„Urbanomics Archive“ by Nils Norman

25 07 2009

Initiated in 1997, Nils Norman’s „Urbanomics Archive“ collects and documents defensive design and street furniture becoming more and more used in global cities: anti-urination devices, anti-skateboarding devices, anti-“hanging out“-devices, …  A development which can be observed in particular in anglosaxon regions, yet becoming a trend in European cities as well. A big part of these devices originate in military research.

Watch the Urbanomics Archive Trailer.

A paradox development: while trying to „protect“ (rather: control) public space, the same loses its „public“ character step by step:  Using private security and cleaning companys, prohibitions and bans supporting the wants and needs of a certain bourgeois groups, the public space becomes more and more secluded and confined. Thus the public spaces loses its function and characteristics making it a proper public space

British artist Nils Norman  (*1966) lives and works in London. (For his CV and bibliography read on here or here)





In memoriam Julius Shulman

25 07 2009

He was one of the great architecture photographers of the 20th century. His shots coined the image of American Modernism, making many buildings and their architects – from Frank Lloyd Wright to Richard Neutra – to icons of the epoch.

At the age of 98, Julius Shulman died in Los Angeles on July 15, 2009.

Case Study House No. 22

Said to be Shulman's most famous photograph, his portray of the Case Study House No. 22

An amazing documentary film about Shulman is Visual Acoustics. The modernism of Julius Shulman, a documentary film by Eric Bricker.

The documentary film project “explores the monumental career” of Julius Shulman. “Taking its aesthetic cues from Shulman’s own sensual and nuanced photography, the film’s narrative is built from a blend of Shulman’s own images as well as in depth interviews with architect Frank Gehry, designer Tom Ford, artist Ed Ruscha, actress Kelly Lynch and writer Mitch Glazer, publisher Benedikt Taschen, Academy Award – nominated cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and a host of others.” The documentary is narrated by Dustin Hoffman.

www.juliusshulmanfilm.com

An overview about many photographs of Shulman offers TASCHEN’s „Modernism Rediscovered„.





Jay Mark Johnson’s Spacetime An unconventional approach to photography: Merging space and time

25 07 2009

An amazing and unconventional approach to photography has developed American photographer Jay Mark Johnson. His „Spacetime“ photography functions like timelines: the motives are captured during a certain span of time, thus merging the recording of space and time into a single, linear “spacetime” continuum. Presently his work is shown in ACE Gallery Beverly Hills.

caravana nirvana #4 (Nirvana Caravan #4) (Detail), Belgrade, 2008

caravana nirvana #4 (Nirvana Caravan #4) (Detail), Belgrade, 2008

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JAY MARK JOHNSON SPACETIME

THROUGH AUGUST 29, 2009

ACE Gallery Beverly Hills

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(Info quoted from ACE Gallery Press Release)

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Jay Mark Johnson (*1955 Florida) produces photographic images that challenge the norms of perception. Employing a process that is distinct from conventional photography, he creates works that merge the recording of space and time into a single, linear „spacetime“ continuum. The resulting photographs are akin to both seismographs and electrocardiograms in that, as timelines, they begin on the left and end on the right. The horizontal length of the image conveys an uninterrupted and fluid measurement of a brief span of time, varying in duration from 10 seconds up to 45 minutes.

bauen wohnen streifen #1 (Building, Dwelling, Stripes #1) (Detail), Hamburg, 2008

bauen wohnen streifen #1 (Building, Dwelling, Stripes #1) (Detail), Hamburg, 2008

Johnson approaches this work as an open-ended exploration into the possibilities for timeline photography. In his Motion Studies series, the artist registers the free-flowing movements of Taichi dancers, ballet dancers and swimmers. The resulting images appear as gesture-driven „action paintings.“

His Anachronistic Nature series records familiar patterns of natural movement that have been transposed into singular, two dimensional time sequences. „Nature“ is recognizable but appears to be out of sync with itself.

With his Topological Shifts he focuses on transformations that occur when a non-linear movement is re-rendered into a straight line graphic. The giant circular steel latticework of an amusement park ferris wheel is unwrapped into a delicate linear scaffolding.

But it is within his Spacetime Cityscapes and Landscapes that Johnson’s most inventive and interpretive developments have flourished, unique examples of landscape imagery. They have been photographed all around the world, including Belgrade (Serbia), Cetona (Italy), Hamburg (Germany), Hazard (Kentucky), Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, Rome, and Valencia (Spain). At each new location, Johnson develops an increasingly critical interplay between the place itself, its unique position in history and the unconventional visualizations that he creates. His cultural, linguistic and political references are far reaching and he applies them with incisive wit.

compressed time clouds #1 (Detail), Yukon, 2007

compressed time clouds #1 (Detail), Yukon, 2007

„Perhaps the most exciting aspect of his photography is that it tugs photography away from the gravitational pull of Euclidean documentation – which has dominated the field since its beginnings – and prods it towards new and ambitious aesthetic and intellectual goals.“

Johnson equates his visual experimentation to stepping „through the looking glass“ with Alice. In this parallel world of shifted perceptions, the ground rules are changed. Horizontal space is obliterated, shadows are crisscrossed, directional movement is confounded. Individuals appear isolated from the spaces they inhabit, and the relative speed of an object causes its expansion or contraction. Though the images are true photographs, they challenge the viewer’s effort to decode them.

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About Jay Mark Johnson

taichi motion study #51, Los Angeles, 2006

taichi motion study #51, Los Angeles, 2006

Jay Mark Johnson holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Tulane University. Through the early 1980s, his associations with architects Peter Eisenman, Rem Koolhaas, Aldo Rossi and Lebbeus Woods allowed him to explore questions of representation and time in both built and conceptual architecture. Beyond architecture, Johnson’s varied and prolific career spans theatre and performance art, photography, live musical performance, and journalism.

Later he worked within the film industry and is now a cinema director with broad experience in visual effects production, having supervised, directed or otherwise contributed to the computer generated imagery for a dozen major studio films and television series, such as Outbreak, The Matrix, Titanic, Tank Girl, Moulin Rouge, and White Oleander and music videos for Michael Jackson, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers and others.

He lives and works in Venice, California.





Robert Schleder_City 1.0 | Photo Exhibit in Berlin

24 07 2009

The exhibit „City 1.0″ in Berlin presents photographs and drawings by German artist Robert Schleder. Schleder (*1980) photographs cities in his very own, particular way because he knows them – he’s grown up in one ot them. His photographs show empty urban spots, voids. Indistinct, deserted, neutral, no special characteristics, the inhabitans appear only in traces. While the photographs are deserted, the drawings – reflections of the photographed – point to human existence every now and them, contrasted to the huge dimensions of the drawn structures. Schleder’s work pinpoints the use of urban voids.

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R. Schleder

Robert Schleder:

Stadt 1.0 | City 1.0

Fotografien / Zeichnungen | Photographies / Drawings

Petra Rietz Salon Berlin

16. Juli – 4. September 2009

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Robert Schleder (*1980 Strausberg) fotografiert Städte so, wie er sie fotografiert, weil er sie kennt – er ist in einer aufgewachsen. Seine Fotografien sind gleichsam anthropologisch universelle Blicke auf Leerstellen in Städten. Diesen Leerstellen fehlt anscheinend alles Besondere, sie eindeutig Qualifizierende, vor allem scheinen ihre Bewohner nur über ihre zahlreichen Spuren anwesend zu sein. Aber gerade die Leere dieser Stätten macht das Besondere der Fotografien Schleders.

Sind die Fotografien frei von Menschen, so erscheinen in seinen Zeichnungen, die als Reflexionen des fotografisch Erfassten gelten können, hin und wieder Verweise auf menschliches Dasein und menschliche Gestalten. Sie werden vor allem in ihrem Verhältnis zur überwältigenden Umgebung sichtbar. In diesem Sinne sind die Figuren in Schleders Zeichnungen gleichsam in einem Funktionsdiagramm gefangen. Es klärt den Nutzen rätselhafter Leerstellen in der Unwirtlichkeit unserer Großstädte. (PR-Text P.R.Salon)





Book REVIEW: position alltag. architecture in the context of everyday life || HDA Dokumente zur Architektur 21/22

18 07 2009

Eine der aktuellsten Publikationen des Grazer Haus der Architektur HDA widmet sich der “Architektur im Kontext des Alltagslebens”:

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position alltag. architecture in the context of everyday life.

Preis: 19,90 €

HerausgeberInnen/Editors:
Markus Bogensberger, Gabu Heindl

AutorInnen/Authors:
Ellen Bareis, Gabu Heindl, Ernst Hubeli, Otto Kapfinger, Nils Norman, Marc Ries, Riklef Rambow

ISBN 978 3 901174 68 1

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One of the latest publications of HDA Graz (House of Architecture, Graz/Austria) is position alltag architecture in the context of everyday life. The book summarizes the results of a two-year-programme of the HAD about architecture and everyday life. It thus focuses a question which is usually absent from architectural discourse. While signature buildings – let’s call it “Bilbao-ism” – enjoy great attention, architecture in general is neglected.

The publication, written in both German and English, presents 6 essays of high academic standard dealing with different aspects – living, working, preserving, consuming, building – from several perspectives (architectural, media theoretical, artistic, ethnological, psychological) and offer thoughtful insights. It is written in both German and English.

Of particular interest might be artist Nils Norman’s „Urbanomic Archive„, documenting the outgrowth of „defensive devices“ in public spaces, as well as Riklef Rambow’s general considerations about what „everyday“ actually means in an architectural context (maybe it isn’t so much the extravagant shapes of  „Bilbao-istic“ buildings vs. the „common“ buildings, that needs to be considered, but their suitability for everyday use (- and thus a new structure in architectural discourse is needed)?

Darin wird ein Themenschwerpunkt zusammengefasst, der zwei Jahre lang das Programm des HDA, das baukulturelle Themen vermittelt und den Diskurs über architektonische Fragestellungen fördert, bestimmt hat. Das Leitthema ist ambitioniert – und richtig:

„Angesichts der Dominanz von ikonischen Bauten und deren als Stars bezeichneten Architekten in der medial vermittelten Architekturwelt erschien es uns sinnvoll, den Fokus auf eine Sensibilisierung für Alltägliches zu richten und das Außergewöhnliche gerade im Gewöhnlichen zu suchen.“ (7)

Tatsächlich begegnet derzeit eine seltsam widersprüchliche Situation – spätestens seit Bilbao und Gehrys Guggenheim herrscht ein reges Interesse an spektakulären Gebäuden, und so manches Unternehmen versucht, das visuelle – und werbeträchtige – Potenzial eines extravaganten Baus auszuschöpfen. (Womit sie freilich keineswegs allein auf weiter historischer Flur stehen, man denke nur an die repräsentativen Schlossbauten, an barocke Kirchen und Stadtanlagen, die noch heute Touristen wie Fachleute gleichermaßen faszinieren.)

Diesem gesteigerten Interesse an „Spektakel-Bauten“ steht ein, wenn man so will, erschreckendes Desinteresse, ein Nicht-Bewusstsein für Architektur an sich entgegen. Für die Architektur nämlich, die ständig begegnet, für die Alltagsbauten und Anlagen, die nicht spektakulär daherkommen, weil sie älter sind, einfacher und „hässlich“, unauffällig und funktional. Alltäglich eben. Sie werden in Publikationen oder Ausstellungen nur im seltensten Fall thematisiert. Dabei sind es jedoch gerade diese alltäglichen Bauten und architektonische Strukturen, die ihre Bewohner sowohl im Alltagsleben als auch in der „ideellen“ sozialen, politischen und kulturellen Lebensführung prägen, stärker als man sich oft bewusst ist.

„[W]elche dialektischen Beziehungen zwischen innen und außen sowohl auf der Ebene der Architekturen selbst als auch in einem städtebaulichen Zusammenhang gebildet werden und welchen Einfluss diese auf das soziale Leben und wiederum die Architekturproduktion habe“ (7), rückt „position alltag“ in den Mittelpunkt.

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Die Publikation

In den fünf thematischen Schwerpunkten wohnen, arbeiten, schützen, konsumieren, bauen nähern sich fünf Essays der Themenstellung aus unterschiedlichen fachlichen Perspektiven. Sie verfolgen meist eine sehr theoretische Herangehensweise, die über grundlegende Fragen des Räumlichen im Alltag nachdenkt und über die gebaute Realität hinausführt. Da die Texte interessante Fragen und Blickwinkel auf die Thematik „Architektur und Raum im Alltag“ aufwerfen, schließen sich im Folgenden kurze Abrisse der einzelnen Beiträge an.

Die Texte stellen eine Auswahl der Stellungnahmen dar, die im Rahmen des zweijährigen Veranstaltungsprogramms des HDA – zentrales Element waren Roundtables mit Experten aus verschiedenen Disziplinen – vorgetragen wurden

Angeordnet in sechs Kapiteln (1 Einleitung + 5 Essays) sind die Essays in zwei Sprachen, deutsch und englisch verfügbar. Die Texte sind nur wenig (oder gar nicht) illustriert; dies ist insofern anzumerken, da man von Publikationen eines Ausstellungshauses in der Regel Katalogcharakter erwartet. Diesen hat lediglich der zweite Teil des Bandes, der etwas weniger als ein Drittel des Gesamtumfangs ausmacht und der Abschlussausstellung des Projekts „position alltag“ gewidmet ist, einer Fotografieschau: Architektur 24/7 – eine alltägliche Beziehung (2007).

Gezeigt wurden jedoch keine der üblichen Fotografien von Gebäuden, die „oft den Eindruck machen, deren BenutzerInnen wären auf Urlaub geschickt worden, um die Architektur nicht zu stören“, sondern Aufnahmen von Architektur im Alltag, „die uns 24 Stunden am Tag, sieben Tage die Woche“ (109) lang umgibt.

Entstanden sind die Fotografien in Postkartengröße auf Einladung des HDA an Architekturbüros, zu eigenen Gebäuden und Bauprojekten zurückzukehren und diese zu fotografieren, wie sie in Gebrauch sind. Begleitet werden die Aufnahmen von kommentierenden Statements der Bewohner/Benutzer.

So ist eine Sammlung verschiedener Perspektiven auf alltägliche Architektur im Spannungsfeld zwischen fotografierenden Architekten und fotografierten Benutzern der Bauten entstanden.

Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »





Beton.org: Kunst aus Beton

15 07 2009

Den für die Kunst eher ungewohnten Werkstoff Beton machen sich einige Künstler zu Nutze. Bereits vorgestellt habe ich Mirko Stefan Elfert, der mit diesem Material arbeitet. Tatsächlich gibt es noch weitere Künstler, die mit Beton arbeiten. Die Seite beton.org stellt neben M. S. Elfert noch eine weitere Auswahl vor. Vor allem im Bereich der Objektkunst finden sich einige Positionen, die eine intensivere Auseinandersetzung lohnen.

The German website Beton.org – run by the marketing representation of German concrete industries – provides a little collection of artists working with concrete (among them Mirko Stefan Elfert whose work I introduced a while ago)  some of them a worth a second glance.

Objektkunst / Object Art

- Concrete Connection

- Concretecity.de

- Joachim Manz

- Petra Dutiné

- Einhart Grotegut: Beton-Blätter

- Jörg Sander

Beton-Skulpturen / Concrete Sculptures

- Ingrid Depenbusch

- Bärbel Kolberg

- Pia Schönbohm

- Sven Backstein

- Petra Gottfried

- Arno Mester

- Gnomengarten

Beton.org ist übrigens die Internetpräsentation der Bundesverbände der deutschen Zement-, Transportbeton- und Betonfertigteilindustrie, die ihre Marketing-Aktivitäten auf ein gemeinsames Fundament gestellt und im April 2005 die BetonMarketing Deutschland GmbH gegründet haben. Die Webseite widmet sich daher allgemein Fragen rund um den Baustoff Beton; der Blick auf die Kunst ist dabei ein zusätzliches „Gimmick“.





Plattenspieler | Ein fotografisches Projekt von Joachim Seinfeld, Galerie M, Berlin-Marzahn

11 07 2009

Die neue Ausstellung in der Galerie M in Berlin/Marzahn-Hellersdorf , die ich vor einiger Zeit wegen ihres besonderen Ausstellungskonzepts vorgestellt habe, präsentiert ein fotografisches Projekt des Berliner Künstlers Joachim Seinfeld, das eigens für diese Ausstellung entstanden ist. Unter dem programmatischen Titel „Plattenspieler“ wurden BewohnerInnen des Bezirks an von ihnen ausgewählten Orten porträtiert. Thema war nicht nur das Selbstverständnis der Fotografierten, sondern auch ihre Beziehung zu dem Ort, an dem sie leben.

The new exhibition in Galerie M, Berlin/Marzahn-Hellersdorf, which I introduced some time ago for its unique exhibition concept, presents a photographic project by Berlin artist Joachim Seinfeld which he realized specially for Galerie M. Residents of this Berlin borough have been portrayed in positions and on locations of their own choice. Thus not only the self-image of the photographed person is shown, but also their relationship to the area they live in. In the exhibition, both the portray of the persons and the „portray“ of their chosen location is presented, accompanied by statements of the portrayed persons about their chosen „set of shooting“ – being it their favorite place, their routine walking the dog-way, a place the dislike most.

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© Joachim Seinfeld + Galerie M

„Plattenspieler“
Ein fotografisches Projekt von Joachim Seinfeld

12.7. – 20.9.2009

Galerie M, Berlin-Marzahn Hellersdorf

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„Hier wohne ich.“

Hier gehe ich jeden Tag mit meinem Hund hin.“

„Diesen Platz kann ich nicht ausstehen.“

„Fotografier mich aus diesem Winkel, von dort unten.“

Das waren Antworten auf die Frage „Wo und wie würdest du dich der Öffentlichkeit präsentieren, wenn du dazu die Möglichkeit hättest?“, der der Künstler Joachim Seinfeld im Rahmen des Projektes „Plattenspieler“ gestellt und visuell umgesetzt hat.

© Joachim Seinfeld + Galerie M

BewohnerInnen des Bezirkes wurden an von ihnen ausgewählten Orten fotografiert. Entstanden sind zwei Aufnahmen: ein Konterfei der Porträtierten und ein Bild des Ort, an dem der Fototermin stattfand. Im Projekt „Plattenspieler“ geht es um die Selbstdarstellung der Porträtierten, zum anderen um deren Verhältnis zu ihrem Bezirk Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Neben den Fotografien sind in der Ausstellung auch die Statements der Fotografierten zu ihren gewählten Orten zu lesen.

Die Ergebnisse sind ab dem 12. Juli an Wänden, Boden und Fensterscheiben der Galerie M  zu sehen.

Während der Dauer der Ausstellung wird Joachim Seinfeld weiter an dem Projekt arbeiten und BewohnerInnen porträtieren.

Alle Fotografien werden in einer Broschüre dokumentiert, die zur Finissage am 27.9.09 vorgestellt wird.





Urban Photography in South America || 2 exhibitions in São Paulo + Buenos Aires

10 07 2009

Two hints for those of you living or travelling South America, Brazil or Argentina in particular: young Brazilian photojournalist Tuca Vieria, who told as more about his work in a detailed interview a little while ago, shows his work in São Paulo, while in Buenos Aires, the Fundación Proa presents „Urban Spaces“ – photographed by „the“ German urbanity photographers of the Düsseldorf school.

Tuca Vieira, Viaduto Santa Ifigênia

Tuca Vieira, Viaduto Santa Ifigênia © T. Vieira

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Tuca Vieira

Fotojournalismo

29. June – 29. Juli 2009

Instituto Carrefour

Rua Paul Valery, 255

São Paulo, Brazil

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URBAN SPACES

Andreas Gursky | Candida Höfer | Axel Hütte | Thomas Ruff | Thomas Struth

From May 30th until the end of July 2009

Fundación PROA, Bueonas Aires

Illustrations © Fundación Proa + Photographers

Gursky

Andreas Gursky Tote Hosen, 2000

(quoted from Proa’s PR statement, abridged)

The show analyzes the evolution on the concept of the city in contemporary culture through the ideas and images produced by the artists of the so called Düsseldorf School of Photography: Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth.

Hütte

Axel Hütte Minneapolis, Missisispi, 2006

The exhibition presents 45 works produced from the early eighties until recent times. It is designed to take the visitor first through the artists’ early works, produced during their formative years, to their most recent body of work, in which an individual selection from each artist emphasizes their stylistic differences and personal characteristics.

The selection of the works is the result of the continuous dialogue between the artists and the curator and depicts the different interpretations and relation each artist has with the urban space. This is the first time Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth are joined in an exhibition under a common theme – the city – yet with various interpretations.

The exhibition will present works, such as May Day IV, by Andreas Gursky, or Candida Höfer´s Buenos Aires series. Also, less known works that exemplify the artists formation under the wing of Bernd Becher, photography teacher at the Dusseldorf School of Photography, can be appreciated.

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The photographers: Bernd + Hilla Becher’s Düsseldorf School

Ruff

Thomas Ruff m.d.p.n. 06, 2002

The influence of the artists on the global artistic context is due to the overhaul their works produced on the tradition of the concept and language of photography, not only through the scale of the images in their monumental format, but also through the conceptual treatment they present. Each piece recreates a unique and defined universe that concentrates in the interrelation that exists between man and his surroundings together with all its anthropological and sociocultural implications.

During the 1980s, their teachers Bernd and Hilla Becher, conveyed the city theme as an important artistic reference. Subsequently each one of them developed a unique and personal style, following the drastic changes caused by the rapid globalization of urban cultures. Their images depicting different sites around the world, combine the local details with the usual feelings and experiences of contemporary societies. The Dusseldorf School became a reference within the art and photography scene.

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Struth

Thomas Struth Cerro Morro Solar, Perú, 2003

The exhibition catalogue

In the exhibition catalogue, a bilingual publication (Spanish – English) of 200 pages, each artist counts with a special section that includes an unpublished interview, a biography and the exhibited works. The catalogue also includes critical essays by curator Pratesi and art critics such as Armin Zweite and Pablo Perulli -published in Spanish for the first time-, and Valeria González.





New York goes Berlin: Megapolis Tour starts || Berlin exhibit shows urban photography

10 07 2009

Im 14oz. store fällt mit Peer Kuglers Arbeiten zu New York der Startschuss für die Megapolis Tour.

The 14oz. store starts the Megapolis Tour with Peer Kugler’s shots of New York.

New York #06 Peer Kugler: „East Harlem Projects“

New York #06 Peer Kugler: „East Harlem Projects“ © by Peer Kugler

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THE MEGAPOLIS TOUR #1
New York by Peer Kugler

2. Juli – 31. Juli 2009

14 oz. store

A project by barthouse culture concepts and s1 architektur

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New York comes to Berlin: for the The Megapolis Tour, 14 mega cities all around the world, destined to be the largest by 2020, have been portrayed by 14 international photographers, chosen for their particular work. The first mega city – how could it be different – New York.  Photographer is Peer Kugler (*1966 in Germany)

On a monthly term,  Megapolises like Buenos Aires (by Mat Jacob), Lagos (by Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak), Tokyo and many more, will be presented.

The idea of The Megapolis Tour:

New York #5 Peer Kugler: „Bowery“

New York #5 Peer Kugler: „Bowery“ © by Peer Kugler

(quoted from PR statement) As we speak, over 1,6 billion people live in cities: that is over half of the world’s population, a number that is growing daily. The megacity is defined as a city with over 10 million inhabitants. In 1950 just two of these cities existed: New York and Tokyo. Today there are nineteen and in just ten years this number will reach a staggering thirty cities worldwide and house two thirds of the worlds population. As the city increasingly becomes our new „natural“ habitat, what can we expect from the metropolitan areas? What kind of home does architecture offer and how are individuals influenced by it? Is there such a thing as a recognizable youth culture?

Peer Kugler: „New Years, Upper East Side“, 2001/2002

New York #3 Peer Kugler: „New Years, Upper East Side“, 2001/2002 © by Peer Kugler

Can we get an indication of what our future may look like, today? What trends will emerge? The Megapolis Tour will introduce the fourteen cities destined to be the largest by 2020. Different photographers will each choose a city and present his/her personal view of the so-called “Megapolis” landscape: its architecture, its youth, its feel, its trends and movements….The main focus here is urbanity – and each series captures this in its own peculiar way. Fourteen international photographers have been chosen for their poignant and contemporary visual language, and just like the people in megacities, they will give an insight into the face of the future society. As we immerse ourselves in their vision, as different views, angles and emotions take shape; perhaps as a book, a picture on a wall or merely as an appearing thought, – we take part in creatively becoming tomorrow’s landscape. Be part of the community – collect the images of future megacities.

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Le Corbusier (not only in Stuttgart) to be World Cultural Heritage?

9 07 2009

The German Weissenhofsiedlung (1927) in Stuttgart (Southern Germany) is one of the most influential architectural residential developments of classical Modernism. The architects’ names, represented here, read like who’s who of avant-garde architecture of the 1920s – among them Le Corbusier who has realized 2 edifices here.

Both of them have been part of an application to enter the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage, which has been considered positively, though has to be revised.

Le Corbusier/Jeanneret: Einfamilienhaus Haus Citrohan, neben Doppelhau

Le Corbusier/Jeanneret: "House Citrohan" (left), semi-detached house (right) © SK

On a meeting of the UNESCO committee in Sevilla on June 27, 2009, the corporate request by Argentina, Belgium, Germany, France, Japan and Switzerland, proposing 22 of Le Corbusier’s buildings to be included in the world heritage, was well received. Within the next three years the request is to be revised and amended and can thus be presented to the committee again.

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Le Corbusier/Jeanneret: Semi-detached house | Weissenhofmuseum © SK

In deciding so, the ICOMOS‘ (Internat. Council on Monuments and Sites) suggestion to consider only three single buildings by Le Corbusier – Unité d’habitation in Marseille, the Ronchamp Church and the Villa Savoye in Poissy – was rejected. A good decision as the architect has definitely erected more milestones of architecture!

The Stuttgart buildings in particular are memorable: not only has Le Corbusier written out his 5 point program for the first time, but the detached house is the first realisiation of his „House Citrohan“. (I wrote more about the estate and the museum housed in Le Corbusier’s semi-detached house here)