Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Architectural Criticism Translated


This comic was inspired in part by this great Opinionator column on architecture writing by Allison Arieff. As always, you can order a print at my poster shop. I sketched these strange and wonderful buildings on a spring afternoon in downtown Denver, Colorado. All four structures - the Denver Public Library, the old and new wings of the Denver Art Museum, and the new Clyfford Still Museum - sit within a convenient two-block radius. 

I consulted an architect (my twin brother Gavin) to check this comic for accuracy. After complaining that I should have drawn the third panel in an axonometric view, he assured me that the readings for his undergraduate architectural theory course were miserable - though the writing of Gio Ponti, who designed the building in the second panel, was actually pretty good.



5 comments:

  1. This is great! I don't know about the second one, though. Neoclassical architecture doesn't have crenelations, and definitely doesn't have random fenestration. The picture looks more like a medieval fortress.

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  2. Samuel: I think you're right, but the word "neoclassical" is just to good to pass up.

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  3. Nice architectural drawings. Kudos.

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  4. With some architecture, however, you're just at a loss for words...except for the obvious: "What was the architect thinking? Or does CAD not go well with two bottles of vodka?"

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  5. This comic about architectural criticism is so hilarious! It rings true specially for those who don't know how to appreciate art. I saw a pretty unconventional new home for sale a week ago and I heard my brother making a funny comment about it.

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