David Hammons meets Richard Serra downtown

This article was originally presented at a seminar organized by Josephine Berry (2020) around the ideas of milieu and geoaesthetics, derived respectively from Michel Foucault (2009) and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari (1999). In this account of a network of artworks, I will focus on direct reading of a significant conjunction between works by Richard Serra and David Hammons through an understanding of the political economy of New York at an important moment of transition. I develop the understanding of milieu derived from Michel Foucault with Henri Lefebvre’s concepts of the ‘production of space’ (1991) and the ‘reproduction of the relations of production’ (1976), operations by which capitalism survives its crisis of accumulation at a key conjuncture in the 1970s which has direct consequences for the works I discuss. Responding to the initial presentation context for this article, a seminar coordinated by Dr Josephine Berry, geoaesthetics, a concept derived by Berry from ideas of milieu and geoaesthetics, respectively, from Michel Foucault (2009) and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari (1986) is grasped in the sense of art and aesthetics responding to the earth’s (adopting the same prefix as) geology, geography and geometry (ge) by offering a planetary reading of art or experience of art that is entwined with a consciousness of our planet as a totality, and perhaps galvanized by our increasing awareness of it as a finite resource. Geoaesthetics in this context is thought of as an aesthetics, an attempt to understand the experience of artworks in ways that render accessible the conditions of their making and witnessing in terms that are inseparable from the environments and conditions in which they are made and experienced.

Catena: Collaboration, Cohesion and Continuity in Design Thinking and Making

In the interests of enhanced collaborative methods of design thinking, design communication, representation and rapid ideation, this article examines how a series of related activities and events, ‘catenated’ together, or forming a ‘catena’ 1 of design thinking, could create a clearer, more meaningful and more efficient portfolio of work for a beginning design studio. Drawing inspiration upon the operative verbs found in the work of sculptor Richard Serra, 2 and using the artefacts from such activities to create generative design products and iterations across a semester schedule, this paper chronicles a series of active in-class collaborations over the course of a semester that allowed a cohort of students to connect a series of design projects together, rather than experience a series of unconnected learning objectives as was typical. References to learning theories including Jerome Bruner’s spiral curriculum and David Kolb’s theory of experiential learning 3 informed the inquiry. Student feedback and reflection informed the areas of success and areas of improvement.

Dlaczego nie lubię reklam w kinie

Autor zastanawia się, jaki cel ma wyświetlanie w kinach przed seansami, często przez pół godziny, reklam, skoro badania wykazują, że większość z widzów albo nic z nich nie pamięta, albo je odpuszcza. Zdaniem badaczy i krytyków reklamy są jednym z powodów systematycznego bywania widzów w kinie. Biorąc pod uwagę ceny reklamowania się w kinie, na większości seansów (z wyjątkiem wielkich hitów) można by w ogóle nie pobierać opłat, bo zysk ze sprzedaży biletów stanowi tylko mały procent dochodów kin z reklam. W tym systemie film staje się tylko narzędziem reklamodawców. Sztuka się nie liczy. Zauważyli to już dawno artyści, np. Richard Serra czy Wim Wenders.

conversando con... William J.R. Curtis

<p>William J.R. Curtis (Kent, 1948), es un galardonado historiador de reconocido prestigio internacional y crítico de arquitectura, a la vez que escritor, comisario y fotógrafo. Sus obras escritas son referentes para el estudio de la arquitectura.<br />Aprovechando la visita realizada a Granada con motivo de su exposición “Abstracción y Luz” que tuvo lugar en el Palacio de Carlos V en la Alhambra entre los meses de septiembre y noviembre de 2015, nos pudo mostrar sus diferentes facetas humanistas a través de su obra y su visión de la arquitectura, el paisaje y el mundo.<br />Curtis realizó sus estudios en el Courtauld Institute of Art de la Universidad de Londres y posteriormente en la Universidad de Harvard.<br />Ha impartido docencia en Historia del Arte, Teoría del Diseño y la Arquitectura en universidades de todo el mundo (Europa, Estados Unidos, Latino América, Australia, Asia,…). Universidades como Harvard, Universidad de California, Asociación de Arquitectura de Londres, Universidad de Cambridge, ETSAB Barcelona, son algunas de las instituciones que han tenido el placer de contar con William Curtis como docente.<br />Entre sus muchas obras escritas de historia, crítica y teoría, ha tratado temas muy variados como la arquitectura contemporánea, paisajismo, diseño, historiografía, educación visual, arquitectura vernácula, arquitectura india, arquitectura bereber del pre-Sáhara… Se puede destacar su libro Modern Architecture Since 1900 (Phaidon, tercera edición revisada 1996), que ha sido referente a nivel internacional y traducido en cinco idiomas. Otros de sus libros con gran impactos han sido: Le Corbusier: Ideas and Forms (Phaidon, segunda edición 2015); Denys Lasdun: Architecture, City, Landscape (Phaidon, 1994). Entre sus contribuciones más recientes encontramos: Abstractions in Space: Tadao Ando, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra (Pulitzer Foundation, St. Louis, 2001); Barcelona 1992-2004 (Guim Costa, Gustavo Gili, 2004); y RCR Aranda, Pigem, Vilalta Arquitectes: Entre la abstracción y la naturaleza (Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 2004).<br />Añadir que ha escrito gran cantidad de monografías sobre arquitectura moderna y contemporánea, así como sobre Le Corbusier. Sus críticas y monografías se pueden encontrar en revistas internacionales de reconocido prestigio entre las que se encuentra, entre otras, El Croquis (Madrid) y Architectural Review (Londres).<br />Mencionar que William Curtis ha sido conferenciante en muchos encuentros y debates críticos en todo el mundo. Ha participado como jurado en competiciones internacionales de diferente índole, así como ha ocupado diferentes puestos honoríficos en numerosas instituciones.<br />Junto con todos estos méritos, hay que mencionar los últimos premios con los que ha sido galardonado: Medal of Foundation for Museum of Finnish Architecture, 50th Anniversary, 2006; y Premio de Oro a la Aportación Global de la Arquitectura (CERA, A+D, India, 2014).<br />Para completar su faceta humanista, William además de escritor de libros y ensayos críticos, realiza pinturas, dibujos y fotografías sobre la abstracción de la naturaleza y su forma de ver el mundo. Entre sus exposiciones se encuentran: Mielen Maisemia/Mental Landscapes (Museo de Arquitectura de Finlandia, Helsinki 2000); Mental Landscapes/Paisajes Mentales (Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid 2002); Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (Harvard 2004); Architectures du Monde. Le regard de William J.R. Curtis (Centre Méridional de l’Architecture et de la Ville en Toulouse, 2004-2005); Structures of Light (Museo Alvar Aalto, Finlandia, 2007).<br />Y por último Abstracción y Luz/Abstraction and Light (Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, Granada, 2015), gracias a la cual ha sido posible esta entrevista.<br />Rodeado de sus dibujos y pinturas, Williams nos ha contestado a nuestras preguntas, enfatizando en temas como la luz, la sombra, el agua y el espacio. Mientras, sentíamos la fuerza y presencia de estos conceptos en su obra, reforzados por el espacio en el que estaban expuestos, el Palacio de Carlos V en la Alhambra.<br />A través de sus fotografías y dibujos nos muestra su forma de mirar el mundo mediante la abstracción.</p>

A Conversation with Annette Michelson

Film scholar Edward Dimendberg spoke to Annette Michelson in July 2014 for a series of interviews sponsored by the Getty Research Institute. In their conversation, which is published for the first time here, Michelson discusses her first encounters with North American avant-garde film, the early days of Anthology Film Archives, and such figures as Jonas Mekas, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, Yvonne Rainer, Hollis Frampton, Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage, Hans Richter, Harry Smith, Jack Smith, Marcel Duchamp, Joyce Wieland, Agnès Varda, Richard Serra, and Marguerite Duras, among others.

Interaction between the Viewer and Object of Minimalism

With the emergence of abstract art, the process of communication between the work and the viewer changes. The artists take advantage of other means of expression to influence the viewer’s mind. They are of a new nature; they are the carriers of new visual and social messages. The minimalists strive to break down the traditional notions of art and to eliminate the differences between painting and sculpture by focusing on creating three-dimensional objects. The meaning of the object is not essential, but the essence is the interaction of the viewer with the object. There is a new emphasis on the physical space in which the works are located. This is the reason to investigate these processes. The text analyzes the main features of minimalism, distinguishing them from the previous trends in visual arts. The theoretical and practical contributions of some of the founding authors of this movement, such as Frank Stella, Robert Morris, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Richard Serra and their signature works characterized by the viewer’s inclusion in the space of the site. Researchers of minimalism, highlighting the research problem, subject of the article, are quoted.

Estrategia estética-significante (postestructuralista) en el Memorial del Holocausto

<p>Since it was selected in 1998, the Memorial has been immersed in numerous debates that reached a level of controversy throughout 2017. This work conceived by Peter Eisenman and Richard Serra, was modified and carried out only by Peter Eisenman. The debates and controversies amassed have allowed for certain clarifications that exceed the original claims of the authors, but in any case, it seems that they were confirmed in their possibility or in their contingency. These facts show the relationship between the object and subject in the significant act, in its different approaches: from the interaction with the work, the intersubjective relations – self-referent or not – the interaction between subject and object, subject and context, subject and interpretation. Until moving the significant capability from the original indications to the new context, that can in any case re-configure a new sign. In this, the sketch is seen as a post-metaphysical aesthetic structure beyond the concept of an open work; adding the temporal dimension that underlines the distinction between difference and differ, in two moments: the constitution of the sign and its temporary displacement. This exemplifies the concepts of différence and différance by Jacques Derrida, together with the concepts of contamination or the appearance of contraband meanings, including the event that Eisenman longed for.</p>

The Joint of the Architect’s Hand

In modern day architecture practice, the role of the hand in the design process has been displaced by the advent of new technology. There is an inherent desire in practice to rely fully on the computer, which within its digital parameters removes the direct connection of the architect’s hand from the creative process. To create meaningful architecture, it is imperative to understand that the relationship of the architect’s hand in the design process is as critical as the relationship of the architectural joint to the project. To understand the hand, I approached it architecturally and rigorously studied its form and structure. At the same time, I studied several sculptors and artists, such as Richard Serra, Eduardo Chillida, Robert Morris and Eva Hesse who concentrated on the process over the final product. I created section drawings of select pieces and analyzed them with hand motions to study their forms. With these analyses, I created a material joint that explored different ways to “hold” masses and “join” different materials. With my hand analyses and material joints, I have understood the level of the “joint” at different scales: from the hand that makes the architecture to the actual structure that holds architecture together.