Page 44 - Studio International - April 1973

Cuningham: a parody of 'new thought' Paul William White

The nineteen twenties were an exciting period in perhaps the most influential visionaries of them Cuningham illustrated, as a major
Europe when social, political, economic and all, the futurists. It is perhaps indicative of preoccupation of his cartoons, the seduction of
technological change inspired architects, writers English taste that one of the few examples of both ground and air travel, the major force of
and artists to speculate about the future. An visionary design that could be called futurist, change in this century. The ground plans of
overwhelming war had ended which had used was produced by a commercial artist who buildings, town plans and airports are now
major weapons for the first time, while men had combined the opposing influences of Neo- governed in terms of design by vehicular
become impressed with their own power for Classicism and Futurism in a parody of 'new traffic, and current planning is concerned with
change. Not only had there been a thought' for commercial use: the sale of coping with their excessive demands. The
demonstration of the powers of destruction, cigarettes. cartoonist indulged a romantic attitude to this
there had been throughout Europe a Cuningham, of whom little is known, was a main characteristic of our time that was
demonstration of the might of twentieth- skilled draughtsman and commercial artist prevalent in the twenties, but his drawing is
century man. It was a common theory that war working during the twenties. He precisely indicative of the radical changes that will have to
had ended forever, although the rising tide of caught the varying influences of the period up to take place if large cities are to cope with traffic
socialism hinted that a widespread social 1920 for these illustrated advertisements for in the future.
revolution had only just begun. It was now Grey's cigarettes published in The Sphere in In his design At the Customs House on the Roof
within the powers of scientists, engineers, 1921. Being caricatures, they excuse the of London AD 250o, Cuningham has drawn
architects and reformers in all areas of thought cultivation of European influences at that time airships which seem as laughable to us now as
to join their talents together to make the world a in post-war Britain, and present a view of his scientific designs for Piccadilly seem
better place to live in. Creative minds fell in love London as it might be in the year 250o. plausible. They represent the culmination of
with the idea of a world where technology Without a twinge of conscience, artistic licence every dream the builders of airships and
would enhance the quality of life for all. is indulged with a gaiety and gusto that was very dirigibles ever had. Floating neo-classical cities
The realization that great changes were only much part of the twenties. Cuningham's idea of in the air are drawn with art-nouveau rigging
just beginning caused untold fantasies about the the future form of London in five hundred and propellers placed at random; a dream of
utopias of the future, in some cases based on a years time, drawn from a number of sources, flying palaces in the sky which was exploded
neo-classical glorification of the past. At the both literary and scientific as well as by the great airship disaster in America in
same time the true aesthetic reformers were to architectural, was emphatically stated in his the 192os.
create a new style in the Bauhaus, while Le drawing for Piccadilly. Its 'anticipation' is In contrast, preoccupation with air travel and
Corbusier invented slogans for his influential totally futurist in scientific conception with aeroplanes was more realistic with Le Corbusier,
writings of the period, first published in skyscrapers based on the Chicago school. the visionary. He too was impressed by the
L'Esprit Nouveau in 1920. In his efforts to tear In 1973 these ideas are no longer far fetched, aeroplane and issued statements as to the
people away from old forms Corbusier stated : but in 1921, it was an achievement in vision. Its examples it set for the development of
`A great epoch has begun. scientific speculation owes much to the literary architecture. He saw it as the utilitarian
There exists a new spirit. climate in England, based on Jules Verne and expression of new industrial standards and
There exists a mass of work conceived in the new updated by H. G. Wells who had been only too aesthetics that were the antithesis of the past.
spirit: it is to be met with particularly in willing to explore the gates of scientific and To him the aeroplane's supreme logic in design
industrial production. mental invention. Cuningham's guesses at the represented the same spirit that had built the
Architecture is stifled by custom. future were not so extreme as they appear. The Parthenon. To Le Corbusier, the spirit behind
The styles are a lie . . . first monorail had been invented in England in classical architecture was all important, not the
Our own epoch is determining, day by day, its the late 19th century. It was a cattle truck on a empty emulation of its forms, and was useful
own style. single rail which was illustrated in a in formulating standards for the new 'epoch'.
Our eyes, unhappily, are unable to discern it.' contemporary photograph carrying a truck load He stated that: 'The aeroplane is the product
Reformers had already cut many of bowler-hatted officials and businessmen who of close selection.'
`imperialist chains', but were unable to remove were invited to its demonstration in order to The lesson of the aeroplane is the logic which
at a stroke the influence of their origins or a speculate upon its possible commercial viability governed the statement of the problem (i.e.
nostalgia for the past. It took another world war in the future. Not for nothing were English flying through the air) and its realization.
and the further development of machinery to businessmen concerned with inventions The problem of the house has not yet been
convince people that they were living in an age concerning transportation in the late nineteenth stated.
of transportation, an age of 'functionalism' in and early twentieth centuries. England since the Nevertheless there do exist standards for the
which the development of the international industrial revolution had provided more ideas dwelling house.
style would change the design of built forms and novel machinery than it could exploit. Machinery contains in itself the factor of
throughout the world. Although the monorail has not yet become a economy, which makes for selection.
The rising influence of 'functionalism' realistic part of everyday life, English and The house is a machine for living in'.
eventually had its effects in England, especially French designs have been developed to coincide Le Corbusier sought to give the modern
during the thirties, yet England did not produce with the appearance of the machines Cuningham movement standards based on a new
in the first twenty years of the new century envisaged. Atomic energy is now a reality; appreciation of ancient architecture, and the
extravagant expressions of new ideas, as had moving pavements are not yet in the streets mass production techniques seen in the
other European countries. Germany and of London but are common in international manufacture of automobiles. His ideas were first
Austria produced their utopian neo-classicists, airports; phonetic spelling is used in our published in L'Esprit Nouveau in 1920, a year
such as Wagner, followed by the originators of educational system, but not yet on street signs; a before Cuningham's work.
the 'modern movement'. France produced its satellite has landed on Mars; and artificial Although Cuningham may have been aware of
visionary spokeman for the new world in Le skies are being developed to control climate and ideas from L'Esprit Nouveau, his cartoons are an
Corbusier, while Italy had already produced possibly as pollution barriers ironical caricature of the forms that Le Corbusier
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