Project on Instagram and Facebook.

Topics:

Collecting signs from closing businesses
The main focus of preserving signs
The process of rescuing a sign
Displaying signs to the public at events
Neon named Nevada’s official element
Walking tours of Downtown Reno
The decline of Reno as a gambling destination, revitalization, and what it means for neon
Newer signage, incorporating new neon, and businesses adopting older signs
The lack of historic preservation regulation
Collecting signage from larger casinos including the Peppermill, Harold’s Club, and Fitzgerald in Reno, and The Riviera in Las Vegas
Saving The Virginian’s Casino letters
The Eldorado Casino’s external neon silhouette
The Carson Nugget and Cactus Jacks in Carson City
The dwindling of neon at Lake Tahoe, and The Stardust Lodge

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Urbanist Lessons from Trip to the Southwest

aesthetics, American Culture, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, California, capitalism, Cities, Class, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Disneyland, Donald Trump, Economics, Futurism, Grand Canyon, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Mormonism, Neoliberalism, Neon, Photography, Politics, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, social capital, social trust, Suburbia, Travel, Urbanism, Utah, Utopia, Wilderness, Zion National Park, Zoning

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas discuss their trip last fall to Las Vegas(Vegas Strip and Downtown), The Grand Canyon, and Zion.

Topics:

Las Vegas as the quintessential Post Modernist City
Creating an other wordy aura that does not exist in mundane consumerism
Creating something noble or grandiose out of consumerism
Las Vegas as an economic rather than geographic concept
Nothing permanent because architecture only survives if profitable
Vintage Vegas and Neon Signage
Irony of historic preservationist dismissing architecture of value because it is a product of capitalism
The pros and cons of private zoning
Casino Resorts functioning as an arcology or self contained city
Theme parks as models for urbanism
The potential for an urban alternative to over priced West Coast Cities
St. George Utah, sprawl layout, and high trust homogeneous middle class demographic
Alt-Urbanist solutions that seek to recreate those attributes in an urban setting
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona as one of the most scenic and geologically diverse regions in the world

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews SF based Artist Merkley???

aesthetics, Architecture, Art, California, Cities, conformity, Conservatives, Culture, Dain Fitzgerald, Donald Trump, Economics, Fashion, Gender, Historic Preservation, humor, Immigration, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Merkley???, Morality, Mormonism, Music, Philosophy, Photography, Political Correctness, Politics, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Social Justice Warriors, Social Media, Urbanism, Utah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Dain Fitzgerald talk to SF based artist and photographer Merkley??? Check out Merkley??? on Twitter.

Topics:

Merkley’s ex Mormon background, and the role of art, creativity, and philosophy within religion
SJW culture as a religion with the state as the figure head
How traditional religion is now more tolerant in comparison
Being a political outsider in the SF Bay Area
The fusion of SJW culture and Neoliberalism
Conservatives adopting liberal ideas from the past that stand the test of time
Merkley’s view that multiple identities will lead to radical individualism
Merkley’s response to the argument that identities provide a sense of social cohesion
Left Wing Puritanism
Using nude photography to poke fun at photoshop, advertisement, and the fashion industry(objectifying the objects)
Bay Area Housing Crisis, Airbnb, supply and demand, and historic preservation concerns
The impracticality of open borders
Merkley’s Ska Band and friendship with Gwen Stefani
Singing the wisdom of the Luddites

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island