REVIEWS
Book Review
— Justin Loucks
An observation on how spatial ideas are translated
Ley, Aaron and Williamson Menking. Architecture on Display: On the History of the Venice Biennale of Architecture. London: AA Publications, 2010. Image: Courtesy of Architectural Association London.
How do we consume and experience architecture if we are not physically present within the space? “Architecture on Display” is a history book that teases out deeper philosophical questions like this in the context of the Venice Architecture Biennale. The Venice Biennale is one of, if not the preeminent, international exhibitions to showcase and archive the spectacle of world architecture, encompassing entries from over 93 nations and institutions. The two authors of the book, Aaron Ley and Williamson Menking, interviewed former directors of the Biennale, exposing its deep roots in Italian history and radical political vision. As the first Venice Biennale occurred in 1980, there was some urgency to consolidate this project, given the age of the original founders. This book is a must read if one has visited the Venice Biennale or is wishing to experience it one day.
My personal interests in the book’s contents derive from conversations about media and the format of architecture exhibitions. An exhibition is not presenting architecture; it is the architectural ideas that are on display! Architecture exhibitions are well suited to create a simulacrum of mood, emotion, and atmosphere of the architecture being referenced: the exhibition is in a physical space, albeit not the actual architectural space. Alternatively, a book on architecture is a non-physical space, a mental space. All formats of displaying content have a “raison d’être” with their particular affinities. Now when I visit an exhibition I ask myself, did it begin as a book? Would its content be better formatted as a book? How has the exhibition taken advantage of its physical space? Overall, “Architecture on Display” presents a strong historical foundation for the story of one of the worlds greatest institutions, while teasing at the theories of display and the qualities of the medium.
Look for this at The FOLD’s local Recommend Shelf at Shelf Life Books in Calgary.