AUTHENTIC GEMS AT MILAN FURNITURE FAIR

Some pieces of exhibited funiture - my favorite ones on account of their eccentricity - require an extra-visual clarification. Whatever you may think of it, this object is a CHAIR. You know, sometimes a chair is just a chair. Not this time. Maybe next time.

Evolution - a new furniture collection by Nacho Carbonell: “I wanted to make a seat where you could escape from everything…”

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“True” and “sincere” happiness as an impossible project?

DavidReport.com just released another bulletin – this time related to consumer culture: “The power of consumption is stopping us from finding true and sincere happiness […] Shopping often works as a substitute for something that we’re missing in life.” This regrettable situation seems to be gradually changing, though – according to the report. It is changing for the better. The trend analysts show that the principle “the one who has the most things when he dies wins” is weakening in its normative appeal. They note a change in attitude towards material things: “A suitable expression for the future could be ‘the one with most insight when he dies wins’.” What’s emerging then is a culture of mentality.

What’s missing in the report is that the civilization of insight that is allegedly setting in has its discontents, too. It has them already.

Adam Bateman creates his sculptures out of books – natural habitat for insights. His sculptural aggregations of insights – stuff produced by mentalities for mental consumption – make the recent art school graduate the winner in his life-time, if only perhaps formally. The question is: can we really find “true and sincere happiness” in this pile of insights? We can look. But it is sure not the only pile. This particular pile of mental output is comparatively small – of all the info-theoretical piles that are produced and delivered on a daily basis. And how about authentic insights? – the insights that are not predicated on the external information contained in books, periodicals, radio, tv broadcasts and what not, but somehow originate in the interior of our souls. In our souls? “The soul is the prison of the body…” My insight: Oh, crap! I am quoting dead Foucault… While DavidReport relies on a certain (not just any) statistical evidence…

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Architecture of the Absurd

Le Corbusier. Urban plan for Algiers. 1935. Pastel on paper. From MoMA collection.

Here is an audio interview with John Silber focusing on the main topic of his latest book, Architecture of the Absurd: How Genius Disfigured a Practical Art. It is noteworthy that the author is not an architect in a strict sense of the word. However, in the course of twenty-five years as president of Boston University he has been actively involved in reviewing proposed plans and models, choosing materials, and checking on progress on the construction sites (totaling 13 million square feet) making sure that the contractors execute the job properly. What he offers in his densely illustrated book is a general corrective criticism (perhaps a bit simplistic on a number of turns) of artistic architecture pointing to the fundamental problems of certain famous buildings from a user standpoint. Ever wondered why the Guggenheim is so often covered in scaffolding? Or why Frank Gehry’s impressionistic Stata Center, designed for a top-secret cryptography unit, has transparent glass walls? Silber peeks through the veneer of architectural “geniuses” to expose their sometimes willful disregard for their clients, their budgets, and the people who live or work inside their ostensibly wonderful creations. According to Silber, one of the most grotesque example of such disdain for cultural contexts and practical needs of the communities is Le Corbusier’s fantastic plan for Algiers, which called for the demolition of the entire city. The plan was rejected unanimously by the local council.

Listen in RealAudio. (79:57) Extension 720, WGN Radio.

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