Irrational Artistic Ideas of the First Half of the 20Th Century As an Inspiration for the Architecture of the Later 20Th and Early 21St Centuries
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RIHA Journal 0203 | 31 December 2018 Irrational Artistic Ideas of the First Half of the 20th Century as an Inspiration for the Architecture of the Later 20th and Early 21st Centuries Gytis Oržikauskas Abstract By applying the method o! categori ation" compari on and analysi o! written ource " thi article aim to reveal ho# %urreali t arti tic idea may have in&uenced ' through the intermediary o! the (o tmodern movement ' architectural trend up to the pre ent time) *he paper i organi+ed into three part " each dedicated to one o! the mo t important %urreali t architectural concept , the ynthe i o! the art " &uidity, and !ormali tic uper-ciality and pontaneity) .ach ection de cribe how the e idea #ere underlined in %urreali t art and theoretical text " compare them to ome example o! (o tmodern and contemporary architecture" and e/plain ho# the e idea #ere nurtured !rom the time they emerged until the time they materiali+ed in architectural de ign) Contents Introduction *he Synthe i o! the Art *he Formali m and Spontaneity o! Architecture *he Changed Spatial Parameter 1onclu ion Introduction 213 In 1924 the 0rench e ayi t and poet Andr6 Breton (1896–19669 wrote the %urreali t :ani!e to) It claimed that the ob;ect o! art wa no longer an external olid ob;ect" but the continuation o! the ub;ective inner< el!)1 %urreali t art e/plored #hat i out ide the border o! impo ed ocial behaviour and what i e entially per onal, the hidden erotic impul e " the un table tate o! mind" dream " nightmare and uncon ciou ne ) %uch idea were important at the time" when contemporary =rphi t" %upremati t" >eo<(la tici t and 1on tructi$i t arti t #ere exploring uni$er al arti tic principle and their appeal to the global 1 Andr6 Breton" :ani!esto o! %urrealism 714259" http ,??tc!)ua)edu?1lasse ?Jbutler?*350?%ur:ani!esto?:ani!esto=!%urrealism)htm (accessed 1@ January 201A9) RIHA Journal 0203 | 31 December 2018 audience)2 Bni$er al arti tic principle al o appealed to :oderni t architect " who e entially created the o<called International %tyle)3 A an oppo ition to arti tic univer ali m" %urreali t art wa imilar to the art produced by the (o tmodern cultural movement) *he (o tmodern attitude wa ba ed on the belie! that no ingular way to olving any cultural" ocial or piritual i ue exi t ) It wa al o no longer belie$ed that any cultural environment" idea or tandpoint were uperior to another) *hi tance oppo ed globali ation and ' importantly ' the global pread o! an international architectural tyle) *he %urreali t arti tic movement and the (o tmoderni t cultural movement both en ured that indi$idual thought would become the ob;ect o! both art and architecture) *he bond between the e imilar ideologie provoCed a truly uniDue opportunity to de$elop an irrationally arti tic architectural expre ion) 22] 0rom the 1920s to the 1970s" variou Surreali t arti t expre ed their opinion on architectural matter ) *he %pani h %urreali t arti t %alvador DalE (1904–1989) wrote an article F=n the *erri!ying and .dible Beauty o! Art >ouveau ArchitectureF, in which he claimed that >o collective eGort ha managed to create a world o! dream a pure and di turbing a the e Art >ouveau building " which by them elve con titute" on the very !ringe o! architecture" true reali+ation o! olidi-ed de ire " in #hich the mo t violent and cruel automati m pain!ully betray a hatred o! reality and a need for re!uge in an ideal world similar to tho e in a childhood neuro i )5 *he Art Nouveau architectural style wa notable for rich sculptural decoration and a ynthe i o! the art " #hich #ere certainly not #elcomed in :oderni t architecture) However" uch !eature were again revi$ed in the 1980s and 1990s (o tmodern architecture) %uch an arti tic ynthe i o! architecture and culpture or highly decorated architecture ha many analogue in contemporary architecture to thi day) 233 %urreali t expre ed their per onal approache by choo ing an architectural type per!ectly uited to thi endeavour, the individual hou e) However" the two mo t in&uential creation " the :er+bau (arti t Hurt %chwitter " 1923–1937) and the .ndle Hou e (arti t 0redericC John Hie ler" 1959), #ere di played" not a ob;ect o! architecture" but a a culpture@ and a emblage8, de pite the !act that they embodied the %urreali t under tanding o! a li$ing pace) Both the e culpture blurred the line between di tinct border o! pace or eparate ur!ace ' they introduced idea o! indeterminacy, continuity, &uid movement 2 Iill Jompert+" The %urprising" %hocking" and %ometime %trange %tory o! 1@0 Kear o! :odern Art" >e# KorC 2013" 138-13A" 1@0" 180" 188-184" 145) 3 Jona :inCe$ičiu " ArchitektMro krypty uNsieny;e" Hauna 14A1" 18) 5 %al$ador DalE" Duoted according to Thoma :ical" FIntroductionF" in, %urrealism and Architecture" ed) Thoma :ical" >e# KorC 200@" 1'10, 5) %ee also Hr+y +to! 0i;alCo#ski" FOBn salon au !ond dPun lac', The Domestic %pace o! %urrealismF" in, %urrealism and Architecture" ed) Thomas :ical" >e# Kork 200@" 11–30, 21) RIHA Journal 0203 | 31 December 2018 and al o the pontaneou creation o! un-ni hed" e$er<changing and unplanned !ormali tic architectural expre ion) 253 :any o! the e architectural idea can be !ound in contemporary architecture) 0luid movement and di tinctively vague" indi tinct interior pace are the trademarC o! uch #ell<Cnown architect a Qaha Hadid (1950–2016), HendricC Bang Hellogg (b) 1934), Jan HaplicCR (1937–2009), (eter 1ooC (b) 1936), Sar %puybroeC 7b) 1959) and :a Kan ong (b) 1975). >otoriou ly culptural exterior e/pre ion i al o the trademarC o! 0ranC Jehry 7b) 1925) and ome o! the worC o! Daniel Sibe Cind (b) 1946). Both o! the e Dualitie are common to Japane e architect Arata I o+aCi (b) 1931). *he extent o! the %urreali t P in&uence on contemporary architecture ha never been previou ly re earched) Howe$er" contemporary architectural trend uch a Decon tructivi m or Blobi m are o!ten treated a an exten ion o! (o tmoderni m" which" in it turn" wa heavily aGected by the irrational %urreali t arti tic idea and concept ) In the mid<twentieth century, uch irrational idea could only be reali+ed a conceptual de ign T howe$er" imilar idea are no# a !undamental part o! 21st<century architecture) *hi article #ill maCe the argument<ba ed tatement that tho e %urreali t concept were a potent catalyst !or the emergence o! ome o! the architectural trend from the second hal! o! 20th century right up to our pre ent age) *he %ynthesis o! the Arts 2@3 %uch arti tic movement a =rphi m" >eo<(la tici m" %upremati m and 1on tructivi m #ere ba ed on re earch into univer al and common rational arti tic principle )A 0or example" the Dutch painter (iet :ondrian (1872–1944) wrote the Dialogue on the New Pla tic (1919), in which he claimed that In naturali tic !orm" in naturali tic colour" and in naturali tic line" pla tic relation hip are veiled) *o be expre ed pla tically in a determinate way, relation hip mu t be repre ented only through colour and line)8 In hi own term , the Ru ian painter Ka+imir Male$ich (1878–1935) publi hed the %upremati t Mani!e to Unovi (1924), which claimed that, @ It had to be materiali+ed in scale !or :o:AP %culpture Jarden" see, Jason 0arago" (re$ie#9 FO.ndle HouseO ./pand the Defnition o! HomeF" in, The >e# KorC *ime (Aug) 2A" 201@9" see, http ,??###)nytime )com?201@?08?28?art ?de ign?re$ie#-endle <house< e/pands-the-defnition<o!-home)html?_rW0 (accessed 1A June 20189) 8 Jompert+" The %urprising" %hocking" and %ometime %trange %tory o! 1@0 Kear o! :odern Art" 230) A Jompert+" The %urprising" %hocking" and %ometime %trange %tory o! 1@0 Kear o! :odern Art" 138-13A" 1@0" 180" 188-184" 145) 8 (iet :ondrian" Dialogue on the >e# (lastic 714149" http,??allen- her)edublog )org?fle ?2015?11?(ier<:ondrian-Dialogue<on<the<>e#<(la tic- 1m/uDD+)pd! (accessed 1@ January 201A9) RIHA Journal 0203 | 31 December 2018 *he art o! the pre ent" and in particular painting" ha been victoriou on the whole !ront) 1on ciou ne ha overcome the &at ur!ace and advanced to the art o! creation in pace) Hence!orth the painting o! picture #ill be le!t to tho e who have been unable" de pite tirele labour" to !ree their con ciou ne !rom the &at ur!ace" tho e who e con ciou ne ha remained &at becau e it could not overcome the &at ur!ace) *hrough patial con ciou ne painting ha developed into the con tructive creation o! form)4 283 %uch idea were an exact match !or the Je talt p ychology, #hich wa developed at roughly the ame time) *he Je talt p ychology tried to explain that ba ic geometry i not derived !rom the natural environment" but i rather a product o! the human mind) According to thi theory, all indi$idual have a common under tanding o! pace" order" colour and ' ub eDuently ' art) 0or example, when people see a group o! similar random element " mentally they are able to under tand it a a tructure or a compo ition) 10 *hi univer al principle o! compo ition wa empha i+ed in both the ab tract art o! the -r t hal! o! 20th century and :oderni t architecture) Bni$er al principle #ere ad$ocated by the leading global architect ) 0or example" the %#i <0rench architect and theori t Se 1orbu ier (1887–1965) and the American architect 0ranC Sloyd Iright (1867– 1959) hared an intere t in the idea o! the Jerman pedagogue 0riedrich 0rXbel (1782–1852) concerning the importance o! elementary geometry to a childP mind)11 Se 1orbu ier prai ed elementary geometrical -gure a element o! the univer eT12 he claimed that primary !orm are beauti!ul becau e they can be clearly appreciated" and that an inevitable element o! architecture i the nece ity !or order" which