Outré West brings out the art in architecture

For many people, no form of artistic expression makes a bigger impression on their daily lives than architecture. Most days, Americans move from one building to the next in a circle of life that generally begins and ends at home, with schools, offices, and various businesses in between. Architects are heavy-lifter visionaries who do the hard job of marrying aesthetics and utility, etching dreams and concepts on paper that must then be built—and reliably function—in the real world. Sometimes it all comes together—and sometimes it doesn’t. There are feats, failures, and fairly-goods in every field. Not every building we set foot in needs to be a masterpiece, of course, but it’s more interesting when it is.

In the ‘50s and ‘60s, looking beyond the Bauhaus and French schools of architecture that heavily influenced the profession, University of Oklahoma professors and avant-gardes Bruce Goff and Herb Greene introduced a new wave of visionaries known as The American School of Architecture, which included Violeta Autumn, John Marsh Davis, Arthur Dyson, Donald MacDonald, and Mickey Muennig. At Oklahoma Contemporary’s Outré West: The American School of Architecture from Oklahoma to California, visitors walk through the works of these seven prominent architects. Drawings, photographs, videos, models, and one full-scale reconstruction make this exhibit far more varied in its mediums than one might initially expect.

Outré West will be on display in Oklahoma Contemporary’s Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery through January 27, 2025. Admission is always free, but guests should make reservations online at oklahomacontemporary.org.

Model of Bruce Goff’s Bavinger House

Bruce Goff’s Bavinger House was a famous landmark in Norman. Goff designed the house, and, with the help of OU students, the couple built it with scrap and local materials over a period of years. It was, sadly, demolished in 2011, but visitors can see this model of it at the exhibit, along with photographs and floorplans.

Model of Herb Greene's Norman home design

A famous Herb Greene design, the Prairie House still remains east of Norman. This cedar-covered structure, known to some as the Prairie Chicken House is currently being renovated by its current owner. Learn more: https://www.prairiehousepreservation.org/

A reconstruction of a studio by Mickey Muenning

This is a full-scale reconstruction of Mickey Muennig’s Big Sur studio. Although he studied in Oklahoma, Muennig made a name for himself as an eco-friendly builder on the central California coast. He spent many hours living and working in this tiny space overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Design drawings by John Marsh Davis

Altus native John Marsh Davis’s perspective and plan drawings for the Carmel Cliffs Apartments were done when he was a student at the University of Oklahoma, and they look like something from a Tolkien novel.

A home design by Arthur Dyson

Arthur Dyson built this house for a young schoolteacher couple in 1986. Located just outside of Fresno, CA, The Lencioni Residence, as it’s known, is 1,845 square feet. As part of the design process, Dyson reportedly had the couple fill out several pages of personality questionnaires.

Written By

Megan Rossman

Megan Rossman is Oklahoma Today's photography editor.