ICA. Lower Gallery 29 July 27 Sep Everything is Architecture: Bau magazine from the 60s and 70s. Educator s Resource Pack

Transcription

1 Lower Gallery 29 July 27 Sep 2015 ICA Everything is Architecture: Bau magazine from the 60s and 70s Educator s Resource Pack

2 2 Contents About this pack... 3 ICA Exhibitions... 4 About the ICA... 5 Introduction to Everything is Architecture: Bau Magazine from the 60s and 70s... 7 Discussion Points Activities ICA Learning ICA Learning events Information... 28

3 3 About this Pack This resource pack has been developed to support teaching and learning both at the ICA and offsite. It offers starting points and ideas for visiting educators to use with students. It was developed with GCSE and A-Level students in mind but is well suited for work with groups of all ages. Activities and discussion points are suggested and one of the key learning objectives is for students to develop their skills in aesthetic understanding and critical judgement. Students will be guided towards an analysis and exploration of Everything is Architecture: Bau magazine from the 60s and 70s. Suggested activities are offered for use in the gallery and offsite. Please note We will tailor programmes to respond to curriculum needs whenever possible. Please contact us to make arrangements and check the website for upcoming Learning Events. Contact for more information or to add your contact to our learning mailing list.

4 4 ICA Exhibitions Isa Genzken: Basic Research Paintings 1 July September 2015 An exhibition of paintings by one the most important and influential artists of the last forty years. Eloise Hawser: Lives on Wire 1 July September 2015 The first UK solo institutional exhibition, Lives on Wire by British artist Eloise Hawser. Her work reconfigures and repurposes commonplace materials applied in industrial processes to create sculptures and installations that subtly demonstrate the inherent mutability of everyday objects. Prem Sahib 24 September November 2015 For his first institutional solo exhibition in London, Prem Sahib will present new and recent work in the Lower and Upper Galleries at the ICA. A Palpable sense of the body and human ouch permeates throughout Sahib s works, which compromise sculpture, paintings, works on paper and performance. The ICA and K11 Art Foundation Present Zhang Ding: Enter the Dragon 12 October October 2015 The ICA and K11 Art Foundation Present Zhang Ding: Enter the Dragon. The exhibition consists of an installation that directly references the final scene from the seminal Bruce Lee film. Smiler: Photographs of London by Mark Cawson 12 October November 2015 An exhibition of unseen photographs by Smiler (aka Mark Cawson) of London Squats from the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. Fig 2 5 January December 2015 Fig 2 presents 50 projects over 50 weeks in the ICA studio, in association with Outset.

5 5 About the ICA The ICA supports radical art and culture. Through a vibrant programme of exhibitions, films, events and talks, the ICA challenges perceived notions and stimulates debate, experimentation, creativity and exchange with visitors. Founded in 1946 by a group of artists including Roland Penrose, Peter Watson and Herbert Read, the ICA continues to support living artists in showing and exploring their work, often as it emerges and before others. The ICA has been at the forefront of cultural experimentation since its formation and has presented important debut solo shows by artists including Damien Hirst, Steve McQueen, Richard Prince and Luc Tuymans. More recently Pablo Bronstein, Lis Rhodes, Bjarne Melgaard and Juergen Teller have all staged key solo exhibitions, whilst a new generation of artists, including Luke Fowler, Lucky PDF, Hannah Sawtell and Factory Floor have taken part in exhibitions and residencies. The ICA was one of the first venues to present The Clash and The Smiths, as well as bands such as Throbbing Gristle. The inaugural ICA / LUX Biennial of Moving Images was launched in 2012, and the ICA Cinema continues to screen rare artists film, support independent releases and partner with leading film festivals.

6 Bau Issue Front Cover 6

7 7 Introduction to Everything is Architecture: Bau Magazine from the 60s and 70s The ICA is delighted to present the first significant presentation in the UK of the influential Viennabased architectural magazine Bau; Magazine for Architectural and Urban Planning, published by the Central Association of Austrian Architects. The seminal architect Peter Cook, founder of experimental group Archigram and former ICA Director discussed the period around the exhibition on 19 June The display includes original issues of the magazine published between 1965 and 1970; a period when a group of influential Austrian architects and artists, Hans Hollein, Walter Pichler, Günther Feuerstein, Oswald Oberhuber, Sokratis Dimitriou and Gustav Peichl, took over its editorship. The magazine became a platform to explore new experimental ideas which considered architecture beyond mere concrete and instead ventured into the realms of art and politics. The radical interdisciplinary approach to architecture was crystallised in the 1968 issue of Bau in which the highly influential architect Hans Hollein boldly claimed that Everything is Architecture. From a lipstick, a portrait of Che Guevara to an astronaut suit and the performances of the Viennese actionist Otto Mühl, could all be considered architectural, aiming to question the pre-war functionality that defined modernist architecture. Bau demarcated itself from other experimental publications of the time through its size, which was closer to that of a glossy fashion magazine, as well as its creative use of advertising. While the magazine included key texts by philosophers, artists and architects, it also retained a playful quality, rich in imagery drawn from architecture and ubanism but also art and popular culture. While new experiments in architecture were flourishing internationally with the likes of Archigram and Street Farmer in the UK, Metabolism in Japan and the publications of Domus in Italy, Austria played a key role during this period with several other architectural figures such as Coop Himmebl(I)au, Haus Rucker Co, ZÜND-UP, Salz der Erde, who introduced collage, drawing, performance and film into their architectural practice. Although this is the first significant presentation of Bau in the UK, the ICA hosted an exhibition of architectural graphics in 1973 that included Adolfo Natalini, Hans Hollein and Coop Himmelb(I)au. Media partner:

8 8 Discussion Points 1 Describe the archival material in the exhibition Bau: Magazine for Architecture and Urban Planning. How is the material displayed and organised? What images stand out in particular to you? 2 How is the display relevant to present-day audiences in your opinion? What do you think influenced the curator to stage this particular exhibition? Are there similar exhibitions taking place at other institutions internationally? You may wish to consider the death of Hans Hollein, of one of the most prominent members of Bau, in 2014 or the gallery s connection to Sir Peter Cook, former Director of the ICA and founder of radical architectural group Archigram which had links to the radical architects Hans Hollein, Walter Pichler, Gunter Feuerstein and others who were co-editors of Bau from When Bau was published in the 60s and 70s there was an outburst of new experimentation, collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches such as performance and film within architectural practices. What do you think influenced this new interdisciplinary approach? What was happening at the time in Europe and beyond that would have impacted artistic practices? Think about politics, culture, consumerism and advancements in technology and art. Do the artists of Bau allude to any of these influences in the imagery that they use in their cover designs? Look carefully at Bau Issue 2, 1965 (Fig 1), Bau Issue 3, 1965 (Fig. 2) and Bau Issue 3, 1968 (Fig. 3), as well as the written content of these editions.

9 9 Fig. 1 Bau Issue 2, 1965, Front Cover Fig. 2 Bau Issue 3, 1965, Front Cover Fig. 3 Bau Issue 3, 1968, Front Cover

10 10 Fig. 5 Hans Hollein, Retti Candle Shop Exterior Fig. 4 Bau Issue 3, 1966, Front Cover Fig. 6 Installation of Geodesic Dome, Buckminster Fuller Fig. 7 Dymaxion House, Buckminster Fuller

11 11 Discussion Points 4 In 1968 Hans Hollein wrote a 30-page manifesto in which he declared that everything is architecture. What do you believe the architect meant by this? Why must architects cease to think only in terms of buildings according to Hollein? The architect writes that little consequent experimentation has been undertaken to use non material means (like light, temperature, or smell) to determine an environment, to determine space... So could the use of the lasers (hologram) lead to totally new determinations and experiences? Do these words still resonate today? How have architects and artists since Hollein taken up these non material ideas in their practices? 5 Looking closely at the display, what ideas about technology, space exploration and the future are highlighted in Bau? Consider Hollein s cover of Bau Issue 3, 1966 (Fig 4) which features an image of a lighting system for Hollein s futuristic Retti candle shop on Vienna s main shopping street ( , Fig. 5), juxtaposed with Belgian artist Georges Vantongerloo s radical and astronomically-inspired Système Planétaire. Also consider the inclusion of writings by Richard Buckminster Fuller who developed and popularised the forward-looking Geodesic Dome (Fig. 6) in the 1950s and created the autonomous Dymaxion house (Fig. 7). How is the future imagined according to Bau? 6 Is Bau more a display of the editors own interests? Look at the eclectic articles that include organ-like design, movement in cities, philosophy, Bertrand Russell, Adolf Loos and contemporary events such as the Atlas Rocket launch as well as popular culture and population explosion. What might the biographies of the editors reveal about how content in Bau is chosen? Think about magazines today (you may wish to look at designoriented publications such as Dezeen, Monocle, Wallpaper and Architect). How do you think editorial content is decided upon for each? In your opinion is it based around events, sales of certain products or the interests and backgrounds of the editorial staff? What else might inform the choice of content?

12 12 Discussion Points 7 Why do you think a significant amount of the content of Bau is geared towards Austrian design of the past such as the work of Adolf Loos, Josef Hoffmann and Rudolph Schindler? What do you think the intention was for this glance back in history? Do you think the Second World War may have had an impact on the Post-War accessibility of information about earlier architects and artists? 8 Although Austrian-based to what extent did Bau incorporate ideas that were international in scope under the editorship? What does the inclusion of an interview with Claes Oldenberg (American Sculptor) in Bau Issue 4, 1966 (Fig. 8), imagery used, for example the Children s Home in the African country of São Tomé (Bau Issue 6, 1969, Fig. 9) and the lists of writers such as Bertrand Russell (Bau Issue 1, 1969, Fig. 10), Oswald Mathias Ungers (Bau Issue 6, 1967, Fig. 11) and John L. Taylor (Bau Issue 2, 1967, Fig. 12) tell us about what the editors were trying to achieve internationally through Bau? 9 What mood and messages do you think the editors of Bau were interested in conveying through the larger, glossy format of the publication and the rich style and content of the imagery? Consider the transformation of the magazine between under the editorship of Hollein, Oberhuber, Peichl and others, from an academic and highly insular publication to something that could appeal to mass audiences. What did the new form of the magazine mark a turn towards, do you think?

13 13 Fig. 8 Bau Issue 4, 1966, Front Cover Fig. 9 Bau Issue 6, 1969, Front Cover Fig. 11 Bau Issue 6, 1969, Front Cover Fig. 10 Bau Issue 1, 1969, Front Cover Fig. 12 Bau Issue 6, 1969, Front Cover

14 14 Activities Research (Part 1) Research the architectural history of Austria, looking back to the Vienna Secession, an architectural movement founded in 1897 by architect Josef Hoffmann (Sanatorium Purkersdorf, Fig. 13; Palais Stoclet, Fig. 14), to early modernist architects such as Adolf Loos (Steiner House, Fig. 15; Goldman and Salatsch Building (Loos House), Fig. 16; Rufer House, Fig. 17) who rejected the Vienna Secession in favour of modernism. Consider the work of other influential Austrian architects such as Rudolph Schindler (Schindler House, Fig. 18; Lovell Beach House, Fig. 19), Richard Neutra (The Kaufman Desert house, Fig. 20), Paul Engelmann and Ludwig Wittgenstein (Wittgenstein House, Fig. 21. You may wish to read Jan Turnovsky s the Poetics of a Wall Projection to learn more about this Austrian Villa. Bau magazine pays homage to the architects of previous generations, for example the cover of Bau Issue 4, 1966 (Fig. 8) was designed by Hollein after a Rudolph Schindler logo and the issue includes an essay on the revered architect (Fig. 22). Similarly, Bau Issue 1, 1970 (Fig. 23) pays tribute to the work of the architect Adolf Loos and its cover was inspired by a drawing from the RIBA s Loos archive.

15 15 Fig. 13 Josef Hoffmann, Sanatorium Pukersdorf, Fig. 14 Josef Hoffmann, Palais Stoclet, Fig. 15 Adolf Loos, Steiner House, 1910 Fig. 16 Adolf Loos, Loos House, 1910

16 16 Activities Fig. 17 Adolf Loos, Rufer House, 1922 Fig. 18 Rudolph Schindler, Isometric Drawing of Schindler House, 1922, from Library of Congress, Prints Photographs Division CA-1939 Fig. 20 Richard Neutra, The Kaufman Desert House, 1946 Fig. 19 Rudolph Schindler, Lovell Beach House, 1926

17 17 Fig. 21 Engelmann Wittgenstein, Wittgenstein House, Fig. 22 Extract from Bau Issue 4, 1966, Rudolph Schindler Article Fig. 23 Bau Issue 1, 1970, Front Cover

18 18 Activities Research (Part 2) Extend your research on the architectural history of Austria by investigating the influence that American architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright had on European modernism. Of significance is Frank Lloyd Wright s folio of 100 lithographs of his work known as the Wasmuth Portfolio (Fig. 24), published in Germany in 1911, which influenced Austrian architects including Rudolph Schindler. Explore Investigate the architecture, art and writings of one of the most prominent members of Bau, the Pritzker Prize-winning (1985) Hans Hollein who passed away in Explore and analyse his extensive body of work archived online: Watch Bau was a platform that allowed its editors freedom to experiment and to explore beyond design, to incorporate ideas about technology, art and the future of architecture and living. Watch Hans Hollein s Mobile House watch?v=2hkgjtpxumu (Fig. 25) and discuss the precedents for his idea such as space exploration, technology and performance art. What do you think inspired this type of design?you may wish to read Le Corbusier s Towards a New Architecture (1923), in order to situate Hollein s work into the modernist agenda. Le Corbusier s pioneering ideas about architecture and technology can be summarised in his famous notion of a house as a machine for living in. Also explore Richard Buckminster Fuller s designs such as the Geodesic Dome that he helped to develop and popularize from earlier dome designs (Fig. 6) and his autonomous Dymaxion House (Fig. 7) to extend your understanding of architecture at that time.

19 19 Fig. 24 Frank Lloyd Wright, lithograph of Oak Park Illinois from Wasmuth Portfolio Fig. 25 Photograph, Hans hollein, Mobile Office, 1969

20 20 Activities Typography Working in groups, collect a range of magazines and analyse how typography is used in editorial features and advertisements. Discuss how typography can create different meanings. Generate a list of words that you believe the fonts in your selected images convey. Typography can embrace consumerist trends, reflect new technologies and capture the essence of different lifestyles. Certain fonts are able to embody the cultural zeitgeist, or the spirit of an age. At present there is a trend for imperfect fonts such as Catalina (Fig. 26) and Trend Rough (Fig. 27), which have a hand-drawn, edgy appeal. Look at a selection of advertisements in print and online and investigate current typographic trends. What aspects of present-day culture do you think certain recurring fonts embrace and promote? What do you think the typography used in Bau, designed in the 60s and 70s, embraced and promoted?

21 21 Fig. 26 Catalina Font Fig. 27 Trend Rough Font

22 22 Activities Fig. 28 Bau Issue 1 2, 1968, Front Cover Fig. 29 Bau Issue 5 6, 1965, Front Cover

23 23 Design In groups design a concept for a new design magazine (this could be general design or specific to architectural, industrial or furniture design etc.). Create a title for your magazine. a) Cover Analyse the cover designs on display by Bau artists Oswald Oberhuber, Hans Hollein and Walter Pichler. Think carefully about how each image relates to the content of the publication. Consider also the different methods of production used in the images, for example several of Oberhuber s designs are looser and incorporate more drawing (see Bau Issue 1-2, 1968, Fig. 28) whereas Hollein s work is graphic and he uses photographic elements (see Bau Issue 5-6, 1965, Fig. 29). Using a mixture of traditional drawing techniques, photography, screen-printing and an editing programme such as Adobe Photoshop, create the first cover design for your imagined magazine. Carefully consider the use of image, text, colour and the message behind your design. b) Content Map out the editorial content of your first issue. What features will you commission? What advertisements will be present, if any? Will your content have a political agenda or a specific theme? Explore the content of Bau in the display to help you generate ideas. Bau Issue 1, for example is dedicated to the manifesto Everything is Architecture, Bau Issue 2, 1965 explores technology and Bau Issue 1, 1967 focuses on transport.

24 24 Activities Curate Experimental architectural groups such as Zund Up, Salz der Erde and Archigram were operating internationally at the same time as Bau. Archigram was set up in London as a radical architectural group by Sir Peter Cook, former Director of the ICA (the exhibition Living City was staged at the ICA in 1963 which featured the designs Living Pod (1966, Fig. 30), Walking City (1966, Fig. 31) and Instant City (1968, Fig. 32). You may wish to visit the Archigram Archival Project to explore the work of this seminal architectural group. Choose one of the groups above such as Archigram and design an extended Fox Reading Room Display to complement Everything is Architecture. Curate a selection of archival imagery and ephemera from your chosen group. Present your ideas as: 1. A 3D model of the imagined space, created using foam board and other materials. Incorporate models of the furniture in the space vitrines, shelves, benches etc. Print out small images of the works and ephemera you will include and place these into the 3D space to create a miniature version of your imagined display. Or 2. A 2D presentation. You may use a digital platform such as Prezi, Slid.es or Powerpoint or you may wish to use a traditional method such as a sketchbook or a series of works displayed on mount boards. Collage Choose a design from Bau magazine or from oe of the experimental architectural groups such as Archigram or Salz der Erde that inspires you. Reimagine this using a medium of your choice, for example photography, screen-printing, painting, drawing or Adobe Photoshop. You may wish to create this in 2D or 3D. Look closely at the titles of works to inspire your own design, for example, Archigram s Instant City

25 25 Fig. 30 Living Pod, Collage, Elevation 1966, Archigram Archive Fig. 31 Walking City, Collage, 1966, Archigram Archive Fig. 32 Instant City, Collage 1968, Archigram Archive

26 26 ICA Learning Our dynamic learning programme provides opportunities for creative exchange, investigation and discussion between practitioners and audiences. The ICA strives to build sustainable relationships with universities, students, schools and our wider audiences, nurturing interest and appreciation of the creative process, and broadening engagement with contemporary arts. ICA Learning provides different opportunities to engage with the ICA programme through gallery tours, guided visits to our exhibitions, Friday Salons, online educational platforms and the ICA Student Forum, a dedicated student body that curates events and projects for the Public Programme. Our University Partnerships exist to encourage the development of joint projects and research. In addition, ICA Academy provides career paths to Further Education, Higher Education and employment. For further information or to make a booking, please learning@ica.org.uk ICA Learning is generously supported by The Ernest Cook Trust

27 27 ICA Learning Events Culture Now: Peter Cook 19 June 2015 In light of the display Everything is Architecture: Bau Magazine from the 60s and 70s, this talk serves as a precursory investigation into the little-known Austrian Magazine Bau. Speakers include architectural histroian Dr. Eva Branscome and architect and founder of experimental group Archigram, Peter Cook. The discussion will be chaired by Prof. Murray Fraser. Gallery Tour: Juliette Desorgues 30 July 2015 Join ICA Curator and curator of the exhibition Juliette Desorgues on a gallery tour through the Everything is Architecture: Bau Magazine from the 60s and 70s display. Gallery Tour: Jo Melvin 3 September 2015 Join writer and curator Jo Melvin on a gallery tour through the Everything is Architecture: Bau Magazine from the 60s and 70s display. Architecture: Spaces of Information / Part 1 15 September This one day symposium accompanies the Fox Reading Room exhibition Everything is Architecture: Bau Magazine from the 60s and 70s. With reference to Bau and Viennese convergences of architecture, art and politics during the 1960s and 70s, contributing speakers will more broadly examine the role of the magazine in the development of critical and theoretical architectural discourse through experimental and playful approaches to editorial strategy and document layout. Organised by Dr. Ruth Blacksell from the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading and Dr. Stephen Walker from Sheffield School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield.

28 28 ICA Learning ica.org.uk/learning Educators Previews Join our teacher s previews for all of our exhibitions Educator Resource Packs Educator resource packs are available at the ICA Box Office, or by ing learning@ica.org.uk MA in the Contemporary Find out more about our unique, interdisciplinary MA programme, in partnership with University of Kent. ica.org.uk/ma-contemporary Cinema Matinee Screenings Cinema group matinees are available for schools, colleges and universities. ica.org.uk/learning/school-and-groupscreenings ICA Student Forum Join the ICA Student Forum to shape and develop a public programme of events in response to the ICA programme. ica.org.uk/student-forum University Partnerships Through our University partnerships we engage and promote greater collaborative opportunities between university students, teaching staff and the ICA s public programme. ica.org.uk/university-partnerships ICA Opening Hours Tuesday Sunday, 11am 11pm Day Membership 1 Wednesday Sunday, 11am-6pm Until 9pm on Thursdays Exhibitions Tuesday Sunday, 11am 6pm Open late every Thursday until 9pm ICA Box Office & Bookshop Tuesday Sunday, 11am 9pm ICA Café Bar Food served from pm / pm Tuesday Cinema All films, all day: 3 for ICA Members / 6 non-members Sign Up to our Newsletters ica.org.uk/signup Follow us Cover image: Bau: Magazine for Architecture and Town Planning, issue 1, Published by Zentralvereinigung der Architekten Österreichs. Courtesy the artists and estates. Resource pack developed by Rita Cottone and Rania Elgarf