Issue 3(59)/2019

DOI: 10.5277/ARCHITECTUS

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Articles

Bethania Barbosa B. de Souza - The evolution of the artist’s book in printmaking and transdisciplinarity as its essence

doi:10.37190/arc190301

This article deals with the aesthetic evolution of the artist’s book in printmaking and its close connection to the graphic procedures resulting from the printing press and the current transdisciplinarity of the various areas of knowledge. Each stride of technical progress in the field of graphic arts spawned a transformation in the aesthetics of the images comprising books, as they served to enhance the graphic quality of the aesthetics presented.

Keywords:

    artists-book

    transdisciplinarity

    printmaking

    print

Svitlana Smolenska - Avant-garde architecture and art of the 1920s–1930s in Ukraine and European modernism: interpenetration methods

doi:10.37190/arc190302

The 1920s and 1930s were the period of unprecedented flowering of Ukrainian art and architecture. The Soviet avant-garde in Ukraine gained world recognition then. It developed in line with European modernism. In what ways did the intermingling of Western and Ukrainian culture take place in those years? The most important methods of interaction between the European and Ukrainian avant-garde are presented in the article: wide coverage of European achievements in the All-Union (USSR) and Ukrainian press; free access of Ukrainian architects and artists to foreign professional periodicals; participation of Ukrainian and European artists and architects in international exhibitions and competitions; direct involvement of renowned foreign architects in the work on projects on the territory of Ukraine.     The main statements of the article are based on the analysis of publications in the avant-garde press of the 1920s–1930s, as well as on authentic materials from several Ukrainian archives.

Keywords:

    modernism

    avant-garde

    ukraine

    interpenetration-of-ideas

Juan Carlos Ramos Guadix - Repetition. A journey to the limits of the matrix

doi:10.37190/arc190303

This paper presents Søren Kierkegaard’s concept of repetition and attempts to draw an analogy between it and intaglio printmaking, in relation to three well-differentiated moments. The first moment is the location of repetition in the context of individual existence and its relationship with the matrix as a unique thing. The second, its demanding nature, its search for freedom, where the question of printing is understood as the progress and process of transfer. In this stage repetition becomes an instantaneous demand and vindication. Thirdly, the paper analyses the relationship between repetition as a life event and the print as the process of appropriating a story by means of a graphic act. Here the analogy is drawn between the concept of repetition by Kierkegaard and the concept of repetition in the two completely opposing realities that comprise the natural reality of intaglio printmaking; the matrix and the print.

Keywords:

    kierkegaard

    repetition

    matrix

    print

    intaglio-printmaking

    mimesis

Dorota Maria Kurażyńska, Juan J. Cabrera-Contreras - Image: From Being a God[dess] to Become a Flatus vocis – Mitchell’s “Family of Images” (part 1)

doi:10.37190/arc190304

The subject of this work is the images, or more accurately said, the state of our knowledge about the set consisting of artifacts such as the Venus de Milo, the Gioconda, the duck decoys (or “fake birds”) used to hunt ducks, toys such as a doll or a paper airplane and drawings such as the planes drawn up by engineers or architects. Our purpose is to discuss the understanding of images currently considered canonical – i.e., the theory that states that images are a modality of signs. We will do this by analyzing “The Family of images” a proposal developed by W.J.T. Mitchell in a famous essay entitled “What is an image?”. After introducing readers to the subject and outlining a diagnosis about the current status quæstionis of theory of images, we will study Mitchell’s proposal and criticize the thesis (assumed and brilliantly presented by this author) that states that images are nothing more than a more or less sui generis modality of signs. Finally, in the section dedicated to the conclusions, we will outline a proposal of an alternative approach to the study of the images that, instead of seeing them as signs, considers them as tool-artifacts.

Keywords:

    w.j.t.-mitchell

    image

    sign

    artifacts

    tools

Agnieszka Rożnowska-Jasiewicz - The importance of drawing. Drawing as a means of seeking form

doi:10.37190/arc190305

The article presents the importance of drawing along with the development of man and his visual perception. It was discussed how important the drawing alphabet used to register the image became and how the attitude of artists and recipients to drawing has changed over the centuries. The text shows the rank of this discipline using examples from today and from the past. As a result of observations and drawing exercises, it was found that the neural connections used in the act of thinking by drawing develop and expand the field of visual perception. Professional experience and observations have shown that the modern world in which we live every day communicates through various media, however, the most efficient and closest to human skills is – drawing, the graphic way of expressing thoughts.

Keywords:

    drawing

    alphabet

    drawing-areas

    autonomy

    art

    human

    space

Leszek Maluga - Mural as a visual form in the architectural and urban space of Mexico

doi:10.37190/arc190306

The aim of the study is to show, on the basis of analyzes carried out, selected examples of Mexican murals and the role of this painting form in modifying architectural and urban space – modifying the compositional and visual and aesthetic spatial structures desirable from the point of view of quality. In Mexico, a mural has a tradition dating back to the times before the Spanish conquest. It was present in the architecture of the colonial period. In the 20th century, it became the dominant field of visual arts strongly associated with architecture and urban space, and at the same time involved in social changes in the country. The analysis of examples from various historical periods, with particular emphasis on contemporary realizations, allowed us to show compositional and spatial relations that refer to issues such as wall geometry, mural relation to spatial context (location and spatial scale), composition structure of the mural, illusion of space in the image, and colour composition of the mural. Attention was also paid to the narrative layer of murals, which often has a significant impact on the decisions regarding the visual form of the paintings.     In the light of the research we can conclude that this type of painting work has been consciously used for the creation of architectural and urban space since the earliest times. Numerous studies also confirm the aforementioned thesis that the visual and aesthetic quality of the paintings affect the compositional and aesthetic relationships in a specific spatial situation.

Keywords:

    painting

    art

    architecture

    architectural-composition

    mexico

Ewa Cisek - Contemporary Scandinavian sculpture as an element introducing the narrative of a place and accentuating the boundaries of architectural space

doi:10.37190/arc190307

The article is devoted to contemporary Norwegian and Finnish sculpture, which evidently show the close, mutually complementary connections of architecture, art and nature. The presented art projects in park spaces can be inspired by architectural themes (e.g., Finnish Sibelius – monumentti in Helsinki, art. Eila Hiltunen, Portal in Vigeland Park in Oslo, art. Bård Breivik) while in the defined architectural space, they can constitute sensual elements activating places and introducing narration (e.g. Norwegian Havmannen in Mo and Rana as well as English The Broken Column in Stavanger, art. Antony Gormley, Bobby – Finnish Toripolliisi in Oulu, art. Kaarlo Mikkonen, Jenter i Vinden in Narvik, art. Tone Thiis Schetne, Hjallis in Trondheim, art. Per Ung, Scream from nature in Oslo, art. Lise Wulff) or accentuating important boundaries of architectural space which is visible in the following works: Ajan Kulku in Oulu: The Course of Time, Finn Eirik Modahl in Sarpsborg: Genesis (spatial and temporal boundary), Bård Breivik in Lillehammer: portal and aquatic forms, Kristian Blystad in Oslo: tectonics of the roof of the National Theatre, Opera and Ballet, by Bjarne Melgraad in Oslo: A House To Die In (the boundary between sacrum and profanum).

Keywords:

    scandinavian-sculpture

    scandinavian-architecture

    sensual-architecture

Alina Lipowicz-Budzyńska - Art glass as an external partition – its impact on visual and functional properties

doi:10.37190/arc190308

The article discusses issues relating to the integration of art and architecture in the context of the implementation of art glass in the outer shell of a building. Compositional and artistic issues related to the construction of the glass partition resulting from the location and relation of plastic layers were adressed. The publication also deals with the topic of functional properties of the glass coating resulting from the above-mentioned factors and the fact of placing the glazing in the outer coating.     The research material consisted of seven projects from the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries: City Hall in Alphenaan den Rinn (The Netherlands); Ryerson University in Toronto (Canada); Forum Confluentes in Koblenz (Germany); building of the University Library in Cottbus (Germany); Institute for Hospital Pharmaceuticals in Basel (Switzerland); building of the University Library in Utrecht (the Netherlands); Saxon State Baths in Bad Elster (Germany). Due to the location of the plastic layer, the following typology emerged: single-layer glazing, in which the artistic layer was placed on one plane of the glass; single-layer glazing in the form of a building skin; double-layer glazing in which the image was placed on two layers of glass; art glass in the form of wall cladding; mobile coatings as blinds or moving panels.     It has been observed that art glass located in the external partition has a significant impact on many aspects of the architectural object. The outer shell is the border between two spaces: the outside and the inside of the architectural object. This location defines the role of the glazing in both spaces. As an artistic element, it influences the aesthetic reception of a building, deciding on its expression, symbolism, character and color, it is an element that integrates the facade. As a barrier, it changes the properties of light penetrating through it, which can be used for specific purposes related to sun protection.     The publication concludes, that both the architect and the glass designer should work not only on visual aspects of the glass coating but very consciously on its specified functional properties.

Keywords:

    art-glass

    glass-facade

    glass-graphics

    screen-printing

    architecture

Francisco Antonio García Pérez - Buildings, archetypes and cosmogonies on the edge of the contemporary city

doi:10.37190/arc190309

Despite the supposed desacralization of the contemporary world, it is still possible today to trace symbols that come from ancient times. The present article argues that although the symbols involved in the original act of the foundation of a city are distant in time, sometimes they can still be recognized in the construction processes of our cities. The analysis of a specific architectural complex developed in a contemporary city will exemplify the survival of the archetype in the development of our urban peripheries.

Keywords:

    archaism

    memory

    urban-periphery

    symbol

Beata Juchniewicz - Correspondage – postcards from Wrocław. Reading the city

doi:10.37190/arc190310

The article covers the image of Wrocław in collages of photos and painterly artworks. The starting point of the considerations is the work of a Czech creator, J. Kolář, and most notably those creations that cover the architecture of Paris. The artist has created a rich collection of compositional activities, different ways of splitting and then collating paintings. Such collage is then an interesting quality of visual arts and brings in new content to the narration of the image of the architecture of the city. A similar target was given to the students of the Faculty of Architecture of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology who attend the “spaces of photography and architecture” subject. In their collages the students used photos of Wrocław and reproductions of painterly artworks. Many interesting works were made, that fitted the narration of Wrocław, its distinctive buildings and their importance in the modern image of the city.     The used technique – on the borderline between painting and photography – revealed many shades and ways of the existence of the picture in the space of the city. It connected, the real, mental, and imaginary one contributed by the artworks. It also presented how crossing the borders of arts opens new room for meaning.

Keywords:

    collage

    art

    photography

    architecture

    city-event

    wrocław

Karolina Jaklewicz - Geometry on the border of narration

doi:10.37190/arc190311

In this article geometry and its possibility to become a narration, referring to the concept of “the language of geometry” is presented. The changes that have been made in the application of geometry dependent on the early 20th century, through the 2nd half of the 20th century to the present are indicated. The field of research was the author’s own way of using geometric motifs in art, to their relationship with universal values and the current social situation. Pointed out is the fact that geometry is not just a set of formal signs, but active linguistic communication possessing the ability to build a narrative. The experience of changes in the abstract art were compared to the work of Tadeusz Różewicz, who in postmodern reality constructed a new literary form.

Keywords:

    language-of-geometry

    postmodernism

    art

    poetry

Piotr Wesołowski - Geumgang Nature Art Biennale 2017–2018 – case study

doi:10.37190/arc190312

In the article the exhibition of works of art realized or publish in the biennale of the art of nature Geumgang Nature Art Biennale in the years 2017–2018 in Gongju (South Korea) have been discussed. The aim of this work is the presentation of the results of the analysis of spatial forms on the border line of artistic and architectonic creation. The author, who took part in this exhibition assumed that such an analysis of projects and realization will allow presenting the possibility of creative confrontation of various attitudes of artists towards the problem of the presence of man in the natural environment. The task of creating a shelter-hut in the natural environment (forest) was set before the artists. The topic became an excuse for searching for a formal, artistic and aesthetic answer to the question about contemporary human and nature relations in the context of the developing trend of eco-aesthetics.     The analysis of 147 submitted projects and 11 works that were completed in the 1st stage of the biennale concerned the form, function and symbolism contained in the proposed objects. The research material was composed of photographic documentation and comprehensive catalogue. What draws attention above all is the wide spectrum of shapes of shelters – from abstract forms to biomorphic, zoomorphic and even anthropomorphic ones being part of the natural environment. In the project descriptions artists declared simple functions – from the role of shelter protecting from atmospheric influences, through observatories, to places for meditation. Some artists emphasized the possible role of the shelter as a refuge for forest fauna as well. The vast majority of authors proposed natural and biodegradable materials. Thus, such objects with assumed limited durability have entered the field of ephemeral art.     In the summing up part of the article, conclusions have been formulated regarding both the creative permeation of artistic and architectural ideas in such an experimental form, as well as the undertaking of important contemporary problems in the artistic confrontation, regarding the state of the natural environment and the presence of man in it.

Keywords:

    nature-art

    ephemeral-art

    architectural-composition

    theory-of-architecture

    ecology

Jerzy Olek - Extracting out of context

doi:10.37190/arc190313

This article is aiming to investigate how well-known photographers portray the architecture of modernism. The author discusses different attitudes and visualizations, which can be found at exhibitions presenting objects created in the 1920s and 1930s. The author is not interested in classical documentation but in creative photography, in images whose character springs from their individually understood minimalist form. Going back in time, he shows how this form was born in Bauhaus and Constructivism, and how, differently, it was used by artists associated with the Neue Sachlichkeit. Against this background, he shows examples of the latest approaches.

Keywords:

    photography

    architecture

    bauhaus

    neue-sachlichkeit

    modernism

    minimalism

    simplicity

    archilim

Editorial Board - Unveiling of a commemorative plaque dedicated to Professor Edmund Małachowicz – honorary member of ICOMOS

doi:10.37190/arc190314

The article contains information on the commemorative plaque dedicated to Professor Edmund Małachowicz. The Professor’s person was presented and the initiative to commemorate his merits and the ceremony of unveiling the plaque were described.

Keywords:

    edmund-małachowicz

    wrocław

    cathedral

    icomos