Industrialism and the Genesis of Modern Architecture (via The Charnel-House)

Another brilliant post from Ross Wolfe and a continuation of the guest blog post at my site a week or so ago. Here he emphasises the link between modernism and industrialisation, and especially the influence of the machine and the techniques of Taylorism.

MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE — POSITIVE BASES (CONTINUED) The spatiotemporal properties of architecture that were developed by experiments in abstract art reached their highest expression in the work of Lissitzky and Moholy-Nagy.  Stepping back from our analysis of this development, however, we may witness a crucial conjuncture between the realm of abstract art and the other major positive basis for the existence of modernist architecture — industriali … Read More

via The Charnel-House

…much of which seems to confirm the Ellulian stance I blogged about a short while ago: according to Jacques Ellul, modernist art is either an imitation of technology or a compensation for technology.

Whilst Kandinsky’s treatise Concerning the Spiritual in Art could be seen as a compensation for technology (along with the appreciation of the Theosophy of both Kandinsky and Mondrian), the paintings often turn out to be an imitation of technology.

Ellul suggested that Kandinsky painted like a computer. I think that was unfair, but it is also a point that is difficult to argue against! I think that the same criticism (it was meant as a criticism) could be levelled at a lot of the painters I admire, and the practice I have adopted.

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My Interpretation of (an extract from) The Fetishism of Commodities by Karl Marx (via rhetorical pens)

I thought this was entertaining as well as enlightening. It’s a great example of of what you can achieve by combining text and pictures.

Marx with pictures! The Fetishism of Commodities – Karl Marx Click on the above link to download the power point. Here’s a sneak preview: … Read More

via rhetorical pens

It reminds me of those ‘Introducing…’ and ‘…for Beginners’ books from Readers and Writers and Icon Books

Could Rhetoricalpens ‘book’  be even better than those? (Rhetorical question, though if you want to answer it in comments please feel free.)