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  • 01 - Gray - Eileen - Badovici - Jean - Maison en Bord de Mer in L'Architecture Vivante

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    01 - Gray - Eileen - Badovici - Jean - Maison en Bord de Mer in L'Architecture Vivante

    Uploaded by

    Titouan Bazou

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 9
    Appendix IV Architecture Vivante (winter 1929) From Eelecticism to Doubt = Don’ you far that this return to fundamertals. this 9- tematic smplifcation that seems to dictate moder art, wil ‘only end by grounding ths art in general, and architecture in particular in purely theoretical pursuit that is too intelectual to satay the demands of both our minds and our bodies? ‘The human being isnot 2 pure intellect And when ane sees these large buildings with smooth lines and especialy these interiors, where everything seems to derive from strict and cold calculations, one must ask whether people could be sated living in such a place. You are right This return to essential elements this emmanck- pation from al that was inessental responded to a need. It is necessary to liberate oneself from such oppression in order to experience freedom anew. But this sate of intellectual coldness that we have reached, which corresponds only t00 well to the harsh laws of madern mechanization. can be no more than a passing phase, We must rediscaver the human being in plastic expression the human intention that undertis material appearance and the pathos of ths modem le, which has intially been expressed iy in algebraic terms ~To what pathos are you refering? —To the pathos thats inseparable from all eal lite ~ In short, you mean to rediscover emotion Yes, but a purfled emation that can be expressed in a thousand ways. It not necessary to return to old comples- ‘ies Sometimes all that is required isthe choice of a beautiful material worked with sincere simply tis necessary to reconstruct an ideal that sable to satis the mast general modern consciousness while guarding aginst all excesses, but withour neglecting individual pleasures. ~ So you advocate a return to feelings to emotional! ~Yes but once again to an emotion thats purified by knowlexige and enriched by ideas and does not exclude the knowledge and appreciation of scientific achievernents. is Eileen Gray and Jean Badovic," Maison en bord de mer" (House by the Sea), only necessary to demand of artists that they be of theitime. —You intend that they be of their own era and express it —Yes, without artifice of any kind The work of beauty Is ‘more genuine than the artist. ~ Bur hw can one express an era and, above alone the ‘ours that is s0 fll of contradictions, where the past survives in so many respects and where, on the other hand, one sees such extreme points of view? = Every work of artis symbolic It conveys, it suggests the eseential more than representing it tis up to arts to find, in this mutitude of contradictory factors, those that const- “ute the intelectual and emotive framework of man as both an individual and a social being (Do you think that inspiration will ever sufce for such a task? ~ Its life its the meaning of Hl, that provides inspiration. ‘but inspiration and faith can no longer provide knowledge as complex as that required today ~ knowledge ofthe condi tions of existence, of human tastes and aspirations, passions and needs, as wel as technical knowledge and material means —You demand that the architect have a universal mind? ~ Almost! But the essential thing fs that he understand the meaning of each thing that he know how to remain straight- forward and sensible, without neglecting ary means of expression. The most diverse materials wil be useful to him in turn, and he will be able to express what he wants of the life around him through the judicious use of new materials as much as through the architectural structure itself —There is a word that you have not mentioned but is. implicit in your discussion: that is unity. For it seems evident that. just as much as the elements of construction, this dver- sity of inspirational factors would only lead to chaotic dsor- deri the architect did not direct them explicitly toward a ‘common goal ~ Indeed, strictly speaking there is no architectural creation that is not an onganic unity But, athough such unity was formerly completely external it is now a question of making it internal as well including the srallest details, [=] But could so systematic a unity be reconciled with that diversty of which you spoke earlier? — Evidently! itis by interpreting the desires, passions, and tastes ofthe individual that one wil best interpret socal ie and collective order Artis founded upon habitude, but not ‘Upon the fleeting or artificial habits that give rise to fashion, ‘The object should be given a form that's most suited to the spontaneous gesture or instinctive reflex that corresponds to its purpose, — Aren't you afraid that the material life will thus overwhelm the spiritual? —The public has already reacted against such a misinterpre- tation and brought swift justice to it The introduction of ‘camping furniture, deck chairs, and folding furniture into room intended for rest or work is ust such an excess. No ‘more intimacy, no more atmosphere! Everything has been simplified to death. Simplicity does nat folow from simplifca- tion, particularly such crude simplification. Formulas are noth ing life is everything, And life is simuitaneously mind and heart. = In short, you want to react against fashionable formulas by returning to the past. — No, on the contrary, | want to develop these formulas and push them to the point where they reestablish contact with We, to enrich them and incorporate realty within their abstraction. Artis not just the expression of abstract relation- ships it must also encapsulate the most tangible relations, the ‘most intimate needs of subjective life. In adition to inspiration, genuine scientific experimentation is needed 10 sustain it. —You want architecture to be a symphony in which all inner forms of ife are expressed. ~ Exactly Init dream and reality wil find equal support ~ Decoration could be a powerful aid in this, — Architecture must be its own decoration. The play oflines and colors should respond so precisely to the needs of the interior atmosphere that ll detached paintings or pictures would seem not only useless, but detrimental to the overall harmony. ~ Isnt that what so-called avant-garde architecture sought to accomplish? = Ina sense, yes, but in one sense only. For the avant-garde, architectural creation must be self-sufficient with no consider- ation for the atmosphere that the inner lf cals for: It is a creation of proportions that are sometimes inteligent, but

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