Additional materials are being held on Reserve in both the Art & Architecture and Meyer libraries for the duration of the visit of Peter Eisenman.
BY PETER EISENMAN
Peter Eisenman Text Anthology -- Extracts from three essays and one interview introduce Eisenman's thoughts regarding: 1) the possible relationship between philosophy and architecture; 2) the metaphysics of shelter in contemporary society; 3) the role of indexicality in the subversion of iconicity and indexicality; and 4) the drawn grid as icon and index in architecture. All cited works are on Reserve.
Project Descriptions and Gallery -- This section provides project statements and images for seven competitions, projects, or finished buildings. Included are: 1) Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, New York, New York (1997-In Progress); 2) Bibliothèque de L'IHUEI, Library for the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland (1996-In Progress); 3) Church of the Year 2000, Rome, Italy (1996); 4) Emory Center for the Arts, Atlanta, Georgia (1991); 5) Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio (1989-1993); 6) Aronoff Center for Design and Art, Cincinnati, Ohio (1988-1996); and 7) Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio (1983-1989).
"Architect's materials: Johnson, Gehry and Eisenman make their choices" -- Extract of an interview with Eisenman on materials and architecture, from Abitare Online , number 348, Feb. 1996. ©1996, Editrice Abitare Segesta spa.
Peter Eisenman Vita and Biography -- Outlines education, honors, and awards.
EXCERPTS FROM CRITICAL TEXTS
Critical Texts Anthology -- Excerpts from four essays examine specific aspects of Eisenman's work: 1) Sanford Kwinter on the nature of the Eisenmanian practice; 2) Rosalind Krauss on the role of opposition in House X; 3) Alejandro Zdaera-Polo on the role of the field in defining object; and 4) Kenneth Frampton on the move of the Biocentrum project away from the re-invention of site towards a "speaking" architecture of figuration that transcends representation. All cited works are on Reserve.
Cities of Artificial Excavation: The work of Peter Eisenman, 1978-1988. By Jean-Francois Bedard, editor. Montreal: Centre Canadien d'Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1994 -- A book review by Henri Achten of this exhibition catalog from the Canadian Centre for Architecture includes excerpts from eight catalog essays. Courtesy LAVA.
CRITICAL COMMENTARIES
Peter Eisenman's Realist Architecture. By Hans Morgenthaler. Morgenthaler portrays Eisenman as a "realist" architect. In this case, "realist" refers to Eisenman's effort to base architectural design on linguistic, narrational, or spatial realities, realities which are drawn from both sensory and intellectual experience.
The Architectural Strategies of Peter Eisenman. By Chris Pearson. Pearson views Eisenman's theorizing as part of a strategy to obfuscate and intimidate a potentially critical audience. Such attempts should, Pearson suggests, challenge us to engage both Eisenman's and our own attitudes towards the possibilities that the practice of architecture may offer.
Day to Day in the Aronoff Center. By Jane Carlin & Adrienne Varady. Carlin and Varady work every day in the Aronoff Center, the home of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, University of Cincinnati. They view Eisenman's building as innovative and inspirational.
"Fixing a Hole": A Commentary on the Architecture of Peter Eisenman. By Richard Joncas. Although it is not uncommon for an architect to base architectural design upon certain theoretical precepts in an attempt to have structure reveal a certain conceptual intent, Joncas suggests that Eisenman's linkage of theory and architecture scales new heights, "making it difficult even for the expert to understand or appreciate their relationship unless Eisenman reveals it."
