The new vision

Andrew Lambirth

Wednesday, 13th May 2009

Framing Modernism: Architecture and Photography in Italy 1926-65
Estorick Collection, until 21 June

Adrian Berg: Panoramic Watercolours
Friends Room, Royal Academy, until 11 June

Architecture exhibitions, as I’ve had occasion to note before, are not always the most visually exciting of events, principally because the experience of a building can only really be conveyed in front of it or inside it. Architectural models can be aesthetically pleasing quasi-sculptures, and plans or elevations can be beautiful drawings in their own right, but they are no substitute for the actual thing. The great stand-by in architectural exhibitions is the photograph, often a cunning shot of an interesting detail blown up to gigantic proportions to give a simulacrum of experiencing the building itself. In the case of the Estorick’s enjoyable new show, architecture and photography have been brought into absolute and uninterrupted conjunction in a display of more than 100 vintage photos from the RIBA library. These frame the development of Italian Modernist architecture in a fascinating way.

Photography has always been important to the practice and study of architecture, a powerful tool in the dissemination of ideas and an incomparable method of recording structures. The Modernist explosion in architecture created both unprecedented demand and opportunities for experiment. New styles of designing and building required equally inventive photography. Hence the emphasis on unusual angles and juxtapositions, fragments, shooting from above or below, or seeking out distortions and reflections; also a new interest in tectonics rather than just an easy concentration on façades. The way buildings were constructed, just as much as how they were presented, was fair game for photographers. The prevalence of dynamic girder and beam arrangements (in concrete and steel usually) and the increasing use of glass brought about a fruitful collaboration between architect and photographer. There was a sudden plenitude of subjects which offered scope for pictorial drama.

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