J. B. Jackson
Encyclopedia
John Brinckerhoff "Brinck" Jackson, J.B. Jackson, (September 25, 1909, Dinard
, France
- August 28, 1996, La Cienega, NM) was a writer
, publisher, instructor
, and sketch artist in landscape design
. Herbert Muschamp, New York Times architecture critic, stated that J.B. Jackson was “America’s greatest living writer on the forces that have shaped the land this nation occupies.” He was influential in broadening the perspective on the “vernacular” landscape.
and in Europe. At age 14 (1923) he enrolled at the elite Institut Le Rosey
in Rolle, Switzerland
, where he became fluent in both French and German. He savored an environment of mountains, meadows, and forests, but also absorbed the human face of the Swiss cities and cantons, and he would later draw upon his travels abroad in writings, sketches, and watercolors. He attended preparatory schools in New England and spent summers on his uncle’s farm in New Mexico
. During the height of his career Jackson lived just southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near an historic property known as El Rancho de las Golondrinas (The Ranch of the Swallows).
. Introduced to the writings of two contemporary social critics, Jackson gained an insight into architecture and planning from the writings of Lewis Mumford
and he was fascinated by Oswald Spengler
’s revelation in Decline of the West that “landscapes reflected the culture of the people that were living there…”
In 1929 Jackson attended Harvard for three years. One instructor, Irving Babbitt, was influential in Jackson’s opposition to modernism. His taste for Baroque style and history began to blossom at this time. He believed that the zest of the Baroque style was the essence of the connection between humankind and nature. While attending Harvard, Jackson wrote articles for the Harvard Advocate. His career of writing about what truly makes up the landscape began here.
Following his graduation from Harvard, Jackson tried courses in architecture, writing, and drawing. Each would later serve as the bases for essays, lectures, and articles for his magazine, Landscape. He wandered through Europe in 1934 to 1935 studying Baroque style. While in Europe, Jackson began to write articles critical of Nazism
and published them in the American Review and Harper's
. His interest in politics began to show in his works. In 1938, his novel, titled Saints in Summertime was published. The book revealed the infiltration of Nazism and the soldiers’ attraction to energy emanating from power.
, and Albert Demangeon. It was at this time that his interpretation that the shaping and devastation of the landscape came from the necessities for human existence. Jackson believed that human history brought about human geography. The landscape was simply humankind’s effort to "recreate heaven on earth". As the war ended, Jackson began to contemplate publishing a magazine of geography.
prize for essays.
. He wrapped up teaching in the late 1970s and then went on to give lectures, especially on themes pertaining to urban issues. Jackson states that “We are not spectators; all human landscape is not a work of art.” He felt strongly that the purpose of landscape is to provide a place for living and working and leisure.
The Association of American Geographers
established a Jackson Prize, to "reward American geographers who write books about the United States which convey the insights of professional geography in language that is interesting and attractive to a lay audience." http://www.aag.org/Grantsawards/Jacksonprize.html
"Let us hope that the merits and charm of the highway strip are not so obscure but they will be accepted by a wider public."
"The bicycle had, and still has, a humane, almost classical moderation in the kind of pleasure it offers. It is the kind of machine that a Hellenistic Greek might have invented and ridden. It does no violence to our normal reactions: It does not pretend to free us from our normal environment."
"The way a city grows, the direction in which it spreads, is a factor not so much of zoning or real estate activity or land values but of highways."
"Ruins provide the incentive for restoration, and for a return to origins. There has to be an interim of death or rejection before there can be renewal and reform."
Dinard
Dinard is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a popular holiday destination, and this has resulted in the town having a variety of famous visitors and residents...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- August 28, 1996, La Cienega, NM) was a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, publisher, instructor
Instructor
Instructor may refer to:In education:* Professor of a technical subject like dance or civil engineering at a university* A teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill**flight instructor**drill instructor**Physical Training Instructor...
, and sketch artist in landscape design
Landscape design
Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice landscape design bridges between landscape architecture and garden design.-Design scope:...
. Herbert Muschamp, New York Times architecture critic, stated that J.B. Jackson was “America’s greatest living writer on the forces that have shaped the land this nation occupies.” He was influential in broadening the perspective on the “vernacular” landscape.
Early life
Born in France to American parents, J.B. Jackson spent his early school years in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and in Europe. At age 14 (1923) he enrolled at the elite Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey, commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a school, in Gstaad, Switzerland. It is described as one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world. The school was founded by Paul-Émile Carnal in 1880 on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey near the town...
in Rolle, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he became fluent in both French and German. He savored an environment of mountains, meadows, and forests, but also absorbed the human face of the Swiss cities and cantons, and he would later draw upon his travels abroad in writings, sketches, and watercolors. He attended preparatory schools in New England and spent summers on his uncle’s farm in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. During the height of his career Jackson lived just southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near an historic property known as El Rancho de las Golondrinas (The Ranch of the Swallows).
Education and early writings
Jackson’s experiences in college were influential in his approach to the shaping of the landscape. He attended the Experimental College of the University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. Introduced to the writings of two contemporary social critics, Jackson gained an insight into architecture and planning from the writings of Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford was an American historian, philosopher of technology, and influential literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer...
and he was fascinated by Oswald Spengler
Oswald Spengler
Oswald Manuel Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West , published in 1918, which puts forth a cyclical theory of the rise and decline of civilizations...
’s revelation in Decline of the West that “landscapes reflected the culture of the people that were living there…”
In 1929 Jackson attended Harvard for three years. One instructor, Irving Babbitt, was influential in Jackson’s opposition to modernism. His taste for Baroque style and history began to blossom at this time. He believed that the zest of the Baroque style was the essence of the connection between humankind and nature. While attending Harvard, Jackson wrote articles for the Harvard Advocate. His career of writing about what truly makes up the landscape began here.
Following his graduation from Harvard, Jackson tried courses in architecture, writing, and drawing. Each would later serve as the bases for essays, lectures, and articles for his magazine, Landscape. He wandered through Europe in 1934 to 1935 studying Baroque style. While in Europe, Jackson began to write articles critical of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and published them in the American Review and Harper's
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
. His interest in politics began to show in his works. In 1938, his novel, titled Saints in Summertime was published. The book revealed the infiltration of Nazism and the soldiers’ attraction to energy emanating from power.
Military service
After briefly trying his hand at ranching in New Mexico, Jackson enlisted in the army, in 1940. As an officer during war he studied books to gain insight on the geography of the location. He deciphered code, studied maps, and learned the terrain. He read books by French geographers—Pierre Deffontaines, Paul Vidal de la BlachePaul Vidal de la Blache
Paul Vidal de la Blache was a French geographer. He is considered to be the founder of the modern French geography and also the founder of the French School of Geopolitics...
, and Albert Demangeon. It was at this time that his interpretation that the shaping and devastation of the landscape came from the necessities for human existence. Jackson believed that human history brought about human geography. The landscape was simply humankind’s effort to "recreate heaven on earth". As the war ended, Jackson began to contemplate publishing a magazine of geography.
Landscape magazine
In the spring of 1951, the first issue of Landscape was published, with the subtitle "Human Geography of the Southwest," which was later dropped. Jackson remained the magazine's publisher and editor until 1968. At first, Jackson argued, quite literally, for a lofty — an airborne — view of the world, reveling in the below-from-above perspective of aerial photographs. But Jackson's work, which dominated the first five issues of the magazine, was grounded in what he would later call the vernacular: an interest in the commonplace or everyday landscape, and Jackson expressed an innate confidence in the ability of people of small means to make significant changes, by no means all bad, in their surroundings. In an opening essay The Need of Being Versed in Country Things Jackson states that "It is from the air that the true relationship between the natural and the human landscape is first clearly revealed. The peaks and canyons lose much of their impressiveness when seen from above. What catches our eye and arouses our interest is not the sandy washes and the naked rocks, but the evidences of man." His writings allowed him to raise questions and present controversial statements especially in reference to humans and their role in shaping the landscape. Jackson’s works have been published in seven other books along with A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time which won the 1995 PENInternational PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
prize for essays.
Teaching
Jackson was influential in the lives of many students, colleagues, admirers, and friends. He taught landscape history courses as adjunct professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and at the College of Environmental Design and the Department of Geography at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He wrapped up teaching in the late 1970s and then went on to give lectures, especially on themes pertaining to urban issues. Jackson states that “We are not spectators; all human landscape is not a work of art.” He felt strongly that the purpose of landscape is to provide a place for living and working and leisure.
The Association of American Geographers
Association of American Geographers
The Association of American Geographers is a non-profit scientific and educational society founded in 1904 and aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields...
established a Jackson Prize, to "reward American geographers who write books about the United States which convey the insights of professional geography in language that is interesting and attractive to a lay audience." http://www.aag.org/Grantsawards/Jacksonprize.html
Quotes
""The older I grow and the longer I look at landscapes and seek to understand them, the more convinced I am that their beauty is not simply an aspect but their very essence and that that beauty derives from the human presence.""Let us hope that the merits and charm of the highway strip are not so obscure but they will be accepted by a wider public."
"The bicycle had, and still has, a humane, almost classical moderation in the kind of pleasure it offers. It is the kind of machine that a Hellenistic Greek might have invented and ridden. It does no violence to our normal reactions: It does not pretend to free us from our normal environment."
"The way a city grows, the direction in which it spreads, is a factor not so much of zoning or real estate activity or land values but of highways."
"Ruins provide the incentive for restoration, and for a return to origins. There has to be an interim of death or rejection before there can be renewal and reform."
Published works
Jackson's published works include:- Landscapes: Selected Writings of J. B. Jackson (1970)
- American Space: The Centennial Years, 1865-1876 (1972)
- The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes: Geographical Essays edited with D. W. MeinigD. W. MeinigDonald William Meinig is an American geographer. He is the Maxwell Research Professor Emeritus of Geography at Syracuse University....
(1979) - The Necessity for Ruins and Other Topics (1980)
- Discovering the Vernacular Landscape (1984)
- A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time (1994)
- Landscape in Sight: Looking at America (1999)