Though the assigned readings by
Udo Kultermann were insightful and revealing in conceptual reasoning for
international World Expositions, Dr. Bob Rydell (professor of history at
Montana State University) and his seemingly instinctual presentation on World
Expo history was far more knowledgeable (in my opinion). Dr. Rydell knew not only the reasoning for
the exposition locations based upon historic settings, but also the conceptual
backgrounds resulting in the momentous structures that remain primary icons for
individual expo congregations. Expo
after expo, he effortlessly explained the power struggles of government régimes
and economic hardships that justified structural and aesthetic integrity of
fair designs. One of his examples of
historic influence on expo architecture stuck out stronger than the rest (for myself
that is); the power struggle of the 1937 Paris Art and Technology
Exposition. At this time in history, the
soviet Russians and Nazi Germans were at an economic standoff so to speak.
This frustration toward one
another fueled many iconic decisions to demean one nation over the other, but more
importantly in relation to this post, the visual narcissism of the German and
Russian pavilions seen facing off one another in the 1937 Expo below were great
examples of iconic superiority.
Note that the German Pavilion was a bit higher than
the USSR Pavilion. The story goes
that the Germans stole the Russian architectural plans and upon seeing them,
German architect Albert Speer added another ten or twenty meters onto the
height his German Pavilion in order to provoke the idea that it 'looked down'
on the Russians. The roof top,
containing the German eagle, also included an observation deck so that all may
also look below to the Russian structure. As if being ‘looked down’ upon wasn’t enough,
German photographers such as Hoffmann would strategically shoot photos of the German
pavilion to either hide or crop the Russian pavilion, or to exaggerate its
towering size over the Russian pavilion.
This story was ultimately what led to my final
project decision for the semester. We
are to portray the future of architecture…that is all. We may choose any medium in how we may represent
our predictions as well as select any point in time down the road. For some time now I have wanted to make my
best attempt in writing and illustrating a graphic novel; though my writing
skills may not be up to par, I felt this was a great excuse to pursue my idea,
not to mention give me a reason to relax and draw for a change. School work seems to prevent such
hobbies. Below are my rough drafts for
the first chapter of the novel I have come to call “Dreamweaver.”
The architectural future in which I am portraying
takes place not far from now in 2036.
Between now and ’36, a uniform government oversees all nations as one,
but unfortunately this only lasts one year before it begins to crumble. The reason for its demise, project
Dreamweaver. This is a device that
allows users to view ideas and dreams lost in their minds fog as any number of
high resolution mediums. This in turn
manifests the idea of “perfect creativity.”
With this machine, artists may see the painting in their head perfectly,
architects may view flawless floor plans and models, musicians may hear the
perfect song all without the interference of mental fog, but only those with
the right connections and deep enough pockets can ever dream of using the machine. Creative perfections begin to generate in and
closely around the area of the Dreamweaver; this creates jealousy amongst the
former geographical nations. They
believe that their plot of land should be allowed to create perfections as well
due to the fact that the world is but one nation. “Equal rights to use” movements cause mass
riots and ultimately start a global rebellion.
During this time frame, formerly geographically determined nations
attempt to out-create manifestations of the machine. This is what has led to my depictions of
massive “Brutalism” style architecture.
The idea of iconic superiority fuels the former nations to out-build one
another in hopes to prove that they are the most worthy of Dreamweaver
use.
Again these are only the drafts for the first
chapter. More writing and graphics are
needed, and critical feedback is encouraged.
Please leave comments below of ideas or thoughts that may assist in
making my graphic novel a decent work of art and literature. I am inspiring to perfect this story at some
point in time as an impressive addition to my collegiate portfolio, so again
please leave constructive feedback.
Nice link bw the Rydell lecture and your exploration Dan. It does help to ground your project through precedent. One way to strengthen the story line would perhaps be to really think through this relationship bw creativity and collective identity. It is a very different vision of a similar scenario as New Babylon, but one that focuses on the inherent competitive human instinct. In New Babylon there is the recognition of conflict, an embracing of it, and in your scheme you are saying that this competition preserves an age-old link between collective identity and iconic architecture. Something along these lines would help ground the narrative I reckon.
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