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Alex Wall, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), The Pleasure of Architecture, 1983. Poster based on competition drawings for Parc de la Villette, Paris, 1982–83. Color screen print on paper, 30 11/16 x 20 3/16". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. © OMA.
Alex Wall, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), The Pleasure of Architecture, 1983. Poster based on competition drawings for Parc de la Villette, Paris, 1982–83. Color screen print on paper, 30 11/16 x 20 3/16". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. © OMA.
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Peter Wilson, Paradise Bridge, 1986. Plan, section, and isometric projection for unbuilt project. Color screen print on paper, 31 7/16 x 23 11/16". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
Peter Wilson, Paradise Bridge, 1986. Plan, section, and isometric projection for unbuilt project. Color screen print on paper, 31 7/16 x 23 11/16". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
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Lebbeus Woods, Center for New Technology, Montage 1, 1985. Marker ink and technical pen and ink with graphite underdrawing and printed collage on Paus or Mylar mounted to paper board, 27 x 17 1/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
Lebbeus Woods, Center for New Technology, Montage 1, 1985. Marker ink and technical pen and ink with graphite underdrawing and printed collage on Paus or Mylar mounted to paper board, 27 x 17 1/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
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Frank Gehry, Goldwyn-Hollywood Library, 1983. Sketch for built project. Pen and ink on paper, 10 5/8 x 8 1/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. Courtesy of Frank Gehry.
Frank Gehry, Goldwyn-Hollywood Library, 1983. Sketch for built project. Pen and ink on paper, 10 5/8 x 8 1/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. Courtesy of Frank Gehry.
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John Hejduk, Victims, 1986. Taxonomy of structures. Black and red felt-tip pen and ink on lined notebook paper, 10 7/8 x 8 1/2". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
John Hejduk, Victims, 1986. Taxonomy of structures. Black and red felt-tip pen and ink on lined notebook paper, 10 7/8 x 8 1/2". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
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Bernard Tschumi, #4 K Series, 1985. Study for La Case Vide: La Villette, Folio VIII, 1985. Photostat with hand-applied enamel paint, 16 15/16 x 17". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
Bernard Tschumi, #4 K Series, 1985. Study for La Case Vide: La Villette, Folio VIII, 1985. Photostat with hand-applied enamel paint, 16 15/16 x 17". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
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Zaha Hadid, The World (89 Degrees), 1984. Aerial view; compilation of projects to date. Print with hand-applied acrylic and wash on paper, 27 1/2 x 22 5/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.
Zaha Hadid, The World (89 Degrees), 1984. Aerial view; compilation of projects to date. Print with hand-applied acrylic and wash on paper, 27 1/2 x 22 5/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.
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Mary Miss, study for Untitled, Bedford Square, London, 1987. Isometric projection. Technical pen and ink and graphite on vellum paper, 18 11/16 x 24". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
Mary Miss, study for Untitled, Bedford Square, London, 1987. Isometric projection. Technical pen and ink and graphite on vellum paper, 18 11/16 x 24". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
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Daniel Libeskind, V – Horizontal, from the series Chamber Works: Architectural Meditations on Themes from Heraclitus, 1983. Screen print on BFK Rives paper, 22 3/8 x 30 1/16". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. © Daniel Libeskind.
Daniel Libeskind, V – Horizontal, from the series Chamber Works: Architectural Meditations on Themes from Heraclitus, 1983. Screen print on BFK Rives paper, 22 3/8 x 30 1/16". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive. © Daniel Libeskind.
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Coop Himmelblau, Super Spaces, c. 1969. Color photo-offset lithograph, 27 1/2 x 37 5/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
Coop Himmelblau, Super Spaces, c. 1969. Color photo-offset lithograph, 27 1/2 x 37 5/8". Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.
In the late 15th Century, the painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio had the honor of teaching the great masters Leonardo da Vinci, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Pietro Perugino before they embarked on their own independent careers. Over the course of their training, the elder artist hammered into those future masters’ heads the importance of disegno, or the art of drawing. In Renaissance Florence, one could not be a great painter or sculptor without firstmastering the art of drawing. Imagine sitting in the same room as these artists as they learned disegno, and envision the buzz of creative energy that surely sparked through the air as Verrocchio nurtured their creativity.
Interestingly, thanks to the new exhibition Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University, the visitor can experience a similarly fecund moment in the history of art, or in this case, architecture. Curated by Igor Marjanovic, associate professor of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, and Jan Howard, curator of prints, drawings, and photographs and curatorial chair at the exhibition’s second venue, Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design, During that time of transition in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the great Alvin Boyarsky held court in the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, mentoring some of the most influential architects of the last 30 years. Just as 500 years before, one can only imagine the excitement and optimism of these young architects before they set out on their illustrious careers.
The drawings and prints from Boyarsky’s personal collection of his former students’ work form the nucleus of the exhibition. While names like Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind appear, the exhibit includes far less famous but equally interesting architect-artists from around the globe. One facet that becomes obvious proceeding through the exhibit: this was a truly international school, featuring architects not just from the West, but from the Middle East and Japan. Not being wedded to a single cultural tradition allowed for a greater mix of influences. Likewise, the curators show modernist design ideals were increasingly becoming wedded to postmodern influences; historical references in some of the titles show that architecture was again looking to archetypes once forsaken by modernists.
Likewise, Drawing Ambience also captures the end of the centuries-old tradition, dating back to Verrocchio, of teaching architects (and all visual artists) the art of drawing before the advent of computer drafting into the field of architecture. The drawings and prints in the exhibition are not just computer print-outs, but rather works of art in their own right. From pen and ink drawings to color screen prints, the various pieces on display demonstrate that the architects involved are not just architects, but talented two-dimensional artists as well. Meanwhile, the exhibition space seeks to create the feeling of actually standing next to these artists at critiques; large blown-up images show the architect-artists standing together in the Georgian-era rooms of the Architectural Association, poring over each others' compositions, bathed in sunlight.
Several works stand out among the collection on display. Frank Gehry’s pen and ink sketch of the Goldwyn-Hollywood Library shows an architect brainstorming in his studio. The drawing’s lines are quick and furtive, demonstrating how an idea for a building begins to take on its first physical forms, years away from actually taking concrete form, as the library emerges from the paper. Interestly, Leonardo was the first to pioneer these quick, freehand compositional sketches; generations later, his influence continues into the hand of Gehry.
In the next room, the Iraqi-British architect, Zaha Hadid, shows off her ouevre in the commanding and confident The World (89 Degrees), a print with hand-applied acrylic and wash on paper. Approaching her work from a distinctly non-Western standpoint, Hadid’s title alone seems to suggest she’s thumbing her nose at Western architecture’s long obsession with 90-degree right angles. Arranged around the composition, Hadid has placed her most important commissions, creating a sort of catalogue raisonné of her architecture. The genius of the print? At first glance, it appears as an almost abstract composition, but with more careful observation, Hadid’s buildings pop out of the seemingly arbitrary designs. There is something fun and exciting to experience in the revelation that a famous, hugely influential architect is also an accomplished printmaker.
It’s rare to see so many drawings by such an influential spectrum of late 20th-century architects in one place, and Drawing Ambience provides a unique opportunity to imagine how the group of upstarts—who would go on to such international prominence—may have influenced each other in the salons of the Architectural Association. Moments in time where great teachers such as Verrocchio or Boyarsky bring together a special cohort of young artists are rare. And for a few minutes, visitors can imagine themselves as participants in one of those historic moments.
Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association runs through January 4 at the Kemper Art Museum (1 Brookings Drive, 314- 935-4523, kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu). Museum hours are daily from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed–Mon, and 11 a.m.–8 p.m. on the first Friday of the month. Admission is free.
Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via e-mail at naffziger@gmail.com.
