Arts and Architecture

In case of interpreting the Konark sun temple’s architecture (Orissa, India), there are two divergent as well as antithetical views. Nirmal kumar Bose (1926, 1932) interpreted the outer body of this temple and Stella Kramrisch (1946) was searching the inner body. The main point of their disagreement might be posed as : Were the bodies of the Hindu temples constructed on the basis of physiological corporeal or meta- physiological conjecture of body? Bose reviewed Kramrisch’s book (1947) and alleged that Stella was too metaphysical and illiterate artisans are ignorant about the intricacies of the inner body as they did not have the access to the scriptures. However, Mira Mukherjee(1993) showed the path when she introduced so-called illiterate sons of Visvakarma. The author of this paper showed the evidences of inner corporeal of the temple-architecture by re-surveying the temple and taking cue from sub-altern artisans’ world-views as well as from Mandukyoponisad, Vakyapadiya and Tantraloka.

A Julius Shulman le correspondió, casi en exclusiva, la labor de cronista gráfico de la arquitectura moderna en el sur de California. Consciente de la dificultad de hacer ver al público la belleza de estas construcciones, Shulman desarrolló un lenguaje propio con un marcado sentido escenográfico, un encuentro entre la fotografía arquitectónica clásica y la publicidad contemporánea inspirada en la cultura pop en la que la colocación de los muebles en intervalos estratégicos, la iluminación, la elección y actitud de los modelos o la vegetación estaban cuidadosamente estudiados para guiar la vista del espectador hacia la arquitectura y el estilo de vida que de esta se desprendía.

El artículo propone una visión transversal de la fotografía de Shulman y establece lazos entre su obra y la tensión política que se respiraba en los Estados Unidos de la Guerra Fría. Gracias a las “escenas” capturadas en sus fotografías, la arquitectura moderna californiana quedaría por siempre asociada al contexto creado por el fotógrafo, dando lugar a imágenes que el tiempo ha elevado a la categoría de iconos culturales del siglo XX. Como la arquitectura que retrataba, la fotografía se convirtió en una exaltación de la modernidad entendida como una nueva era de bienestar, prosperidad y progreso.

Palabras clave
Movimiento Moderno, California, Arts & Architecture, fotografía, escenografía,
Publicidad

Julius Shulman was primarily responsible for being the graphic chronicler of modernist architecture in Southern California. Aware of how difficult making the public see the beauty of these buildings could be, Shulman developed his own language, which was characterized by a strong theatrical sense which resulted in a mixture between classical architectural photography and contemporary advertising inspired in pop culture in which the placement of furniture at strategic intervals, lighting, models’ attitude and vegetation were carefully studied in order to guide the eye of the viewer into the architecture and its derived lifestyle.

The article proposes a cross-disciplinary view of Shulman photography and establishes links between his work and the political tension that was present in the United States of the Cold War. Thanks to the “scenes” captured in his photographs, Southern California mid-century modernist architecture would forever be associated with the context created by the photographer, resulting in images that time has elevated to the status of cultural icons of the twentieth century. As the architecture he photographed, his images became a celebration of modernism understood as a new era of welfare, prosperity and progress.

Keywords
Modernism, California, Arts & Architecture, photography, scenography, advertising

SUMMARY In January 1945, John Entenza, editor of the California Arts & Architecture magazine, launched the ‘Case Study House Program’, an ambitious project whose firm objective was to investigate the possibilities and solutions for the housing problem facing the United States after the war. To do this, Entenza designed a novel strategy for collaboration between some of the best Californian architects of the time and the U.S. industrial machine, open to a process of conversion from military production to objects for the civilian population that would take place in record time. Thus, the article proposes the analysis of the relationship between business and domesticity, between economic viability and architectural quality, between prefabrication processes and individual spirit. All of these seemingly opposing concepts reached, at the hands of the ‘Case Study House Program’, an understanding that still seems extraordinary today.

KEY WORDS Arts & Architecture, California, Entenza, post–war, prototype, propaganda.

En enero de 1945, John Entenza, editor de la revista californiana Arts & Architecture, puso en marcha el programa Case Study House, un ambicioso proyecto cuyo firme objetivo era investigar las posibilidades y soluciones del problema de la vivienda al que se enfrentaba los Estados Unidos de la posguerra. Para ello, Entenza diseñó una novedosa estrategia de colaboración entre algunos de los mejores arquitectos californianos del momento y la maquinaria industrial estadounidense, abierta a un proceso de reconversión de producción bélica a objetos para la población civil que tendría lugar en un tiempo récord. Así, el artículo propone el análisis de esa relación entre empresa y domesticidad, entre viabilidad económica y calidad arquitectónica, entre procesos de prefabricación y espíritu individual. Todos ellos conceptos aparentemente opuestos pero que, de la mano del programa Case Study House, lograron un entendimiento que a día de hoy sigue resultando extraordinario.
Palabras clave: Arts & Architecture, California, Entenza, posguerra, prototipo, publicidad.

This presentation shows how Japan, a new and ambitious presence in global economic and political relations in the years between 1868 and 1915. Art and architecture played prominent roles in this initiative, which unfolded at the era's preeminent international venues, the international exhibitions. As Japan found increasing success, it catalyzed transformations in fine and decorative arts in the Western world, particularly in the United States.

SPACE International Conference 2021 on Arts, Design and Architecture will be held in London (online) on 26-27 February 2021. We hope that the Conference will be an ideal platform to discuss the recent advances, experiences and research results in the intersection of architecture, arts and design. The Conference aims to explore the interrelations between arts, design and architecture. SPACE Conferences always attract a substantial number of participants from all over the world. The scientific quality of the Conference provided by SPACE International Advisory Board and the variety of the topics are the most important reasons behind this success of the series.

The article probes the social background to the controversial ‘Kitchen Debate’ between the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and the US vice-president Richard Nixon, which occured at the American trade exhibition in Moscow during summer 1959.  Political histories narrowly focus on diplomatic point-scoring between the two leaders, leaving largely untouched the purpose of the landmark exhibition, and its expression of America's ‘suburban’ values.  This discussion traces a broad arc exploring:

- The exchange between Khrushchev and Nixon, especially their discussion of housing
- What was shown in the Moscow exhibition (detailing the display kitchen that prompted Khrushchev’s indignation), and the US State Department’s broad aims.
- The expansion of suburbia in post-war America (census figures quoted), and changes in property development including the emergence of commuter suburbs.
- The influential Levittown model for mass home construction & instant suburbs, and the impact of its highly publicised estates on Long Island, Connecticutt and New Jersey.
- Nature and extent of suburban conformism, including pointed criticisms made by urban planning commentators, the sociologist William Whyte, and the Feminist Betty Friedan.
- Mounting distress of women who did not feel fulfilled as homemakers, and their main grievances.
- Segregation, and enforced racial exclusion at the Levittowns.
- Portrayal of suburban values in the key literary works, ‘The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit’ (1955), ‘Revolutionary Road’ (1961), ‘The Stepford Wives’ (1972)
- Efforts to raise the quality of home and suburb design in California, prompted by the magazine ‘Arts and Architecture’
- The pioneering Case Study House project.
- Role of the Los Angeles firm Eames Office in post-war domestic design.
- Contribution of Eames Office to the Moscow exhibition.
9pp.