Writing; according to Panayotis Tournikiotis; has always exerted a powerful influence on architecture. Indeed; the study of modern architecture cannot be separated from a fascination with the texts that have tried to explain the idea of a new architecture in a new society. During the last forty years; the question of the relationship of architecture to its history -- of buildings to books -- has been one of the most important themes in debates about the course of modern architecture.Tournikiotis argues that the history of modern architecture tends to be written from the present; projecting back onto the past our current concerns; so that the "beginning" of the story really functions as a "representation" of its end. In this book the buildings are the quotations; while the texts are the structure.Tournikiotis focuses on a group of books by major historians of the twentieth century: Nikolaus Pevsner; Emil Kaufmann; Sigfried Giedion; Bruno Zevi; Leonardo Benevolo; Henry-Russell Hitchcock; Reyner Banham; Peter Collins; and Manfredo Tafuri. In examining these writers thoughts; he draws on concepts from critical theory; relating architecture to broader historical models.
#1101177 in eBooks 2014-03-10 2014-03-10File Name: B00MFWFML8
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Lively ConversationBy C. EbelingI am a general reader and a general lover of the visual arts; who often finds contemporary conceptual art difficult to keep up with. I turn to books like Lives of the Artists in an attempt to keep current and for interesting conversation. Lives of the Artists; with its emphasis on the artists lives rather than art genres and trends makes it more interesting conversation than edification; but thats okay.Tomkins; art critic for The New Yorker; had years of articles from which to choose; and he chose biography as his organizing theme; a la Giorgio Vasari; of the movers and shakers in the contemporary international art world. His selection skews to the most controversial; provocative and/or innovative: Jasper Johns; Maurizio Cattelan; Cindy Sherman; Damien Hirst; Jeff Koons; James Turrell; Julian Schnabel; John Currin; Richard Serra and Matthew Barney. Tomkins does a good job of introducing the artist in a current scene; before cutting to the back story to scribe the arc of career; inspiration and critical reaction. This mostly works; though the first profile in the collection; of Damien Hirst; had the ring of a VH1 "Behind the Music" rock star story. Tomkins provides updates on each career; current as of 2008 when this book was prepared. Alas; there are no illustrations; no images of the subjects work or of them.One thing I could not help but notice about the collection: though the author notes in his preface that there are thousands of working artists living and producing in New York City alone; and he had years of his own profiles to select from; he chose a line-up that is starkly white; and with the exception of Cindy Sherman; male. Women mostly appear as bit players in these stories; as girlfriends; wives; muses; studio assistants and; in a couple of instances; "porno" subjects. Is this representative of the world of art right now? It feels more like the night before the womens and civil rights movements injected a more inclusive diversity into our cultural reflection.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great read...crappy formattingBy Larry EllingsonI love this book. A great look at wildly different artists who have made their mark in Western culture and; thanks to Calvin Tomkins; in me. Interesting; intimate; personal but never fawning or self-conscious.One really big complaint though...not the writing but eBook technology: why is "performance" always spelled "per for mance?" Many other words were consistently mangled. Several sections were marred by this kind sloppy formatting that I seriously doubt was seen in the "analog" version. I think I deserve my money back. Im sure if I submitted a manuscript with these kind of errors to ; Id be laughed out of a contract. Fix it!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Knows his subjectsBy Arthur ComingsCapsule reviews of the lives and works ten important artists. No pics; which a critic quoted on the back cover claims to be an advantage. Yeah; yeah -- none of those distracting images! With the internet thats not a big disadvantage; but its certainly more distracting to get up and google than to turn the page.Written in a breezy; well-informed style which I generally like -- Ive read a number of Tomkins books -- but several non sequiturs slipped by his editor. I occasionally got the feeling that the text had been dictated; with minimal revisions. But lots of good facts and impressions; from an author who has spent; in some cases; decades getting to know his subjects.
