Critical Futures #3
Tuesday, March 8
At the Storefront for Art and Architecture
Organized by Domus
Discussion with Joseph Grima (Domus), Mimi Zeiger (loudpaper), Alexandra Lange (Design Observer), Shannon Mattern (Words in Space), Roberto Zancan, and Eva Franch i Gilabert (Storefront)
This was the third and last of Domus Magazine's Critical Futures discussions; the first two took place in London and Milan. The series looked at architectural criticism in the age of blogs, asserting that "architecture criticism in the traditional sense appears to have all but vanished – not only from the Internet but from magazines themselves." Diana Lind has a recap at Urban Omnibus, and Kazys Varnelis, who was slated to be on the panel but didn't make it (neither did Justin Davidson and Lebbeus Woods), posted some thoughts on the topic. From my point of view out of direct earshot at the narrow end of the Storefront, each person's comments basically followed from their interests (magazine editor, journalist/blogger, writer/educator, professor in media studies, editor, curator). Grima fondly recalled the supposed glory days of criticism in the 70s when critics pointed out negative things even about buildings they liked; Zeiger's comments embrace Twitter for enabling her and others to contribute to discourse with a mainstream (print) critic on a piece; Lange doesn't like the glut of renderings and photos that don't take into account the actual experience of the building; Mattern situated this crisis of criticism in a larger context, pointing out that other fields are undergoing the same unsettling shifts; Franch asserted that curating is a form of criticism and that blogs favor obsession over position. (Video of the discussion (watch out for the mic feedback!) is available via the link at top.) Needless to say it was an evening without any agreeable consensus, but I doubt this issue would result in one, even after three discussions.
Not once did I hear somebody define criticism (I was a little late, so maybe I missed somebody do such). I think many people (not necessarily these panelists) think of criticism as "this is good, this is bad" writing, but I like to define it as expressing a point of view towards understanding and/or questioning something. Maybe it's a bit too nuanced to be meaningful, but I see that this definition opens up criticism to more people and more perspectives. Traditionally critics in various fields are expected to give good/bad reviews based on their position; film criticism comes to mind first. Yet read a film review by Jonathan Rosenbaum, one of my all-time favorite critics in any field, and one is hard-pressed to determine if he liked the movie or not. Sometimes making the connection between his words and his star rating was perplexing, but every time I read one of his reviews I learned something about film and how it conveys meaning, relates to its subject, etc. (Of course they take some patience and time, something many people might not want to invest, which gets at one of the problems criticism needs to confront.) I feel like the same for type of criticism for architecture is not too much to ask for; it's actually out there (Elizabeth Farrelly immediately comes to mind) but it is overlooked by the few popular critics and web pages discussed, directly and indirectly, at the Storefront two weeks ago.
Say It Write
Monday, March 14
At the Center for Architecture
Organized by the AIANY Marketing and PR Committee
Discussion with Charles Linn, Maxinne Leighton, Jay Rubin
This discussion with presentations was geared to marketing and business development folk at architecture firms. Much of the material dealt with internal and external communication, giving guidelines on how to (and not to) write emails and other correspondences with fellow employees, consultants, clients, and so forth. The inclusion of ex-Architectural Record writer/editor Charles Linn broadened the spectrum to include journalism. He recited his humorous blog post on Architect Barbie losing out to Computer Engineer Barbie (at left in the image above) in a poll about a year ago. Seems like the poll didn't matter -- and Mattel didn't take Linn's advice either -- as Barbie became an architect last month. For those interested in this sort of discussion, AIANY's Marketing and PR Committee has a few more events planned this year, including another installment of the Changing State of the Design Press.
The Structure of Light
Tuesday, March 15
At the Knoll showroom
Organized by DOCOMOMO_US/New York Tri-State
Lecture by Dietrich Neumann
After listening to Dietrich Neumann's fascinating anecdotal lecture on lighting designer Richard Kelly (Neumann edited the recent book on Kelly after curating an exhibition on him at Yale; a review of the book is forthcoming), I'm ashamed I didn't really know anything about Kelly. In his role he was responsible for a good deal of the appeal of iconic buildings like Philip Johnson's Glass House, Mies van der Rohe and Johnson's Seagrams Building, and Louis I. Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum. Neumann traced exterior architectural lighting to the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower in Chicago, situating Kelly's contributions to Modern architecture in a historical context. Stories by Neumann were humorous, such as how Jacques Tatis was influenced by the lobby Seagrams, where Kelly's lighting (and push for travertine over green marble, Mies's first choice) is clearly apparent.
Emerging Voices
Wednesday, March 16
At the New Museum
Organized by the Architectural League of New York
Lecture by de leon & primmer architecture workshop and WXY architecture + urban design
This year's crop of Emerging Voices is a particularly good one, a diverse mix of architects from various places doing various things. Installations, urban design, buildings, the gamut. Last week's lecture included Kentucky-based de leon & primmer and New York City's WXY. The former presented four projects around Louisville, all reconsidering the vernacular barn of the region. Their fairly low-budget buildings are carefully considered in terms of space, tectonics, and materials; contemporary yet local in feel. WXY also focuses on the local, and they presented projects in four neighborhoods, from Battery Park to the Bronx. Their output defies any oversimplification or recognition of a style, appropriate given the varied commissions they've received since forming in 1998. These two practices couldn't be more different, yet they share a local focus and a desire to find the appropriate solution to each project.
No comments:
Post a Comment