Kateřina Vincourová

Spaces of Desire: Is Architecture Sexy?

9. 8. 2016
Ladislav Zikmund Lender, Dan Merta, Filip Šenk
Jaroslav Fragner Gallery

 

Architecture cannot satisfy your wildest fantasies, but it may exceed the limits set by them.
Bernard Tschum

Only woman’s mood swings and ambitions are liable for the murder of material because an ornament in the woman’s service will live forever. (…) However, woman’s ornament virtually corresponds with savage’s ornament as it has an erotic meaning.
Adolf Loos

 

The exhibition presents, questions and interprets relations of sexuality, the construction of sexual and gender identities, architectonic space and architectonic production using modernistic and contemporary materials. The exhibition examines how gender roles, and sexual relations and stereotypes, in architecture materialize. The exhibition uses the story of 20th century architecture to illustrate how various sexualities and gender roles shaped architecture, space and the process of architectonic production, and how, vice versa, architecture and urbanism affect gender stereotypes in our society. Using varied examples of historical and contemporary architecture, curators illustrate how stereotypes projected into roles of men and women as well as heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals were created, printed and made present in specific spaces, and the way architects counted on visibility of human physicality. The intent of the exhibition is based on the conviction that sexual identification and sexual practice takes place in architectonic space. Stereotypes and a historical tradition of a patriarchal order had an extensive influence on creating male architect’s identity and his production as well as female architects and their production. Both in the 20th century and nowadays, we can see unintentional and intentional effort to vindicate the pattern and legitimize it on the one hand, and to violate, deconstruct and overcome it on the other hand. When using words is not enough the authors are helped by contemporary artists' reflection of related topics.

 

architects/

Jan Kaplický

Future Systems

Adolf Loos

Jean Nouvel

Norman Foster

Zaha Hadid

Oscar Niemeyer

Philip Johnson

Jan Kotěra

Hana Kučerová-Záveská

Coop Himmelb(l)au

Archigram

Václav Aulický

Eva Jiřičná

Chalupa architekti

Martin Gsandtner

Mjölk architekti

Atelier SAD

Kisho Kurokawa Architects

HŠH

Otto Wagner

Hans Hollein

Věra Machoninová

Karel Hubáček

Otakar Binar

Gian Carlo Maroni

 

artists/

Veronika Bromová

Andrea Fraser

Stano Filko

Pavel Karous

Lenka Klodová

Ilona Németh

Kateřina Vincourová

Haus-Rucker-Co

Jean de Ardoise

Jan Zrzavý