Film and Architecture Festival (Prague)

[niminy-piminy]

today starts in Prague...
9TH EDITION
FILM AND ARCHITECTURE FESTIVAL
30. 9. – 7. 10. 2020
http://filmarchitektura.cz/en/

[niminy-piminy]

i just bought a ticket for tomorrow evening...

Online tour of a house by the MVRDV studio and screening of a documentary about building the city of Kemerovo

Warm up in MVRDV
An unexpected architectural performance gives the viewers a virutal peek inside a life of an architect in quarantine and takes them for an online guided tour of a building by the world-renowned studio MVRDV. Introducing Jord den Hollander, the architect and filmmaker as the main character.

Building amidst Solitude
As a musical opus, the film is composed of various archival footage taken in the 1920s during the construction of Kemerovo city. The story of building a completely new vision of the Dutch architects amidst the Siberian solitude opens many questions about social housing and dynamics of power.

Programme curator: Jord den Hollander (director of AFFR)

https://vimeo.com/239339779
https://letterboxd.com/film/bouwen-te-m ... nzaamheid/

Netherlands/ Russia 2017 | 56.00 min. | black/white |

Guided by political conviction and social consciousness architect Han van Loghem travelled to Siberia in the mid 1920s. The Soviet Union was in need of specialists to help design and construct entirely new cities in the Urals and Siberia, which were to become important mining and metallurgical centers. Filled with ideals and desire for adventures modern architects from West Europa left for the future workers' paradise.

'Building amidst solitude' reveals how for van Loghem the journey to Siberia was also a quest for personal and professional fulfillment, which in the Netherlands he felt he lacked. Van Loghem's personal quest had its repercussions on his marriage and his wife Berthe Neumeijer, who initially planned to stay in the Netherlands, followed him to Siberia in an attempt to save their marriage.

The text is entirely based on letters, lectures and a manuscript by Han van Loghem and Berthe Neumeijer. The image consists of archival footage and photos, mainly from Russian archives.

‘Building amidst solitude’ is a film by Pim Zwier, made in collaboration with the International Institute of Social History.

[niminy-piminy]

and on Monday evening gonna attend...

The latest film about a legend of modern architecture.

Alvar Aalto together with his wife, creative partner and architect Aino Aalto built an uneasy, yet important path towards modern architectural landscape. Iconic buildings with their organic shapes and natural materials came out of this warmhearted connection of mutual inspiration that we admire until today.

Finland, 2020, 59 min, dir. Virpi Suutari

https://youtu.be/sPkvliGQj54

AALTO is an enchanting documentary film journey into the life and work of one of the greatest modern architects Alvar Aalto. The film shares for the first time the intimate love story of Alvar and his architect wife Aino Aalto. It takes the viewer on a cinematic tour to their creative processes and iconic buildings all over the world.

[niminy-piminy]

for Friday evening i chose...

One of the pioneers of modernism was the architect and designer Eileen Gray, the woman behind the iconic E-1027 table and the exemplary functionalist villa on the French coast.

The film gradually uncovers her long-hidden story and offers a chance to get closer to her work, which might be familiar to many yet not attributed to this remarkable personality.

Great Britain, 2014, 76 min, dir. Marco Orsini
Introduction: Eva Slunečková, theoretician of design

https://youtu.be/e2zjZPhWoZY

two events above are taking place in regular cinema, but this one (with free entry) in Prague's C.A.M.P., the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning
https://www.praha.camp/en

it is the place with the longest screen in the city...

CAMP occupies a space of 300 sqm and is dominated by a 25-metre-long wall that serves as a projection screen.

tho films are usually screened in CAMP's little "amphitheatre"...

[niminy-piminy]

for Sunday evening i reserved (again for free in CAMP)...

"Natura Urbana: The Brachen of Berlin", Germany/United Kingdom, 2017, 72 min, dir. Matthew Gandy

The Berlin “Brachen” are unique urban spaces that grew out of the post-war debris, economic hardship and geopolitical division.

These ostentatiously empty spaces turned into laboratories for botanists, artists as well as common people searching for peace and quiet in the city hustle. Natura Urbana explores the quickly disappearing urban wilderness together with its spontaneously diverse flora that sheds light on the complex history of the German capital.

https://youtu.be/p-VHOrC5a9Q

[niminy-piminy]

and Tuesday evening (once more in CAMP)...

Tokyo Ride + Q&A with Bêka and Lemoine, France 2020, 90 min, dir. Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine

Extraordinary road trip by currently the most celebrated filmmakers of architecture will lead into the depths of the hustling city.

Behind the steering wheel of his vintage Alfa Romeo, the legendary architect Ryūe Nishizawa sets on a rather spontaneous personal journey following the inspiration in his hometown. As one of the founders of internationally acclaimed studio SANAA, Nishizawa is the man behind buildings with clean white exterior where he plays out complex architectural solutions, ambiguous and fresh with regard to space and light. Tokyo drift in the entangled streets gradually uncovers the roots of this unique architecture.

Czech premiere will be followed by a Q&A with directors Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine

https://youtu.be/2RllKgqsHJw

i watched several films by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine in the past (some of them as a part of previous editions of this film festival). all of them are very cool, but prolly my fav is also related to Japan (called "Moriyama San") and also related to Ruyi Nishizawa (he designed the house displayed in "Moriyama San") so i can't wait to see "Tokyo Ride".
https://youtu.be/Egr2BAdXZA4

[niminy-piminy]

resident of the Ruy Nishizawa house in "Moriyama San" doc is a fan of noise music. so a side-effect of watching this film was my subsequent preoccupation with playing over and over various Japanese noise music tunes and attendance of Otomo Yoshihide gig...



thus i am curious what unexpected side-effect "Tokyo Ride" might have.
Anyway.
Tha's all for now.
Plans for the immediate future are many.
Next days are gonna be bright!
(enlit with a lot of light, dropping on cinema screen in all-around darkness.)

[niminy-piminy]

oh, i forgot Saturday evening is still vacant.
so, on Sat eve in regular cinema (which makes the attendance in cinema vs. CAMP in perfect balance 3:3)...

"Architecture of Infinity", Switzerland, 2018, 86 min, dir. Christoph Schaub

„The space, which exists in our imagination, gives us a lot of freedom. Because we are re-creating it over and over again.“

This poetic film travels in the spiritual realm of architecture, music and visual arts together with Peter Zumthor, Peter Märkli, Álvaro Siza Vieira and James Turrell among others in search for the temporality of space and the infinity of architecture.

https://youtu.be/0tSzPKo-7ho

[niminy-piminy]

warming up for the evening's "Warm up in MVRDV"...

1/ my first encounter with MVRDV abbreviation was at the exhibition in Prague (2003) called "Hungry Box: the Endless Interiors of MVRDV"...
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/187/the-hungry-box

In 2002 MVRDV developed together with the Netherlands Architecture Institute The Hungry Box: the Endless Interiors of MVRDV. The exhibition consisted of 18 large curtains, printed with interior shots of MVRDV buildings, hanging back-to-back and parallel to one another. The eight successive interiors were accompanied by models and illuminated light boxes each highlighting a single project.

The exhibition presented nine key projects of MVRDV from the period 1997-2002 each illustrating the firm’s design ethos. The buildings of MVRDV are 'hungry boxes.' They have swallowed a large amount of complex information and compressed it into simple, orthogonal shapes. The result is an endless interior: the boxy buildings offer 'infinite' internal possibilities and contain a wide variety of interconnecting spaces.

i was flabbergasted by what i have seen and next successive weeks or months i was preoccupied investigating MVRDV's projects.
despite i was already a vegetarian, i remember thoroughly investigating their "Pig City"...
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/134/pig-city

2/ MVRDV is a global arch studio with its roots in Rotterdam (established in 1991). the main protagonists of MVRDV are Winny Maas (1958), Nathalie de Vries (1965), Jacob van Rijs (1964). Probably my fav MVRDV project is "Silodam"...
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/163/silodam

https://youtu.be/FmEufmB8B6E

3/ my latest encounter with MVRDV was attending (in recent past) presentation/lecture of Winy Maas in (the above-mentioned) CAMP. (the guy making the intro speech speaks Czech, but W.M. makes the presentation in English)...

https://youtu.be/OMnyV-o62B0

i remember, when he was speaking about their "Almere Floriade (2022)" project, i felt as if an extraterrestrial would be talking to a caveman about his possible future, as if someone coming via the star gate speaking about the life in another dimension, i felt there is still a gap between East and West, etc. etc. etc. (i can't wait to "DANCE GREEN" as in 2:15 below)...
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/23/almere-floriade-2022

https://youtu.be/G-mjCiRGKBM

he was also presenting a project for Prague and my previous feeling of the clash of civilizations became materialized. i am attending "Urban Talks" lecture series in CAMP quite often and the atmosphere is always peaceful and friendly. but this time during Q&A ppl living in the neighborhood of supposed MVRDV house started rioting. i considered the project nice and not revolutionary at all (in comparison to "Almere Floriade") but my fellow citizens were of the different opinion.

4/ now, as i was browsing through MVRDV's oeuvre again...
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects
catched my attention the following projects (which i didn't know so far)...

TIANJIN BINHAI LIBRARY
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/246/tianj ... ai-library
https://youtu.be/oQmoMi_M76Y

JARDINS DE DESCARTES
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/48/jardins-de-descartes


TOKYO FASHION HEADQUARTERS
https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/85/tokyo- ... adquarters

5/ i guess, i am ready (properly warmed-up & pre-cooked) to go to cinema within few hours.

[rischka]

this looks v cool jiri

[niminy-piminy]

this looks v cool jiri

i hope so

[niminy-piminy]

so, the screening took place in the cinema Světozor. i will elaborate on Světozor in some next post. for now, it has to be said Světozor has 3 screening halls, called "Big", "Small", "Third". today, i watched the film in "Third" which has approximately the same capacity as "Small" aka 50-60 ppl. today attended about 15 ppl.

1/ first part was not a film but footage recorded with a hand-held camera with Jord den Hollander (curator and co-founder of AFFR = Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, which starts next week), making the salut to the Prague's festival from his hometown of Amsterdam and then walking through the streets of Amsterdam. Randomly, he uttered remarks about various buildings and thus we proceed towards his own dwelling place (designed by MVRDV, the house was not yet specified). at one point it became clear we are heading towards Silodam (which i mentioned in the warm-up post as my fav MVRDV project). The moment i realized it is Silodam i almost stopped breathing for a second with excitement. he was slowly walking through the complex labyrinth of Silodam's corridors, was elaborating about the life in the house, until we reached the last floor, and he showed us his flat (which has the access to the roof of the house). his flat contains a lot of architectural models, but from cinephile pov the most noteworthy is the detail that among them is also a physical model of the following scene from Tati's "Playtime"...

(which makes me to think if i had some enterpreuner spirit i would start a business making physical models of various cinema scenes and shipping them to the cinephiles around the world. it seems, this is a hole in the market with a huge potential for monetization. unfortunately, i am a lazy slacker and thus someone else gets rich. anyway.)
then he elaborate why he chose for the second part of the evening the film by Pim Zwier...
https://letterboxd.com/film/bouwen-te-m ... nzaamheid/
about Han van Loghem...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_ ... van_Loghem

2/ second part was the film thoroughly compiled from archival footage, divided into episodes, with voiceover reading the letters of Han and his wife. i would say wife's letters prevailed and thus the film was a bit less about architecture than i expected. she had an eye for siberia's landscape, seasonal changes, flora, etc.
the archival footage starts on the building site of Betondorp in Amsterdam...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betondorp
then we are transferred to Siberia, to ultimately get back to Netherlands.
all from 1920s.

3/ after the film the girl who made the intro speech, made a videocall to Pim Zwier. but she made a crucial mistake of saying (before making the call) that she hopes most of the audience will stay for Q&A and will not leave right away. most of the audience however interpreted this remark contrary to the girl's intention (as permission to leave) and thus for the session with the director we stayed two of us (13 left!). i usually don't partake in Q&A but this time the pressure to partake was immense. i felt the unbearable responsibility to ask something, so the director would not think his film was in Prague attended by bunch of complete assholes. fortunately enough he saw in videocam only the host girl and not the near empty hall. so, i asked what was Han's perception of his Siberian episode in retrospect (not immediately after returning to Netherlands, but with about 5-10 yrs distance). if he perceived it as a boost to his career or vasted years. Han says in the film he was able to build in Siberia within 18 months more buildings than in Netherlands for 18 yrs. but he also constantly complained he had to cooperate with unskilled craftsmen, etc. etc. Pim responded that he has no clue, cuz the whole Han's archive was thrown into the garbage in 1940 (when Han died). the reason might have been that after nazis took over Netherlands, it might have been dangerous to keep the archive with a lot of materials related to Han's involvement in 1920s Soviet Union. but at the same time he said is known Han was not getting commissions after his return (in 1930s, prior the nazi occupation), cuz even his fellow countrymen were allegedly not very sympathetic to his Soviet Union adventure. he just made some lectures and wrote about his Siberian experience and everything available was used for the film. Allegedly, some Han's buildings are still existing in Siberia, but are in a very poor condition. ultimately the host girl asked Pim about his upcoming project and he said he got the access to some correspondence archive of ppl who were collecting bird's eggs (the ovologists) and he wants to make a film about this. somewhat analogous to the film about Han. microhistorical account based on the correspondence which provides certain specific elucidation of the big history.

[niminy-piminy]

today evening in CAMP (with better attendance than yesterday in cinema)...
https://letterboxd.com/film/gray-matters-2016/
about...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Gray
and...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Badovici
and also about Le Corbusier as a villain.

1/ first a host girl gave a lecture with slides about Eileen's Gray life and work. following are the noteworthy items EG designed...

dragon chair...


sirene chair...


portable modernist chair (i don't remember a specific label, if there was any?)...


non-conformist chair...


she also learned an ancient Japanesse?/Chinese? technique of lacquering wood (applying at least 20 layers of lacque) and designed several lacquered screens, f.e. Paravent "Le destin"...


2/ main architectural landmark of Eileen is a house with cryptic name E-1027
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-1027

The name of the house, E-1027, is a code of Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici, 'E' standing for Eileen, '10' Jean, '2' Badovici, '7' Gray. The encoded name was Eileen Gray's way of showing their relationship as lovers at the time when built.

but the lovers didn't share the love nest for a long, cuz a hero (JB) turned out to be a womanizer and heroine (EG) thus left the mansion rather soon; the house which they built either in mutual efforts, or with EG's prevailing involvement (i didn't grasp it clearly, but in any case EG contribution was crucial).

when EG was gone Le Corbusier (JB's friend) stepped in and urged JB he wants to make some murals in the house. JB agreed and LC painted few pieces on the walls of E-1027 which EG (after getting to know) responded with infuriation, considering LC's input as redundant visual smog. onwards LC started to refer to the E-1027 house as mutual work of JB & LC, completely omitting the legacy of EG. LC started obsessing about E-1027 so much that made his own summer house in neighborhood and ultimately died in front of the E-1027 (errect on the sea coast), while taking bath in the adjacent waves of the sea and getting a heart attack. thus as a voice in the doc said, "it was quite likely last building LC saw in his life was this house (he was so jealous of)" upon which most of the audience burst in laughter.

3/ all the above made me to recall reading...

where IX shares a similar experience with LC.

among the cinephiles, this motion picture is well-known...
https://youtu.be/hkQbs1ankQc

less known is the fact it was originally displayed inside this pavilion, designed by IX...

Poème électronique (1958) is one of the first comprehensive multimedia works which consistently uses the control of electroacoustic material’s motion in architectural space. This work was intended as a presentation for the Philips company based in Eindhoven and it was arranged by the three artists – Le Corbusier, Edgard Varèse a Iannis Xenakis.

"3 artist" — but LC intended to attribute it only to 2 (LC, EV, ommiting IX). LC was mainly involved in making visuals to EV music and the whole architectural design was carried by IX, but IX was an employer in LC's studio so LC didn't perceived as necessary to mention IX as an author. LC and IX got into an argument, LC stepped somewhat back and ultimately it is referred as the work of 3 (LC, EV, IX).

similar issue surrounds the following project...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte_Ma ... a_Tourette
"La Tourette monastery" was always my fav LC work, so i became quite perplexed while reading in IX's book the building was mostly designed by IX.
Despite LC himself was a creative genius without a doubt, seems like he had an issue with talented ppl in his entourage.
both, Iannis Xenakis and Eileen Gray, could elaborate!

[Holymanm]

i felt the unbearable responsibility to ask something, so the director would not think his film was in Prague attended by bunch of complete assholes. fortunately enough he saw in videocam only the host girl and not the near empty hall.

classic screening adventures...

[Holymanm]

[chairs, chairs, chairs, chairs, sceens]

Lovely stuff!!!

[niminy-piminy]

1/ going to cinema and in tram a young deaf-mute couple having a heated argument in sign language. screaming at each other laud in silent articulated gestures. has this something to do with my anticipation of "architecture of infinity"? (most likely not.)

2/ https://letterboxd.com/film/architecture-of-infinity/

How can structures, which take up defined, rigid portions of space, make us feel transcendence? How can chapels turn into places of introspection? How can walls grant boundless freedom?

3/while going to Světozor, at one point you can either (3.1) turn right and go to cashdesk, to the shop called "Terry's Socks", or "Third Room" (i was there in Thursday), or (3.2) turn left and go to "Big Room", or "Small Room" (the place i was heading today). thus i completely by-passed "Terry's Socks" shop which is sometimes referred also as "Terry's Posters" but only in English. in Czech it is always called "Terryho ponožky" (Terry's Socks) despite they mostly sell film posters. what was there first? chicken or egg? socks or posters? this is how František-Vláčil-theme socks look like...

did i right to post it here? isn't "František Vláčil Poll" thread more appropriate for this picture? aren't these socks too pointless to show at all? or on the contrary should i post also Věra-Chytilová-theme socks?...

maybe i would do much better, if i would skip elaborating on socks and instead would highlight they sell cool movie posters? but it is too late (i already elaborated on socks.)

4/ from intro speech...
4.1/ architecture is not a pile of building material.
4.2/ architecture provides spatial experience.
4.3/ spatial experience affects consciousness.
4.4/ spatial experience is formed already while aproaching the building (idealy from afar, making the pilgrimage).
4.5/ spatial experience has a pace (idealy slow).
4.6/ spatial experience is formed by interplay of light and darkness (shadow).
4.7/ spatial experience is formed by architecture's acoustic qualities.
4.8/ frame (architecture) can hint to infinity.
4.9/ phrases like this can be pilled up ad infinitum. (this particular phrase was actually not said in the intro speech (to be honest).)

5/ from the film...
5.1/ Bruder Klaus Field Chapel (Peter Zumthor)
https://www.archdaily.com/106352/bruder ... er-zumthor
5.2/ Kolumba Museum (Peter Zumthor)
https://www.archdaily.com/72192/kolumba ... er-zumthor
5.3/ Peter Märkli and Álvaro Siza Vieira speaking.
5.4/ James Turrell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Turrell
James Turrell's Roden Crater
https://youtu.be/g0g6JFYRKxQ
5.5/ Cristina Iglesias
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristina_Iglesias
or
http://cristinaiglesias.com/works/
f.e. "Submerged Rooms / Underwater Dwellings"
https://youtu.be/dJ4AzOp4LaY

[niminy-piminy]

BREAKING NEWS!!!!
CASH FOR A CRATER!
KANYE WEST (AND HE TRULY KNOWS THE SHIT!) SAYS "LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE!"
https://youtu.be/oeFVp-95eII

[niminy-piminy]

today in CAMP (thus without the dilemma, if to go left or right). seen not on the long screen (as the last time), but in the amphitheater...
https://letterboxd.com/film/natura-urba ... of-berlin/

the film was not about Berlin guerrilla gardening...

but about Berlin urban wilderness.

war gave birth to the wasteland. cold war provided the wasteland time to mature and grow up. highest biodiversity the wasteland usually reaches being about 15 yrs old. then biodiversity slightly declines, because without any intervention (which would preserve the meadows, or in sum the places where sun rays can reach the bottom, the soil) wasteland becomes dense forest (and some species are lost). triumph of the liberty and subsequent economic boom is wasteland's grave (wasteland's deadly enemies are politicians with a "positive vision", aided by architects).

a birch tree that emerges on its own is usually healthier and grows better, than a birch tree that is intentionally planted.

Natur-Park Südgelände
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natur-Par ... l%C3%A4nde
Park am Gleisdreieck
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_am_Gleisdreieck
Teufelsberg (a hill made of the world war's architectural debris)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teufelsberg

"Berlin School" doesn't exclusively hint to Angela Schanelec or Christian Petzold, but it might also refer to Herbert Sukopp, the founder of the "Berlin School of Urban Ecology".

[niminy-piminy]

today evening going to Světozor's "Big Hall", i.e. at the crucial point turning left.
i didn't mention yet that if you turn left (heading towards "Big Hall" or "Small Hall") and there is still some time left before the screening (which is usually not my case, cuz my specialty is last minute arrivals) you can sip a coffee in "Red Room"...


and if you think, "Bah, I already sipped coffee in "Red Room" in Vilnius"...
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/1 ... experience
then you can proceed few steps and sip coffee as if in "Shinning" hotel...


you can feel as if in a film ("Clockwork Orange", "Amelia", "Nikita", etc.) also on a toilet...

i would proly choose "Pianist"...

but this particular cabin is available only inside female toilet, so until unisex toilets will be introduced i am deprived of the opportunity to pee, or poo like a "Pianist".

btw. at work (currently i am employed in polygraphic industry) we have at disposal quite dirty showers. i am sure if there would be no showers, but bathtubs, then my coleagues from the Human Resources Unit would try to convince me, "Bathing as if in Gummo is an Employee Bonus!"...

[sally]

this thread is achingly sad. a city that has such a theatrical-cinematical program, a city that has public transport (trams) with strangers doing activities (sign language, sipping wine). it's like a dream from another planet that i can barely comprehend any more

carry on jiri

[niminy-piminy]

carry on jiri

If you Sally wonder how the spot where the crucial "Left-or-Right" decision making process is taking place, then it looks like this...

I am as if the figure in between the two red arrows. However, red arrow which is pointing to left is actually taking you right (in terms of the descriptions above) and vice versa, because you access the place from the other side (from the background) than is the pov of the pic.
("FALSE CLAIM", see ERRATA in the next post)

In the pink circle on the pic you can barely read OVOCNÝ SVĚTOZOR which means FRUIT SVĚTOZOR. Thus if you get stuck without having a clue if to proceed left or right to one of the halls of the cinema Světozor, you can always solve the dilemma by going to buy an ice cream or cake at Fruit Světozor. But it actually won't be completely dilemma-free either. You will have to decide if you wish "točenou zmrzlinu" (ice cream looking like a fluid poo) or "kopečkovou zmrzlinu" (ice cream looking like a solid poo)...


if you feel already fed up with all the dilemmas, then you are gonna pick "točenou zmrzlinu" cuz they sell only one kind (mix of banana and strawberry). but in case you feel like, "I still can decide once more," then Fruit Světozor offers various flavours of "kopečková zmrzlina".

i have to say i boycot their one of a kind točená zmrzlina lately. And the reason is as follows... one of my earliest childhood memories is being in Prague as an infant (my hometown was a small town in eastern Bohemia at that time) and tasting a superexquisite strawberry ice cream! i am 90 percent convinced it was from Fruit Světozor. But Fruit Světozor's policy changed over time and currently they offer only mix of strawberry and banana. i tried to by-pass this policy by asking only for plain strawberry (initially with success). But then it happened twice an ice cream operator refused to provide plain strawberry (it is proly less profitable than diluting the strawberry with banana). and thus i gave up. i felt it would be too awkward to try to explain to the ice cream operator that plain-strawberry-Fruit-Světozor-točená-zmrzlina is for me something like a Madeleine cake for Proust, that it is a sort of a time-machine bringing me back. Capitalism is so fucking cruel and dumb! (Tho life in socialist Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union satellite, was generally pretty stupid as well, i must admit based on my fragmental childhood flashbacks.)

[niminy-piminy]

ERRATA...

this is actually the decision making spot as seen from the other side of the passage. one enters the passage from the street and OVOCNÝ SVĚTOZOR is on your left (here on the pic on right).
on the pic in the post above the passage is seen from the decision making spot (from somewhat higher — OVOCNÝ SVĚTOZOR on the left exactly as it is when one enters from the street) and the figure with arrows is on the other side of the passage (than are the two entrances towards the cinema halls).
Sorry for a bit of confusion, but it is proly not the first, neither last confusing pic or claim one can encounter in this thread.

[niminy-piminy]

this thread is achingly sad.

from my pov this thread is achingly sad, cuz Prague (and sadly also any other Bohemian city) doesn't offer any (or near to zero) inscriptions in public space in Gill Sans or Johnston Type as it is pretty common in Britain and which made me feel comfortable during my stay on British Isles. Gill Sans and Johnston Type have great charm...
https://letterboxd.com/film/two-types-t ... f-britain/

[niminy-piminy]

and Prague sadly also doesn't have "John Soane Museum"...
https://www.soane.org/

i would trade John Soanne Museum for Prague Castle (or any other local landmark Britons would ask for in exchange)!

[MrCarmady]

Johnston is everywhere on the tube in London (and that museum is really fun!) but I think 2DM is from up North...

Eric Gill might be one of the most fucked up individuals whose work we engage with daily, whether we like it or not. Does the documentary mention that?

[niminy-piminy]

Johnston is everywhere on the tube in London (and that museum is really fun!) but I think 2DM is from up North...

Eric Gill might be one of the most fucked up individuals whose work we engage with daily, whether we like it or not. Does the documentary mention that?

i imagine Gill or Johnston or some derivation type is used all around Great Britain (in magazines or on book covers too), but it is maybe just my idealistic view of UK (and in reality outside of London Arial (or worse) prevails??? – tho in Canterbury i witnessed similar vibes in terms of type as in London, tho maybe it was just because i went there via railway which is also highly Gill-ed).


i watched about Gill also
https://www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/product/eric-gill/
and made some Gill reading, so not completely sure now if the unpalatable fact about Gill is mentioned in "Two ... Faces of Britain" (or i heard/read it in the other sources).

[niminy-piminy]

taking into consideration...

Proust's renowned attack on Sainte-Beuve's biographical method in criticism

and also Roland Barthes' theory of "death of the author"...


i guess, i can relish Gill Sans or many other works of art Gill made, despite his appalling personal traits.
and yes, i am aware it lacks consistency.

it is proly not the first, neither last confusing pic or claim one can encounter in this thread.

[niminy-piminy]

as i mentioned FRUIT SVĚTOZOR nuisance with strawberry ice cream being in due course of time diluted with banana and thus losing its potential to trigger flashbacks... and as i started to recollect on my UK visit alongside writing the previous posts... i have to say one more thing. while visiting Victoria Albert Museum i bought a carrot cake and ate first 1/3 in "Morris (Green) Room", middle 1/3 in "Gamble Room" and last 1/3 in "Poynter (Grill) Room". It was not an intentional intricate scheme i would have conceived in advance. One piece of carrot cake was just enough for me and i just wished to taste it in all the V&A dinning rooms (proly to investigate if spatial experience can alter your taste perception). if i would go back to London, i guess, i would wish to repeat the ritual which somehow emerged. and i am terrified by the idea V&A will stop selling carrot cakes, or will not allow moving with a single carrot cake throughout all the dinning rooms, or one of the dinning rooms will be closed due to its restoration, etc., etc., etc. i can imagine any shit can happen!

[niminy-piminy]

omg, they might even mix carrot with banana in the future to make a brand new carrot cake! rather to stop thinking about the future.

[niminy-piminy]

i became so immersed in contemplating all the possible disasters which might happen in V&A that i almost missed the film. i had to leave freshly cooked dinner on the stove (uneaten) and hurry to the cinema. also, i had to skip going the whole route slow by tram and to take faster underground. at one point i became somewhat doubtful if i switched the stove off before leaving, but i was rather convinced i did so. so, i proceeded without going back to verify. and my second thought was, "Hopefully, (even if i did forget to switch it off) the film will be worth of burning the house (i live in)!" i came 5 min late, but to my surprise, ppl were still standing in a long line waiting for the ticket check. and when i got inside of the "Big Hall" i was still waiting until all the ppl will enter inside and screening will finally start. this fresh new film (released in September 2020) was a real blockbuster!...
https://letterboxd.com/film/aalto-archi ... -emotions/

1/ intro speech was a general overview of the "organic architecture" (Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright being mentioned as its main representatives). however, wiki entry of the "organic architecture" doesn't mention AA and the AA entry doesn't mention "organicism" (Early career: nordic classicism, functionalism; Mid career: experimentation; Mature career: monumentalism).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_architecture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvar_Aalto
"Mid career: experimentation" is however...

characterized by irregular curved forms

so, ultimately there is some reconciliation between intro speech and wiki.

2/ from intro speech (3 chairs demonstrating the influence of AA — 1st and 3rd by Marcel Breuer, heir of the Bauhaus esthetics; 2nd by AA)...
2.1/ "Wassily Chair", designed by MB in 1925-1926 (in line of Bauhaus and functionalism, AA used this MB chair in his own house)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Chair
2.2/ "Paimio Chair", designed by AA in 1931–1932 (a mild organic antidote to excessive rationality of functionalism)...
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/92879
2.3/ "Isokon Long Chair", designed by MB in 1935-1936 (MB swallowing the AA antidote)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isokon_Long_Chair


3/ randomly from the film or from recollection about the film (without chronology or context connection)...

3.1/ early AA established close relations with the representatives of the "international style" and "functionalism" (especially with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and with theoretician Siegfried Giedion, CIAM's secretary-general)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internati ... hitecture)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congr%C3% ... re_Moderne
however, his version of the international style had nordic flavor (nordic classicism) and his functionalism had organic curves (organicism).
he was a man of ambivalence.

3.2/ he worked in close proximity with his first wife Aino and and second wife Elissa...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aino_Aalto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elissa_Aalto
both of them were architects and AA was proly incapable of having a non-architect wife. his approach to marriage was somewhat unorthodox. despite being devoted to his wife/wives (in film quoted Aino's and Alvar's correspondence) he had extramarital affairs and urged his wife/wives to do the same (if i understood right). after his first wife died of cancer, he somewhat shaped his second wife in the image of the first (he urged Elissa to change hairdo in Aino style).

3.3/ prior to this film, i had no clue he worked in a team with his wife/wives. it was/is not an unusual occurrence that a husband-architect took/takes all (or most of) the credit for their close collaboration (having a common arch studio), f.e.
1991 Pritzker Prize laureate is Robert Venturi (without his wife, architect Denise Scott Brown)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Scott_Brown
2012 laureate is Wang Shu (without his wife, architect Lu Wenyu)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Wenyu

3.4/ first firm manufacturing his furniture was "Finmar" (mostly shipping goods to London and destroyed during WW2 by bombing), second was "Artek"...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artek_(company)

3.5/ few times featured time-lapse shots of various plants from "Secrets of Nature" (British Pathé).

3.6/ dry lunaria displayed in a vase...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunaria_annua


3.7/ being asked what module he uses for his buildings, AA responded, "1 millimeter" (module of the "molecular level", module of "organicism"). as opposed to Le Corbusier's "Modulor" and other concepts of module suitable for industrial prefabrication...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulor

3.8/ noteworthy buildings (limited selection, my AA poll)...

Paimio Sanatorium
https://archeyes.com/paimio-sanatorium-alvar-aalto/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paimio_Sanatorium

Muuratsalo Experimental House (an experiment in building a house without foundation)
https://www.archdaily.com/214209/ad-cla ... lvar-aalto

MIT Baker House Dormitory
https://www.archdaily.com/61752/ad-clas ... lvar-aalto

3.9/ despite his early involvement (in 1920s-1930s) with avantgarde and modernism, in 1960s perceived (especially by youngsters in his native Finland) as a conservative element (a dinosaur). his response to this criticism was bitterness, seclusion, immersion in work and alcohol.

3.10/ AA designed several churches. during the display of one of them, there was a lady comparing her perception of the building with maxims of the "theology of doubt". it was very appealing to my non-foundationalist views, but searching for details after the film with no avail (there are some results, but none relevant to what was being expounded in the film as "theology of doubt").

3.11/ in 1920s-1930s smooth curvy organic shapes could serve as an antidote to inhuman formalism of machinism and funkcionalism. but in due course of time even the industrial manufacture of smooth curvy shapes became reality. smooth curvy "blobitecture", "parametric architecture" or "3d printed houses" display the same degree of inhuman formalism as the piles of funkcionalist orthogonal cubes of the past...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blobitecture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_design
so, what are gonna be the shapes of 21st century which will give the human/organic touch feeling when organic shapes are (seems like) lost for this purpose (being industrially 3d printable)? can praying to "crucifix fish" (sail catfish skull) be of any help in this regard (to get the answer or hint)?


4/ when i returned home, the house was not in flames and the dinner was still somewhat warm = THE HAPPY END!