Self-portrait of my father

Lately it has been all about production. “But do you have time to think?” he would ask me. George Toloudis, an architect, engineer, inventor, and a true artist (in talent, in heart, in mind, in exaggeration), would only need few items to think and create.

A table, a pencil, and paper (plain A4s, but other ones too such as leftover sheets from voting). And Greek cigarettes.

“Why (do you wish to make this project)?”

“What is an idea? An idea [for a project] cannot not be as abstract as in liberté -égalité -fraternité.”

”A man can do anything, even pass through a wall, if he wants.”

On materials and techniques...”The realization of an idea is interdependent to the economy.”

During the school years, it was these late evenings in the office, learning physics, testing new markers, drawing, making a school assignment. During the Aristotle years it was again late evenings, staying awake, drawing with ink, making compositions, models, resolving floor plans, talking about Zaha Hadid, making kinetic maquettes, finishing artifacts for exhibits, everything. During the IIT years it was all about the details, making it real, packages with hinges, minimal structures, endless Skype sessions, chit chat about Japanese & Indian friends, Ben Nicholson, Jackie Koo, Jeanne Gang and Martin, nonstop design, architecture with capital A.

Γεώργιος Τολούδης 07.04.1947-12.23.2018

During the Harvard years it was about making Picanico, asking so many Why, learning from Spiro, Kwinter, regular all-nighters, Skype support for dissertation, all kinds of support. During Dartmouth years it has been about constructing the magic, mr.Takis, real materials, big packages, Greece, Greeks, what would you teach?...

To be continued.

January 3, 2020