Sibyl Moholy-Nagy : architecture, modernism and its discontents / Hilde Heynen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heynen, Hilde, author.

Series:

Bloomsbury studies in modern architecture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl, 1903-1971--Criticism and interpretation.

Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl.

Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl, 1903-1971.

Architectural criticism.

Feminism and architecture.

Modern movement (Architecture).

Criticism and interpretation.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xvi, 265 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York, NY : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2019.

Summary:

A major voice in the architectural culture of the fifties and sixties, Sibyl Moholy-Nagy was uniquely engaged with modernism and modernity. As the wife and collaborator of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, she was expected to provide him with the material that was crucial for his modernist mission, whilst trying to carve out her own subjectivity as a writer. As an architectural critic she was one of the early voices articulating doubts about the path modernist architecture was taking, demystifying the myths of the masters, Mies, Le Corbusier and Gropius, and questioning their heroic, masculinist approach. This book analyzes the significance of the life and work of Moholy-Nagy and explores the paradoxical aspects of the relationship between modernism and feminism. Published as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture series, which brings to light the work of significant yet overlooked figures in modernism, it is both an examination of her work and legacy, and also a study on the roles of gender and of the changing nature of modernism in its trajectory from Europe to America. Drawing on personal papers, diaries, letters and lecture notes, as well as personal interviews with relatives, colleagues and students, this study brings to light the significance of the life and work of a remarkable woman.

Contents:

1 Life Trajectory p. 11

Family background p. 11

In search of a profession p. 15

Establishing a family p. 18

Migration: London and Chicago p. 23

The Harvard manuscript and Children's Children p. 28

Moholy's widow p. 33

Becoming a professor p. 37

A critic feared and admired p. 39

2 Vernacular Architecture and the Uses of the Past p. 53

Opting for architectural history p. 54

The vernacular: Between academia and banality p. 56

Documenting vernacular architecture p. 58

The vernacular as counter-image for the modern p. 66

Native, anonymous, vernacular, primitive p. 70

Double critique p. 75

The future of the past p. 78

3 Modernism and the Forces of History p. 91

Moholy's intellectual legacy p. 93

The Cold War setting p. 97

Architecture - art or design? p. 104

Modern architecture in South America p. 109

Considering the masters p. 114

American architecture coming of age p. 121

4 The Great City and its Civic Culture p. 135

Urban planning in Latin America p. 136

Neighbourhoods, housing and public buildings p. 140

The four environments of man p. 144

Matrix of Man p. 148

In defence of architecture p. 156

The urban condition p. 159

5 Teaching as a Vocation p. 173

Teaching architectural history p. 174

The role and relevance of architectural history p. 178

A beachcomber of history p. 183

A nation in an uncanny mood p. 190

Crisis at Pratt p. 195

6 A Controversial Figure p. 207

Alliances and controversies p. 208

Matriarchy and motherhood p. 214

Feminism and modernism p. 221

Sibyl Moholy-Nagy: A forgotten intellectual? p. 227.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781350094116

1350094110

OCLC:

1100451759

Publisher Number:

15819162