ARCHITECTURE: Hannah le Roux
HAVING exhausted the supply of design commissions for gallery walls in Johannesburg, architects are putting work up within them.
Last year’s exhibition of apartheid and space, (… setting apart) at the Gertrude Posel Gallery, introduced plans to the realm of the artefact and artwork; now, at the Standard Bank Gallery, in Three Architects: A Vision, the figure of the architect parallels that of the artist.
The approach of presenting architecture as the work of visionary individuals sets public comprehension of the profession back a bit, given that the conditions under which buildings are produced have changed somewhat since the days of Renaissance masters.
Architects have become great copiers of each other, work collectively as often as alone, and barely retain control of their projects in the case of most large
Nevertheless, this show presents a reassuringly nostalgic way to see the work of architects. This stems from its previous incarnation as individual shows accompanying annual lectures held in Bloemfontein between 1989 and 1991 in honour of the memory of Sophia Gray.
The lady honoured was a dilettante architect and wife of the bishop of Cape Town, who designed and supervised the building of 35 churches in styles from English Pattern Books in the former Cape, Natal, Orange Free State and Transkei between 1847 and 1856.
The three architects chose to present in the solo shows and lectures elements of their careers that pay tribute to the personality of Gray. Each display communicates an almost imperialist faith in the tradition of architecture, a grudging acknowledgement of local conditions, and a touch of self-righteousness — the architect in a missionary position.
Yet, despite this commonality of spirit, the three exhibitions do not work well together. Some good curation would have helped. The erratic styles of presentation could have been evened out; and imposed themes might have cut through the different scales of ambition and realisation that result in the juxtaposition of a bakelite teaset with plans for the redesign of District Six.
The teaset belongs to Mira Fassler-Kamstra who, disappointingly, did not design it; its presence apparently refers to the inspiration of the Bauhaus on architects of her father’s generation.
The connection with Fassler-Kamstra’s own work is opaque, as is that between the personal collage of scenes from her own life and the projects she has
Her most interesting material is hidden away in a timid presentation of the controversial redecoration of the Johannesburg City Hall. In her affinity for interior colour and space Fassler-Kamstra seems to be finding an outlet for her own feminine self-consciousness in rebellion against an overtly rational profession.
Pushed to the point of indulgence, the sensuous wealth of the swatches of fabrics and colours she has worked with may have constituted the kernel of an exploration of the repressed realms of architectural activity.
Gabriel Fagan presents a more reconciled view of his own achievements. He makes it clear that the practice of designing and restoring buildings should take place alongside the equally serious activities of riding a vintage Motor Guzzi, sailing yachts, arranging the family for interesting Christmas photos and playing musical instruments.
Fagan’s exhibit is appealingly anti-heroic: a cartoon for his corporate logo offers “Kaaps-Hollandsh Restourasies (asook ultra-moderne style). Gratis Advies oor Alle Sake”. He seems aware of the extent to which he has been claimed by a specific cultural circle.
The limits this patronage places on the architect emerge in the designs for student residences for Stellenbosch. Yet, at his best, in the designs of his own house and those for the Swanepoel family, Fagan shows the extraordinary talent that makes him one of the country’s few really original architects. Unfortunately the format of the project documentation fails to convey much of the textural quality of the buildings and their landscapes.
The exhibit of Roelof Uytenbogaardt is meticulously designed, and works. His practice has an impressive portfolio of projects ranging from tiny, almost hand- crafted beach houses to sweeping urban plans.
The work is shown more or less chronologically in numbered panels, with each project labelled, dated and illustrated in words and text. A subtext of referents and manifesto-style comments runs along the bases of each panel, conveying in an architectural shorthand an enormous amount of information about the architect’s own sense of position.
While the references may escape the plan-illiterate, Uytenbogaardt has compensated for this with a fine set of models, rough sketches and photographs of his buildings and urban designs.
The only shortcoming of the display is that the vision is not pitted against real contexts. Placing curatorial responsibility in the hands of the architect seldom allows a dialogue about individual intentions and the conditions of practice to emerge.
Architecture as a gallery subject needs to be treated with care if it is not to be bounded by the conventions of the presentations architects make for a closed circle of clients and colleagues. Architects do not simply make buildings, and the space of the exhibition has an enormous potential to articulate the activity between a vision and its realisation.
A mediation is required between the engagement of the public and the territory that is familiar to architects; a third space for architecture that could liberate it from the limits and vanities of its making.
Three Architects: A Vision runs at the Standard Bank Gallery until February 22