A New Sculpturalism

Frank Gehry back in MOCA architecture show, coaxed by Thom Mayne”.
[Mike Boehm | latimes.com]

Dopo le polemiche – non ancora spente – sulla partecipazione di Gehry, la mostra A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture from Southern California sarà aperta (con un paio di settimane di ritardo sulla data prevista) dal 16 giugno al 16 settembre 2013 a The Geffen Contemporary di Los Angeles: gli ultimi 25 anni di architettura in Southern California, oltre 30 studi, 4 padiglioni realizzati ad hoc e molti elementi di esposizione al vero.

logo MOCA © moca.org

dal com. stampa: “The Museum of Contemporary Art presents A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture from Southern California, the first extensive, scholarly examination of the radical forms that have become prolific in Southern California architecture during the past twenty-five years. The exhibition begins by focusing on work from the mid-1980s, a period when postmodernism was waning and buildings by Frank Gehry, Franklin D. Israel, Thom Mayne, Michael Rotondi, and Eric Owen Moss were expanding the possibilities of form.
First identified by Charles Jencks as the L.A. School in the early 1990s, this loose cluster of practitioners evolved into a larger galaxy centered on common theoretical and technical approaches as well as Los Angeles’ unique urban landscape. The exhibition moves on to highlight the subsequent generations of expressive, experimental, and avant-garde architects in Los Angeles, while also exploring the influence of the city itself—its geography, schools, politics, and socioeconomic character—on their work. Celebrating the ideas, projects, and processes of major and emerging figures in contemporary Los Angeles architecture, the exhibition presents works by over thirty architectural firms based in Los Angeles […].
Presented at The Geffen Contemporary, whose signature space was created with Frank Gehry’s 1983 renovation and intended by the architect as a kind of active «arts studio», the exhibition aims to rethink how museums display architecture. A key concept for the show is that the visitor experience architecture primarily in its three-dimensional form with models, full-scale maquettes and full-size built structures. Also emphasized is the process of making architecture and how this has changed in the last twenty-five years.
In addition to showcasing a range of built work, four pavilions designed especially for the exhibition by younger and emerging Los Angeles firms will be presented. These structures will succinctly demonstrate that many of the earlier innovations that took place in the late 1970s and 1980s are still very much part of the dialogue in architecture today. It will also highlight the changes and advancements in digital technology that have allowed for the use of a plethora of new geometries and materials ”.

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Eric Owen Moss structure in Culver City California imagecredits photo by Walt Lockley PD