Keep Looking Up...
On the way from auto mechanic to airplane mechanic, Robert Arthur King attended an exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art called, "The Rise of an American Architect“... "and I fell in love," he recalls. "I felt that it was my destiny to become an architect."
Six decades later he remains passionate about that choice, as well as the other paths he's discovered along the way, including as an expert witness, in legal consulting, and as writer, photographer, teacher and lecturer.
"Stonefaced"
This short documentary by filmmaker Vivian Ducat features Robert's efforts to capture the architectural details found in the facades of buildings. Robert has photographed these details in New York City and around the U.S. and the world. Read this commentary on the film.
“There's a lot of psychology involved... little tricks in my designs.
I tried to master my profession, to know as much as possible to master the profession.
See architecture as an art – not just in the design, but behind the wall – what’s hidden that I can’t see.
People don’t change spaces, spaces change people, as Winston Churchill said.”
Photographer | Writer
“Each picture really is a thousand words – tells a story. And with a photograph you can develop your own story.
How exciting it is to discover a face on a building! But so many people just walk by. Keep looking up!”
Legal Advisor
“I love being a witness, with someone challenging me on something that I know so well: building code.
You can't twist the code. The code is very straightforward – it is what it is. You have to look for the exceptions."
“At the beginning of my building codes class, the students ask why they need to memorize all this. It has nothing to do with design, they think. Then they realize it has everything to do with design.
I like telling the little details and enlightening people, getting 'I did not know that' responses."
Media & Mentions
"Stonefaced, an Architectural Anthology: A Conversation with Robert Arthur King," La Voce di New York
"Treasure in the Air Up There," The New York Times
"Century of Change in a Tranquil Enclave," The New York Times
"An Eye for Detail: Robert Arthur King," Island Current
"Faces in the Crowd: Robert Arthur King unearths minimasterpieces while snapping pictures in Harlem," Time Out NY
"Turned to Stone," The Art Newspaper
