Page 16 - Studio International - September October 1975

Editorial

It may seem paradoxical for a magazine with the city to easel painting and stimulating to consider his work as in
like Studio International to devote a graphic work executed in the studio, some respects the product of similar
whole issue to examining the interaction became intrigued during the twenties concerns.
between art and architecture. The two with the notion of an architectural art. As Not that there is anything approaching
disciplines have not, so far as the Christopher Green explains in his a group movement whereby these
twentieth century is concerned, article, a prime catalyst for this artists could be seen as united in a
managed to achieve any sustained basis development was the collaborative common and programmatic adherence to
for a mutually beneficial exchange of series of projects carried out by Van architectural frames of reference. Buren's
shared ideas. Isolated and inconclusive Doesburg and Van Eesteren, which notes on his work and its installation are
moments when avant-garde art has Gillian Naylor pinpoints as a climax in enough to show how very personal an
embraced architectural theory and De Stijl's efforts to weld considerations individual's formulation of the art/
practice — Sant 'Elia's contribution to from the preserves of both art and architecture debate can be, in his case one
Futurism, the remarkable dualism of architecture into a new, cohesive wholly bound up with a polemical
De Stijl, Corbusier's twin loyalties to unity. determination to confront the full
painting and architecture — are simply But alongside this marriage of ideological implications of the gallery
the exceptions which prove the rule that practitioners from either discipline, or museum housing his work. He stands
these media remain segregated artists alone saw increasing possibilities at the opposite extreme to artists who
activities. Artists are often in extending their work through to acquiesce to whatever cultural value is
commissioned to add their own environmental proportions. No longer placed upon art by the building which
contributions to building projects, of prepared to remain satisfied with their houses it, or who ignore that value
course, and lip-service is constantly conventional roles as suppliers of altogether by erecting an alternative
paid to the importance of integrating the architectural ornament, which Joseph environment within a given space. And
motives which shape our physical Rykwert discusses here, they were Roselee Goldberg makes clear the
environment with the objectives which intrigued by the prospect of making and immense differences separating Buren
determine visual and plastic art. But the articulating their own spaces. Germano from the aims of performance artists who
hoped-for dialogue rarely evolves beyond Celant traces the grywth of this interest, can in a general sense be connected with
a very superficial level: architects seldom starting sporadically with occasional him through their engagement with the
regard the areas in their buildings schemes by painters like Balla, whose overall idea of space as praxis. Indeed,
earmarked for the artist as anything principal energies were still contained by bringing the activities of artists who
more than decorative ghettos, and inside the boundaries of a canvas, and would normally be grouped under the
artists have nothing but scorn for the rapidly reaching monumental label of dance into a spatial context, she
great mass of commercially motivated dimensions in Schwitters' Merzbau. helps to suggest how widely the
architectural developments. There Even Schwitters, however, was not `architectural' net can be cast.
appears to be little hope of regaining the sufficiently satisfied with his The danger in speculation of this kind
intimate sense of co-operation and cross- environmental accumulations to view is, admittedly, that it could end up
fertilization which enhanced the them as the exclusive repository for all celebrating the importance of
relationship between art and his ideas, and it is only in more recent interdisciplinary discourse without
architecture during the renaissance and years that artists have devoted themselves bothering to retain an equally necessary
baroque periods, when common goals solely to the investigation of space as an understanding of how art and architecture
were established and the closest forms of entity to be walked through and differ from each other. It might be
collaboration eagerly welcomed. experienced in a way that possesses tempting to start making airy claims
At the same time, however, it is unavoidable parallels with architectural about the breaking-down of the barriers
possible to locate areas in which strategies. The emergence of such between the two media, and regard this
modernist art has been moving — albeit spatially oriented work during the last dissolution as an automatically healthy
erratically — towards a greater decade has not only been a remarkable state of affairs. But the interaction
involvement with architectural phenomenon in its own right, which this issue of Studio International is
preoccupations. The fascination for the suggesting a way forward for artists who attempting to locate would rapidly lose
city, displayed by so many of the painters want to think in terms of a total arena its point if a categorial blurring was the
who constituted the international rather than an art object at the mercy of result. That is why Bernard Tschumi's
vanguard in the first two decades of this its immediate surroundings. It has also essay is so necessary here, clarifying as it
century, gradually became linked to an fostered a widespread awareness among does how precisely at variance the
awareness of how the spatial experience artists whose principal interests could architect's viewpoint is from the
offered by the 'urban machine' could be not be described as 'architectural' that it is artist's. For the final purpose of any
incorporated within the legitimate both helpful and fruitful to see exchange between architecture and art
territory of art. Over and above the themselves — partially, at least — from should be to facilitate an enhanced
attempt to interpret the structure of the this vantage-point. LeWitt, for understanding of their respective
cityscape on a flat surface, therefore, a example, whose piece illustrated on the singularities, even if it can only be
growing urge to explore the potential of cover of this issue speaks for itself, has brought about by pushing their points of
actual, three-dimensional space only recently been placing himself connection as closely together as the
manifested itself. Léger, for instance, who within such an overt architectural fragmentation of contemporary culture
had previously restricted his concern context. And Dan Graham now finds it will allow.
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