Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Pandgt;Architecture, at least since the beginning of the twentieth century, has suspended historical references in favor of universalized abstraction. In the decades after the Second World War, when architectural historians began to assess the legacy of the avant-gardes in order to construct a coherent narrative of modernism's development, they were inevitably influenced by contemporary concerns. In Histories of the Immediate Present, Anthony Vidler examines the work of four historians of architectural modernism and the ways in which their histories were constructed as more or less overt programs for the theory and practice of design in a contemporary context. Vidler looks at the historical approaches of Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri, and the specific versions of modernism advanced by their historical narratives. Vidler shows that the modernism conceived by Kaufmann was, like the late Enlightenment projects he revered, one of pure, geometrical forms and elemental composition; that of Rowe saw mannerist ambiguity and complexity in contemporary design; Banham's modernism took its cue from the aspirations of the futurists; and the andquot;Renaissance modernismandquot; of Tafuri found its source in the division between the technical experimentation of Brunelleschi and the cultural nostalgia of Alberti. Vidler's investigation demonstrates the inevitable collusion between history and design that pervades all modern architectural discourse--and has given rise to some of the most interesting architectual experiments of the postwar period. Anthony Vidler is Dean and Professor of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union, New York. He is the author of Warped Space: Art, Architecture, and Anxiety in Modern Culture (2000), The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely (1992), both published by The MIT Press, and other books.andlt;/Pandgt;
Review
Most recent critiques of the histories of Modernism in architecture have tended to focus on overlooked sources or to fault historians on their documentation and their loyalties. Anthony Vidler breaks with this now conventional genre as he depicts the ballet of ideals and illusions shaped by the trajectories of three generations of authors. The role models essential to the intellectual affirmation of Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri are unmasked, while secret inspirations such as Le Corbusier's Toward an Architecture are revealed. A fascinating, epic, conversation across the seas, which has shaped the discourse of contemporary architecture. Jean-Louis Cohen
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"Most recent critiques of the histories of Modernism in architecture have tended to focus on overlooked sources or to fault historians on their documentation and their loyalties. Anthony Vidler breaks with this now conventional genre as he depicts the ballet of ideals and illusions shaped by the trajectories of three generations of authors. The role models essential to the intellectual affirmation of Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri are unmasked, while secret inspirations such as Le Corbusier's Toward an Architecture are revealed. A fascinating, epic, conversation across the seas, which has shaped the discourse of contemporary architecture."--Jean-Louis Cohenandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
and#8220;Modernity without stereotypes. . . .Columns of Smoke is the result of an inquisitive wandering among the dusty shelves to which historians only run a distracted look, from which Lahuerta has rescuedand#8212;as Ernst Jand#252;nger would sayand#8212;a little treasure.and#8221;
Synopsis
How the different narratives of four historians of architectural modernism -- Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri -- advanced specific versions of modernism.
Architecture, at least since the beginning of the twentieth century, has suspended historical references in favor of universalized abstraction. In the decades after the Second World War, when architectural historians began to assess the legacy of the avant-gardes in order to construct a coherent narrative of modernism's development, they were inevitably influenced by contemporary concerns. In Histories of the Immediate Present, Anthony Vidler examines the work of four historians of architectural modernism and the ways in which their histories were constructed as more or less overt programs for the theory and practice of design in a contemporary context. Vidler looks at the historical approaches of Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri, and the specific versions of modernism advanced by their historical narratives. Vidler shows that the modernism conceived by Kaufmann was, like the late Enlightenment projects he revered, one of pure, geometrical forms and elemental composition; that of Rowe saw mannerist ambiguity and complexity in contemporary design; Banham's modernism took its cue from the aspirations of the futurists; and the "Renaissance modernism" of Tafuri found its source in the division between the technical experimentation of Brunelleschi and the cultural nostalgia of Alberti. Vidler's investigation demonstrates the inevitable collusion between history and design that pervades all modern architectural discourse -- and has given rise to some of the most interesting architectual experiments of the postwar period.
Synopsis
How the different narratives of four historians of architectural modernism--Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri--advanced specific versions of modernism.
Synopsis
Architecture, at least since the beginning of the twentieth century, has suspended historical references in favor of universalized abstraction. In the decades after the Second World War, when architectural historians began to assess the legacy of the avant-gardes in order to construct a coherent narrative of modernism's development, they were inevitably influenced by contemporary concerns. In Histories of the Immediate Present, Anthony Vidler examines the work of four historians of architectural modernism and the ways in which their histories were constructed as more or less overt programs for the theory and practice of design in a contemporary context. Vidler looks at the historical approaches of Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri, and the specific versions of modernism advanced by their historical narratives. Vidler shows that the modernism conceived by Kaufmann was, like the late Enlightenment projects he revered, one of pure, geometrical forms and elemental composition; that of Rowe saw mannerist ambiguity and complexity in contemporary design; Banham's modernism took its cue from the aspirations of the futurists; and the "Renaissance modernism" of Tafuri found its source in the division between the technical experimentation of Brunelleschi and the cultural nostalgia of Alberti. Vidler's investigation demonstrates the inevitable collusion between history and design that pervades all modern architectural discourse -- and has given rise to some of the most interesting architectual experiments of the postwar period.
Synopsis
Architecture, at least since the beginning of the twentieth century, has suspended historical references in favor of universalized abstraction. In the decades after the Second World War, when architectural historians began to assess the legacy of the avant-gardes in order to construct a coherent narrative of modernism's development, they were inevitably influenced by contemporary concerns. In Histories of the Immediate Present, Anthony Vidler examines the work of four historians of architectural modernism and the ways in which their histories were constructed as more or less overt programs for the theory and practice of design in a contemporary context.
Synopsis
andlt;Pandgt;How the different narratives of four historians of architectural modernism--Emil Kaufmann, Colin Rowe, Reyner Banham, and Manfredo Tafuri--advanced specific versions of modernism.andlt;/Pandgt;
Synopsis
'Photography or life' andand#160;'Popular Mies'and#160;make up the first volume ofand#160;
Columns of Smoke, a collection of essays which review the bases on which modernity has been constructed. Contrasting the canonical images of the history of twentieth-century architecture with anonymous graphic materials or pictures from the popular press, Lahuerta creates an illuminating dialogue that dismantles stereotypes by revealing a less perfect but more plausible idea of modernity.
Pointing a camera at a building is not natural (innocent/unconscious); rather it involves making decisions that are closely related to the meaning of architecture. Juanjo Lahuerta makes this clear in his analyses of, inter alia, the photographic gaze of Loos and Le Corbusier, whose irreconcilable approaches represent radically opposed ways of understanding architecture and life. Furthermore, scrutiny of the snapshots of Walter Gropius's Bauhaus building taken by teachers and students can also lead us to unexpected insights into the construction of the myths associated with the Dessau school.
Using this same method, Lahuerta's analysis of the photographs of his works that Mies commissioned and published shows us how much the architect was influenced not only by Stieglitz and Camera Works but also by the popular tropes of a mass culture that included zeppelins, the music hall, X-rays and fantasmagorical gadgets. At the same time, in their portrayals of Mies's work the press and anonymous photographers situated it in a popular context that provides the necessary counterpoint to conclude the account of a modernity that can no longer be thought of as heroic.
Synopsis
Columns of Smoke is a four-volume collection. The first volume includes andldquo;Photography or Lifeandrdquo; and andldquo;Popular Mies,andrdquo; which illuminate overlooked aspects of modern architecture and photography and reveal a more nuancedandmdash;and plausibleandmdash;conception of the modern world.
In andldquo;Photography or Life,andrdquo; Juan Josandeacute; Lahuerta contrasts well-known images tied to the history of twentieth-century architecture with anonymous graphic materials and pictures from the popular press. In doing so, he demonstrates that pointing a camera at a building is neither natural nor innocentandmdash;it involves deliberate and telling decisions. His analysis of the work of Adolf Loos and Le Corbusier, for example, suggests irreconcilable differences between the two architects that represent radically opposed approaches to architecture and life. Furthermore, a close study of snapshots of Walter Gropiusandrsquo;s Bauhaus building taken by teachers and students leads to new ways of understanding the myths associated with the Dessau school.
Using the same method in andldquo;Popular Mies,andrdquo; Lahuerta looks at photographs of architect Ludwig Mies van der Roheandrsquo;s work and shows that Mies was influenced not only by Stieglitz and Camera Work, but also a mass culture that enjoyed zeppelins, music halls, x-rays, and phantasmagorical gadgets. At the same time, in their portrayals of Miesandrsquo;s work, the press and anonymous photographers situated it in a popular context that stands as a counterpoint to the notion of a heroic modern era.
This first volume of Columns of Smoke is a brilliant treatment of modern visual culture that will redefine our concept of modernity.
About the Author
Anthony Vidler is Dean and Professor of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union, New York. He is the author of Warped Space: Art, Architecture, and Anxiety in Modern Culture (2000), and The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely (1992), both published by The MIT Press, and other books.
Table of Contents
Photography or Life and#160;
Photogenic, Unphotogenic
The Cross and the Wheel
and#160;
Notes
and#160;
Lived Instant and Frozen Creature
Album of the Barcelona Pavilion
and#160;
Popular Mies
and#160;
Notes
and#160;
List of Illustrations
Album Illustrations
Index