Bernard Rudofsky (April 19, 1905 – March 12, 1988)[1] was a Moravian writer, architect, collector, teacher, designer and social historian. Among his most notable works we can mention Architecture without architects: a brief introduction to those not-understood in architecture, published in 1964.
Training and teaching
Rudofsky earned a doctorate in architecture in Austria before working in Germany, Italy and a dozen other countries. In Italy he married the Austrian textile artist Berta Rudofsky. He settled temporarily in Brazil in the 1930s and opened an architectural studio there, building several notable residences in São Paulo. An entry in a 1941 design competition brought him an invitation from MoMA to tour the United States.
After Pearl Harbor, as a native of Austria, he was given the option to stay in the United States. He remained in New York City until his death, although he continued to travel (sometimes for years). Rudofsky taught variously at Yale, MIT, Cooper-Hewitt, Waseda University in Tokyo, and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He was a distinguished Ford, Fulbright and Guggenheim scholar.
Influence
Rudofsky was the most influential thinker in organizing a series of controversial MoMA exhibitions in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is best remembered today for a series of urban planning books that still provide a relevant design perspective hidden in entertaining subversive sarcasm. His interests ranged from vernacular architecture to Japanese toilets and sandal design. Taken together, their written work constitutes a sustained argument for humane and responsive design.
Publications and books.
In "Architecture Without Architects",[2] Rudofsky states that "The history of architecture, as written and taught in the Western world, has never been concerned with more than a few select cultures." It attempts to break down our limited idea of this field and briefly introduce the reader to the vast and wise world of "informal architecture" (vernacular, indigenous and often anonymous). The lessons taught in this world are very useful to humanity, especially in relation to the environmental crisis the world is now facing.
Critical informal architecture
Introduction
Bernard Rudofsky (April 19, 1905 – March 12, 1988)[1] was a Moravian writer, architect, collector, teacher, designer and social historian. Among his most notable works we can mention Architecture without architects: a brief introduction to those not-understood in architecture, published in 1964.
Training and teaching
Rudofsky earned a doctorate in architecture in Austria before working in Germany, Italy and a dozen other countries. In Italy he married the Austrian textile artist Berta Rudofsky. He settled temporarily in Brazil in the 1930s and opened an architectural studio there, building several notable residences in São Paulo. An entry in a 1941 design competition brought him an invitation from MoMA to tour the United States.
After Pearl Harbor, as a native of Austria, he was given the option to stay in the United States. He remained in New York City until his death, although he continued to travel (sometimes for years). Rudofsky taught variously at Yale, MIT, Cooper-Hewitt, Waseda University in Tokyo, and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He was a distinguished Ford, Fulbright and Guggenheim scholar.
Influence
Rudofsky was the most influential thinker in organizing a series of controversial MoMA exhibitions in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is best remembered today for a series of urban planning books that still provide a relevant design perspective hidden in entertaining subversive sarcasm. His interests ranged from vernacular architecture to Japanese toilets and sandal design. Taken together, their written work constitutes a sustained argument for humane and responsive design.
Publications and books.
In "Architecture Without Architects",[2] Rudofsky states that "The history of architecture, as written and taught in the Western world, has never been concerned with more than a few select cultures." It attempts to break down our limited idea of this field and briefly introduce the reader to the vast and wise world of "informal architecture" (vernacular, indigenous and often anonymous). The lessons taught in this world are very useful to humanity, especially in relation to the environmental crisis the world is now facing.
Another notable work, Now I Lay Me Down to Eat, is an entertaining tour of historical and cultural alternatives to the design problems of everyday life: eating, sleeping, sitting, cleaning and bathing, and was not intended to propagate dangerous heresies or undermine our birthright to make the worst of possible options. On the contrary, he demonstrates by random examples that life can be less boring than we make it." By contrasting current Western design solutions with past practices, he makes our current "solutions" seem open to improvement, if not completely ridiculous and arbitrary. For example, he asks why the standard American-style toilet is effectively a septic humidifier, and why adults cannot lie in American-style bathtubs and, as a matter of routine, are permanently fixed within two or three feet of distance from a septic humidifier.
In 1944, Rudofsky and his wife Berta were guests at Black Mountain College for two weeks. Bernard gave two lectures on the sad state of clothing design, calling contemporary clothing "anachronistic, irrational, impractical and harmful" and literally inadequate. One of his lectures was called "How can people expect to have good architecture when they wear those clothes?", and he advocated for the introduction of the use of sandals in the United States.[3].
In his book Are Clothes Modern? Rudofsky talked about his vision of contemporary clothing. Together with his wife Berta, Rudofsky worked to promote a comfortable universal lifestyle through his clothing designs. He was against the fashion trend of sticking fragile feet into what he considered personal torture devices masked by colorful leather patterns and seductively shaped heels. Rudofsky addressed the problem with the design of his Bernardo sandals (1946–1964). He considered sandals as liberating footwear that transcends conventionality and ever-changing fashions.[4].
In 1986, Peter Noever, editor-in-chief of the architectural magazine "UMRISS" dedicated a special issue (1/86) to Bernard Rudofsky under the title "Return to Life" / "Umkehr zum Wohnen", in addition to a comprehensive presentation of Rudofsky's key architectural projects. At the same time, this issue contains an interview conducted by Peter Noever in the summer of 1985 at the architect's house in Nerja, Andalusia/Spain. This and its large-scale exhibition in Vienna represent one of his last authentic documents.
Bernard Rudofsky Seminar: Critical disobedience to modernity
It was the first worldwide seminar on the artist organized in October 2013 by the José Guerrero Center of Granada, in collaboration with the Provincial Council and the Ministry of Culture, with three-day sessions, to publicize the work and figure of Rudofsky and discuss traditional architecture.[5].
Yolanda Romero, the director of the José Guerrero Center, says: "Among the objectives of the seminar is to contribute to the protection of popular historical heritage. The architect, in the 60s, already denounced how he was being subjected to tremendous attacks," Romero clarifies. "In his book Architecture without architectss, there are photographs that reflect this concept, such as images of the caves of Guadix to the popular squares and streets of our country. Rudofsky was one of the first voices to claim the importance of popular architecture, impregnated with a great depth of values, compared to the designs to which we are accustomed. The artist spoke that one of the great things about what is popular is that it is not fashionable. And therein lies one of its great values."[3].
Frigiliana's house
Rudofsky built La Casa in Frigiliana (Málaga) in 1971 to put into practice his admiration for the popular, to spend the summer with his wife, Berta. The house was built in the foothills of the Almijara mountain range, very close to that of his friends Roxane and José Guerrero, and is considered his ideological and vital testament. According to a critic of the time: Rudofsky despised the old custom of felling trees and leveling the land but was careful to maintain the rural character of the landscapeand rejected all the suburban features so appreciated by foreigners: false lawns, flower beds and herbaceous hedges; arches, gates, fences and walls.[6] The House is based on a series of autonomous volumes intertwined by interior and exterior patios, pergolas and terraces that, adapted to the levels of the land, respect the presence of pine trees, olive trees and carob trees.[7].
Luis Fernández-Galiano says of it: "Built with sober naturalness on a ridge three kilometers from the coast, and spread out on the land with pergolas and porches, what he called La Casa lacked a telephone, radio or television, but in exchange it housed works by a plethora of artist and architect friends, from Calder or Christo to the Eames or Le Corbusier. “I made it with summer in mind," Rudofsky wrote to the sculptor. "[8].
In 2011 the property was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest "Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain)") (BIC) by the Ministry of Culture.[5].
Most important books
• - Are Clothes Modern? (1944).
• - Behind the Picture Window (1955).
• - Japan: Book Design Yesterday (1962).
• - Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-pedigreed Architecture (1964).
• - The Kimono Mind: An Informal Guide to Japan and the Japanese (Charles E. Tuttle, 1965).
• - Streets for People: A Primer for Americans (1969).
• - The Unfashionable Human Body (1971).
• - The Prodigious Builders: Notes Toward a Natural History of Architecture with Special Regard to those Species that are Traditionally Neglected or Downright Ignored (1977).
• - Now I Lay Me Down to Eat: Notes and Footnotes on the Lost Art of Living (1980).
• - Sparta/Sybaris (1987), edited by Peter Noever/MAK.
Publications by other authors about Rudofsky
• - Bernard Rudofsky: A Humane Designer (2003), Guarneri, Andrea Bocco, Springer-Verlag, Wien, ISBN 3-211-83719-13-211-83719-1.
• - Lessons from Bernard Rudofsky: Life As A Voyage (2007), edited by Platzer, Monika, Birkhauser Verlag AG, Basel, Switzerland, ISBN 978-3-7643-8360-2978-3-7643-8360-2.
• - Bernard Rudofsky Architect (2016), Rossi, Ugo, Clean Edizioni, Napoli, ISBN 978-88-8497-527-0978-88-8497-527-0.
Exhibitions
• - Sparta/Sybaris. There is no Bauweise. Eine neue Lebensweise tut No. Curated by Peter Noever/MAK, 1987/88.
• - The Bernard Rudofsky Estate Vienna | rudofsky.org.
• - Bernard Rudofsky papers, Getty Research Institute.
Another notable work, Now I Lay Me Down to Eat, is an entertaining tour of historical and cultural alternatives to the design problems of everyday life: eating, sleeping, sitting, cleaning and bathing, and was not intended to propagate dangerous heresies or undermine our birthright to make the worst of possible options. On the contrary, he demonstrates by random examples that life can be less boring than we make it." By contrasting current Western design solutions with past practices, he makes our current "solutions" seem open to improvement, if not completely ridiculous and arbitrary. For example, he asks why the standard American-style toilet is effectively a septic humidifier, and why adults cannot lie in American-style bathtubs and, as a matter of routine, are permanently fixed within two or three feet of distance from a septic humidifier.
In 1944, Rudofsky and his wife Berta were guests at Black Mountain College for two weeks. Bernard gave two lectures on the sad state of clothing design, calling contemporary clothing "anachronistic, irrational, impractical and harmful" and literally inadequate. One of his lectures was called "How can people expect to have good architecture when they wear those clothes?", and he advocated for the introduction of the use of sandals in the United States.[3].
In his book Are Clothes Modern? Rudofsky talked about his vision of contemporary clothing. Together with his wife Berta, Rudofsky worked to promote a comfortable universal lifestyle through his clothing designs. He was against the fashion trend of sticking fragile feet into what he considered personal torture devices masked by colorful leather patterns and seductively shaped heels. Rudofsky addressed the problem with the design of his Bernardo sandals (1946–1964). He considered sandals as liberating footwear that transcends conventionality and ever-changing fashions.[4].
In 1986, Peter Noever, editor-in-chief of the architectural magazine "UMRISS" dedicated a special issue (1/86) to Bernard Rudofsky under the title "Return to Life" / "Umkehr zum Wohnen", in addition to a comprehensive presentation of Rudofsky's key architectural projects. At the same time, this issue contains an interview conducted by Peter Noever in the summer of 1985 at the architect's house in Nerja, Andalusia/Spain. This and its large-scale exhibition in Vienna represent one of his last authentic documents.
Bernard Rudofsky Seminar: Critical disobedience to modernity
It was the first worldwide seminar on the artist organized in October 2013 by the José Guerrero Center of Granada, in collaboration with the Provincial Council and the Ministry of Culture, with three-day sessions, to publicize the work and figure of Rudofsky and discuss traditional architecture.[5].
Yolanda Romero, the director of the José Guerrero Center, says: "Among the objectives of the seminar is to contribute to the protection of popular historical heritage. The architect, in the 60s, already denounced how he was being subjected to tremendous attacks," Romero clarifies. "In his book Architecture without architectss, there are photographs that reflect this concept, such as images of the caves of Guadix to the popular squares and streets of our country. Rudofsky was one of the first voices to claim the importance of popular architecture, impregnated with a great depth of values, compared to the designs to which we are accustomed. The artist spoke that one of the great things about what is popular is that it is not fashionable. And therein lies one of its great values."[3].
Frigiliana's house
Rudofsky built La Casa in Frigiliana (Málaga) in 1971 to put into practice his admiration for the popular, to spend the summer with his wife, Berta. The house was built in the foothills of the Almijara mountain range, very close to that of his friends Roxane and José Guerrero, and is considered his ideological and vital testament. According to a critic of the time: Rudofsky despised the old custom of felling trees and leveling the land but was careful to maintain the rural character of the landscapeand rejected all the suburban features so appreciated by foreigners: false lawns, flower beds and herbaceous hedges; arches, gates, fences and walls.[6] The House is based on a series of autonomous volumes intertwined by interior and exterior patios, pergolas and terraces that, adapted to the levels of the land, respect the presence of pine trees, olive trees and carob trees.[7].
Luis Fernández-Galiano says of it: "Built with sober naturalness on a ridge three kilometers from the coast, and spread out on the land with pergolas and porches, what he called La Casa lacked a telephone, radio or television, but in exchange it housed works by a plethora of artist and architect friends, from Calder or Christo to the Eames or Le Corbusier. “I made it with summer in mind," Rudofsky wrote to the sculptor. "[8].
In 2011 the property was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest "Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain)") (BIC) by the Ministry of Culture.[5].
Most important books
• - Are Clothes Modern? (1944).
• - Behind the Picture Window (1955).
• - Japan: Book Design Yesterday (1962).
• - Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-pedigreed Architecture (1964).
• - The Kimono Mind: An Informal Guide to Japan and the Japanese (Charles E. Tuttle, 1965).
• - Streets for People: A Primer for Americans (1969).
• - The Unfashionable Human Body (1971).
• - The Prodigious Builders: Notes Toward a Natural History of Architecture with Special Regard to those Species that are Traditionally Neglected or Downright Ignored (1977).
• - Now I Lay Me Down to Eat: Notes and Footnotes on the Lost Art of Living (1980).
• - Sparta/Sybaris (1987), edited by Peter Noever/MAK.
Publications by other authors about Rudofsky
• - Bernard Rudofsky: A Humane Designer (2003), Guarneri, Andrea Bocco, Springer-Verlag, Wien, ISBN 3-211-83719-13-211-83719-1.
• - Lessons from Bernard Rudofsky: Life As A Voyage (2007), edited by Platzer, Monika, Birkhauser Verlag AG, Basel, Switzerland, ISBN 978-3-7643-8360-2978-3-7643-8360-2.
• - Bernard Rudofsky Architect (2016), Rossi, Ugo, Clean Edizioni, Napoli, ISBN 978-88-8497-527-0978-88-8497-527-0.
Exhibitions
• - Sparta/Sybaris. There is no Bauweise. Eine neue Lebensweise tut No. Curated by Peter Noever/MAK, 1987/88.
• - The Bernard Rudofsky Estate Vienna | rudofsky.org.
• - Bernard Rudofsky papers, Getty Research Institute.