+ From: Architexturez <interface.services@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
+ Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:20:58 +0530
"The Lost Vanguard: Russian Modernist Architecture 1922-32," which runs
only at MoMA from Wednesday through Oct. 29, features little-known
facets of notable buildings that somehow escaped the wrecker's ball,
despite crumbling facades from years of neglect.
It demonstrates that unique Soviet architecture emerged from the 1917 Communist Revolution, leaving a stamp on cities before Stalin curbed the creativity and forced stultifying conformity on the nation.
The portraits by Pare, an English-born architectural photographer, stem from 10 years of excursions through the former Soviet Union to seek out remnants of these almost forgotten gems. Pare said his interest in Soviet architecture originates from his choir boy days at Canterbury Cathedral, where an Anglican priest known as the "Red Dean" gave sermons praising Soviet ideals.
cont'd....
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/18/arts/NA-A-E-Art-US-Lost-Vanguard.php
=============================================
Far more disconcerting is the savagery of post-Soviet capitalism, in which soaring real estate values have prompted developers to raze familiar landmarks to make way for ghastly malls and luxury apartments. Russia’s nascent preservationist movement lacks the financial resources or government support to block the demolitions. At the same time, buildings like Narkomfin have deteriorated to such an extent that they threaten to collapse under their own weight.
And sadly, the reverent regard that Western architects hold for these buildings is not necessarily matched by everyday Russians. Many of them are only too eager to brush aside architectural reminders of the Soviet era. The result threatens to be a collective amnesia that will permanently distort one of the most critical periods of modern architectural history.
The trend is exacerbated by a saccharine nostalgia for Disneyfied visions of pre-Revolutionary Russia, spawning ersatz reproductions of old churches, kitschy neo-Classical apartment houses and McMansions straight out of an episode of “The O.C.” Others can judge whether this is all a step forward for the new Russia, but it is impossible to defend in artistic terms.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/design/20vang.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
It demonstrates that unique Soviet architecture emerged from the 1917 Communist Revolution, leaving a stamp on cities before Stalin curbed the creativity and forced stultifying conformity on the nation.
The portraits by Pare, an English-born architectural photographer, stem from 10 years of excursions through the former Soviet Union to seek out remnants of these almost forgotten gems. Pare said his interest in Soviet architecture originates from his choir boy days at Canterbury Cathedral, where an Anglican priest known as the "Red Dean" gave sermons praising Soviet ideals.
cont'd....
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/18/arts/NA-A-E-Art-US-Lost-Vanguard.php
=============================================
Far more disconcerting is the savagery of post-Soviet capitalism, in which soaring real estate values have prompted developers to raze familiar landmarks to make way for ghastly malls and luxury apartments. Russia’s nascent preservationist movement lacks the financial resources or government support to block the demolitions. At the same time, buildings like Narkomfin have deteriorated to such an extent that they threaten to collapse under their own weight.
And sadly, the reverent regard that Western architects hold for these buildings is not necessarily matched by everyday Russians. Many of them are only too eager to brush aside architectural reminders of the Soviet era. The result threatens to be a collective amnesia that will permanently distort one of the most critical periods of modern architectural history.
The trend is exacerbated by a saccharine nostalgia for Disneyfied visions of pre-Revolutionary Russia, spawning ersatz reproductions of old churches, kitschy neo-Classical apartment houses and McMansions straight out of an episode of “The O.C.” Others can judge whether this is all a step forward for the new Russia, but it is impossible to defend in artistic terms.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/arts/design/20vang.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
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Partial thread listing:
- [in-enaction] exhibit (reviews): The Lost Vanguard: Russian Modernist Architecture 1922-32, Architexturez
- [in-enaction] exhibit: Sci-Fi Mecca: It's Where Fantasy Meets Architecture [US], Architexturez
- [in-enaction] exhibit: Spatial Installations (Asim Waqif), Anand Bhatt.
- [in-enaction] exhibit: superstars: Hombroich spaceplacelab, Architexturez.
- [in-enaction] exhibit: superstars: Hombroich spaceplacelab (cont'd), Architexturez.