HISTORY OF ART 282: Modern Architecture SCHEDULE
Prof. David B. Brownlee dbrownle@mail.sas Spring 1997
Ms. Heather Grossman hgrossma@mail.sas
OFFICE HOURS: Brownlee (Mons. 3-5, Thurs. 3-5, in Jaffe 210; please make
appointments in advance at the History of Art office or by calling
573.9702). Grossman (tba, in Jaffe B-8).
Lecture Section for the week
J 13 Introduction DISCUSSION: 19th
15 Engineering in the later 19th century century themes
17 Louis Sullivan and the skyscraper
* 20 The Arts and Crafts Movement DISCUSSION: Sullivan
22 Frank Lloyd Wright to 1909 and writing about
24 -- architecture
27 Art Nouveau: Horta, Van de Velde, Guimard EXCURSION: PMA
29 Voysey, Mackintosh, Berlage, Gaudi fin-de-siècle
31 Fine Arts Library orientation decorative arts
F 3 Vienna: Wagner, Olbrich, Hoffmann, Loos DISCUSSION:
5 Behrens, the Werkbund, and early Gropius Wright and Loos
7 --
10 Garnier and Perret none
12 --
14 Futurism and Expressionism
17 Le Corbusier to 1930 DISCUSSION: Towards a
* 19 Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus New Architecture
21 --
24 Holland and the USSR DISCUSSION:
26 America and the "International Style" review
28 MID-TERM EXAMINATION
M 3 Twentieth-century classicism EXCURSION:
5 Art Deco Benjamin Franklin 7 --
Parkway
17 Mies van der Rohe in Europe; Alvar Aalto EXCURSION:
19 Frank Lloyd Wright: The Middle Period Philadelphia
21 -- Skyscrapers
24 Le Corbusier: 1930-1965 SUNDAY EXCURSION:
26 Frank Lloyd Wright: Usonia Wright's Beth Sholom
28 --
31 Gropius and Mies in America; Philip Johnson none
A 2 Britain after World War II
4 --
7 Louis I. Kahn EXCURSION:
9 -- Erdman Hall
11 Saarinen, Rudolph, Roche, Pei
14 Venturi and Moore DISCUSSION: Learning
16 Greys and whites From Las Vegas
18 --
* 21 The presence of the past none
23 East and West, North and South (Review section TBA)
25 After the twentieth century
* Papers due on these dates; see separate assignment sheets.
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HISTORY OF ART 282: Modern Architecture READINGS
Prof. David B. Brownlee Spring 1997
Readings for the week beginning:
J 13 Pevsner 19-39, 118-147; Curtis 21-51; Scully 103-112; Sullivan 28-31,
42-48, 202-213; Benton no. 1
20 Pevsner 40-67; Scully 112-134; Curtis 87-97, 113-129; Blake 285-341;
Conrads 13, 18, 25; Wright 55-73; Benton nos. 3, 17
27 Pevsner 68-117, 148-178; Curtis 53-71; Benton nos. 7, 8, 9, 15, 31
F 3 Pevsner 179-217; Curtis 99-111; Conrads 19-24, 26-31; Benton nos.
11, 24, 25, 26, 28
10 Curtis 73-85, 131-147; Conrads 32-38, 54-55, 57-58, 63, 72-73;
Benton nos. 29, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39, 48
17 Curtis 163-199, 275-285; Blake 1-70; Conrads 49-53, 89-97; Benton nos.
36, 42, 59, 60, 61, 62, 74, 94, 99, 116; Le Corbusier complete
24 Curtis 149-159, 201-215, 241-273; Conrads 39-40, 56, 64-67, 78-80,
87-88, 109-113, 121-122; Benton nos. 40, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51,
55, 78, 100, 103, 106, 111
M 3 Curtis 217-239, 287-303, 351-369; Scully 134-155; Benton 108,
112, 124
17 Curtis 305-349, 453-469; Blake 71-164, 342-378; Conrads 74-75,
81-82, 102, 123; Benton nos. 30, 80, 85, 92
24 Curtis 371-391, 417-451; Scully 156-179; Blake 167-228, 379-412;
Conrads 124-125, 137-145
31 Curtis 395-415, 471-489, 529-545; Scully 180-196; Blake 229-284;
Conrads 154
A 7 Curtis 513-527; Scully 196-229; Conrads 169-170
14 Curtis 547-565, 589-613; Scully 229-255; Venturi 87-163
21 Curtis 491-511, 567-587, 617-689; Scully 257-293
NB. 1. Most of the assigned books are to be read in toto. You may
well prefer to read them straight through rather than in the jumbled way
outlined above, which seeks to align the readings as completely as
possible with the lectures.
2. Assignments for Blake are based on the paperback edition.
3. Assignments for Benton are by excerpt number, not page.
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HISTORY OF ART 282: Modern Architecture BOOK LIST
Prof. David B. Brownlee Spring 1997
Tim and Charlotte Benton. Architecture and Design, 1890-1939: An
International Anthology of Original Articles. New York: Whitney Library
of Design, 1975.
*Peter Blake. The Master Builders. New York: Norton, 1976.
*Ulrich Conrads. Programs and Manifestoes on 20th-century Architecture.
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1975.
*William Curtis. Modern Architecture Since 1900. 3rd edition.
New York: Prentice Hall, 1996.
*Le Corbusier. Towards a New Architecture. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1986.
*Nikolaus Pevsner. Pioneers of Modern Design. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1975.
*Vincent Scully. American Architecture and Urbanism. New York: Henry Holt,
1988.
*Louis Sullivan. Kindergarten Chats. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1979.
*Robert Venturi, et al. Learning from Las Vegas. Revised edition.
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1977.
Frank Lloyd Wright. "The Art and Craft of the Machine," [1901] in Writings
and Buildings, Edgar Kaufmann and Ben Raeburn (eds.) New York: Horizon,
1960. Pp. 55-73.
All books are on reserve at the Fischer Fine Arts Library in the Furness
Building. Those marked with an asterisk are available for purchase at
the Pennsylvania Book Center, 3726 Walnut Street.
Consult the READINGS sheet for weekly page assignments.
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HISTORY OF ART 282: Modern Architecture FIRST PAPER
Prof. David B. Brownlee
Spring 1997
A short paper (no more than two double-spaced, typed pages) is due in
class on Monday, January 20. It will not be graded, but it must be
completed in order to receive credit for the course.
The subject of the paper is the street facade of the ISI building (3501
Market Street) by Robert Venturi. Although we will later discuss the
historical context of this building, that is not what you should worry
about now. Concentrate instead on the visual forms that the architect
has created in order to communicate his ideas. Look at the building
carefully, define its effects on the viewer, and then try to explain how
Venturi has created them.
This should not be seen as an exercise in description, and if you find
yourself writing long paragraphs about details that don't seem to go
anywhere, you are probably being too descriptive. Naturally, you will
have to pay close attention to the materials out of which the building is
made and how they are shaped and assembled to make a design, but you must
always be sure that you use that kind of analysis in support of
generalizations and conclusions. In other words, while you will surely
write about some of the building's details, you must seek to explain why
they have been shaped as they are.
You may also want to think of this as an analysis of Venturi's skill in
solving visual "problems." Once he had decided what he wanted to "say"
in this space, he had to figure out how to do so. That posed a series of
challenges, and what you see is his response to them.
The quality of your prose should receive as much attention as the content
of this paper. If you have trouble writing, you will want to review this
paper carefully with Ms. Grossman after it is returned to you. If you've
never heard about the Writing Center, ask us for details.
Don't worry if this is the first time you've had to do this kind of
exercise; it's just a matter of getting your feet wet.
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HISTORY OF ART 282: Modern Architecture PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Professor David Brownlee Spring 1997
PROPOSALS ARE DUE AT 11 A.M., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE AT 11 A.M., MONDAY, APRIL 21
Note that this is a two-part assignment, requiring both a
research proposal and a research paper.
Proposal In order to assign each student a unique topic and to
insure the timely commencement of research, you must submit a research
proposal of ca. 6 pages. This should identify the major historical
questions raised by each of three possible topic architects and review
the research resources (i.e. bibliography) for each. Rank them according
to your preference. You will be assigned one of these architects.
Research paper The assigned architect will be the subject a
research paper of about 15 pages. Your paper must establish two things:
(1) our present understanding of the historical significance of the
architect, and (2) the way our understanding of his or her historical
significance has changed over the years. In other words, you must write
a paper that acknowledges that history is not an objective science--that
our perception of things changes over time. You should try to explain
the way that changing ideas about architecture in general have changed
the interpretations of your particular building.
In conducting your research, you will need to use all of your
ingenuity. Begin with the assigned texts, but get to know the reference
section of the Fine Arts Library like the back of your hand. In addition
to the biographical dictionaries and specialized bibliographies that live
there, you should take note of the Avery Obituary Index (NA 40 A87 1980)
and the Avery Index of Architectural Periodicals (Z 5945 C649 1973). The
latter is also available on-line--ask how to use it, because it is much
more comprehensive when it comes to architecture than the on-line "Wilson
Index," which includes only the electronic version of the
painting-oriented Art Index. But remember, you will need to use the
paper version for older periodicals! Your survey of books should start
with these:
Banham, Reyner. Theory and Design in the First Machine Age. New York:
Praeger, 1960. UPFA reserve NA 680 B25 1960b
Benevolo, Leonardo. History of Modern Architecture. 2 vols. tr. H.J.
Landry. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press 1971. UPFA non circ. NA 642 B413
1971b
Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture: A Critical History. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1980. UPFA reserve NA 500 F75
Hitchcock, Henry-Russell. Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth
Centuries. 3d ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968. UPFA non circ. NA
642 H45 1968
_________. Modern Architecture, Romanticism and Re-integration. New
York: Payson and Clarke, 1929. UPFA locked case NA 500 H5
Hitchcock, Henry-Russell and Philip Johnson. The International Style.
[1932] 2d ed. New York: Norton: 1966. UPFA reserve NA 680 H5 1966
Scully, Vincent. Modern Architecture. New York: Braziller, 1960. UPFA
reserve 724.91 Scu64
Remember, not all of the books and journals that you will need to
consult will be available at Penn. Learn how to use interlibrary loan,
and put in your orders early. Your inability to find a critically
important publication will not be accepted as an excuse for not using
it!
Please treat all library resources gently and with respect. If
humanly possible, do not charge books out; leave even open shelf books in
the library, where others can use them. Book vandals will be treated
savagely.
Plagiarism is a very serious and complicated matter. You are
expected to know the rules, so ask when in doubt. The consequences are
very severe, and my own views on this matter are particularly strong.
Possible topics
Note that none began his or her career after ca. 1960, to make sure that
enough time has elapsed for there to be some history.
Philip Webb Richard Norman Shaw
Charles R. Ashbee Louis Sullivan
William le Baron Jenney John Root
Gustave Eiffel Ferdinand Dutert
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Otto Wagner
Josef Hoffmann Adolf Loos
Edwin L. Lutyens Charles and Henry Greene
Bernard Maybeck C.F.A. Voysey
Victor Horta Henry van de Velde
Hector Guimard Antoni Gaudi
Tony Garnier Auguste Perret
Albert Kahn Peter Behrens
Hans Poelzig Hans Scharoun
Erich Mendelsohn Antonio Sant'Elia
Bruno Taut Alexander and Victor Vesnin
Konstantin Melnikov Ivan Leonidov
El Lissitzky Vladimir Tatlin
Michel de Klerk Piet Kramer
Ragnar Östberg Eliel Saarinen
Erik Gunnar Asplund Alvar Aalto
Joze Plecnik Daniel Burnham
Julia Morgan Paul Cret
John Russell Pope Albert Speer
Josef Maria Olbrich Irving Gill
Richard Neutra George Howe
Rudolph Schindler Gerrit Rietveld
J. J. P. Oud Ernst May
Mart Stam Marcel Breuer
Berthold Lubetkin Giuseppe Terragni
Eileen Gray Arthur Loomis Harmon
Raymond Hood Norman Bel Geddes
Joseph Urban Robert Van Alen
Ivan Leonidov Oscar Niemeyer
Pierre Chareau John Portman
Philip Johnson Louis I. Kahn
Kenzo Tange Charles Eames
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill