Sulan Kolatan... was boring

So there was a lecture yesterday at The Art Institute of Chicago at the Fullerton Hall. Guest speaker Sulan Kolatan, who co-founded KOL/MAC LLC, is known for being "internationally acknowledged as a leader in digital architecture and technologically innovative design" or so they say... This event was sponsered by Architecture and Design of The Art Institute of Chicago & Chicago Women in Architecture.

Sulan Kolatan started off with a quote by Rem Koolhaus (if i remember correctly) it was something along the lines of "architect's projects became totally random because you're not constructing yourself." ...

My first thoughts on the overall lecture was... disappointing. Her work relied too much on digital renderings. It was all randomized by the computer and all of her work looked exactly the same. They all ended up becoming big fat blobs of a monstrosity called buildings. I understand that she was showing work from eight years ago till the present, but I feel as if there were no improvements throughout her work. Maybe her work was considered a "breakthrough" a decade ago, but it certainly isn't anymore. Besides, there have been many similar architects who have achieved what she was trying to do even without the help of technology.

Also the fact that it was partially called "Women in Architecture" was kind of baffling. Why couldn't it just be called "People in Architecture" or something simple like "Current Architects"... I don't know. Its not like feminism matterns anymore. We all know that we are all equal. It's true that males are more dominant in the Architecture field but it's just another occupation. There is no discrimination here. Not to be too offensive but the fact that it was called "Women in Architecture" and having been quite disappointed in her work made me more disappointed because it felt like she was representing every women in archtecture (which is clearly not true but just throwing it out there).

Anyway... another interesting thing was that usually lectures that are sponsered by SAIC or the AIC are emailed throughout the SAIC community... but I dont think I received any info about this lecture which was kind of sad. And it was also kind of disappointing when the Q&A part was cut short. What is the point of inviting guests for lectures when the audience (who are curious about their work) can't even ask questions. There were a total of only two questions answered out of the three that were asked. It wasn't The lecturer's fault but the person directing the lecture. I guess he was hungry or something...

Well there is another lecture next week at the AIC @ 6:00PM. This one will hopefully be more amusing than this one. A conversation between Bruce Mau & Kerry James Marshall. Hope to see you all there :)

Gordon Matta-Clark @ the MCA

Last week, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago) just for my enjoyment. To my surprise, there was a new show featuring Gordon Matta-Clark. I wasn't quite familiar with his work but I must say, he has some amazing work.

Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978) was an American artist known for his site-specific artworks he made in the 1970s and he is famous for "building cuts."

So basically, the show at the MCA consists of a bunch of photographs of these buildings that he "cut" into and I meant that in a literal sense. But the buildings that he modifies all have this beautiful aesthetic that makes the viewer intrigued. In the show, there were pieces of the actual buildings that he cut away from. It was like looking at a puzzle piece that was about the size of a car. Gordon Matta-Clark cut out shapes into a structure to let light enter where light couldnt possibly enter before. He would take photos of existing buildings and draw on them to study it's form before cutting away shapes. He also used methods such as cutting into stakcs of paper.

His work is very experimental but amazingly beautiful. If you get a chance, his show is a must see and its up until May 4!

first comes first

It's been a while since I've blogged anything about something so I guess this is a new beginning.

Hello, world.

The reason I start my blog is actually for a class called Issues in Contemporary Architecture & Design. I think its quite interesting that we need to have a blog to pass the class but I think it's a different approach to learning. Also, I think I'll learn a lot from my peers who also will be blogging against their free will...

Well, I hope all goes as planned.