In previous posts we looked at different works and projects at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, currently on in Venice. Yet, it is equally inspiring to look at previous editions of the event and spot intriguing inspirations in past installations.
For example, the 1st International Architecture Exhibition entered history for "Strada Novissima". Curated by the late architect Paolo Portoghesi, that Biennale revolved around an interesting theme, "The Presence of the Past".
"Strada Novissima" consisted in the recreation of a 70-metre-long street, incorporating 20 full-sized façades (built by Cinecittà workers) of buildings designed by 20 international architects. Among the others there were also, Ricardo Bofill, Frank O. Gehry, Arata Isozaki, Rem Koolhaas, Charles W. Moore, Paolo Portoghesi and Robert Venturi-Denis Scott Brown-John Rauch.
Each façade expressed the style and research of its architect and the final result was a street that reflected a plurality of voices and interpretations, but that also pointed at a sense of continuity that retraced the history of world architecture. Some were ironic, others scenic, a few of them became iconic.
Hans Hollein's project for "Strada Novissima", for instance, critically acclaimed as the most successful, had a distinctive postmodernist flair: Hollein wanted to integrate the columns of the Corderie with his colonnades showing the intrinsic evolution of this architectural feature. He did so by designing four different columns: one was a bushy tree cut into the shape of a column, like a topiary creation; another took inspiration from Philibert de l'Orme's 1567 drawing of a tree-shaped column.
Furthermore, the architect incorporated a reference to the hanging column fragment at Petra, which, in this case, held no structural purpose but served as an ornament. The fourth pillar showcased a design reminiscent of the renowned Chicago Herald Tribune column building, as envisioned by Adolf Loos for a 1922 competition (this pillar also cleverly played on the concept of a "newspaper column"). Spanning across the colonnade at the pediment level, an elegant neon blue arch gracefully united the composition, representing the essence of pop-modernity, so that the artwork seamlessly blended neoclassical space with a futuristic and irreverent twist.
There is a project that was designed before "Strada Novissima" and that recombined neoclassical moods with modernity - Charles Moore and Perez Architects's 1978 Piazza d'Italia in New Orleans.
Originally conceived as a tribute to Italian immigrants in New Orleans, the piazza featured a public fountain in the shape of the Italian peninsula, surrounded by multiple hemicyclical colonnades, a clock tower, and a campanile and Roman temple - in abstract and minimalist fashion.
The fountain and the surrounding colonnades in its vicinity ingeniously embraced classical forms and architectural orders, reimagining them with contemporary materials such as stainless steel and neon. Additionally, they employed kinetic elements, creatively evoking the appearance of traditional Corinthian capitals' acanthus leaves through the use of water jets.
An eclectic example of postmodernism, the semi-circular plaza embodied a blend of architectural fragments and façades. Roman arches and Corinthian columns intermingled with neon lights and vibrant, eye-catching colours, while the abstract depiction of the Italian peninsula, rendered in black-and-white tiles and bricks, extended into a fountain basin, creating a striking visual composition.
In this classical architecture combined with Pop Art techniques in a post-modernist palette, Moore combined neoclassical elements and modern aspects that transformed the architecture into a theatrical set.
The piazza rapidly deteriorated and by 2000, the Piazza d'Italia was routinely cited as a "postmodern ruin", ironically echoing its far older classical antecedents (the plaza has been restored since then).
In Italy these combinations of moods that merged classical elements with modernity found echoes in popular culture and in other fields, including music, with artists such as Diana Est (real name Cristina Barbieri) who was a younger electropop version of more refined acts from those years, such as Matia Bazar. In 1982, the young Italian singer released her first single, "Tenax".
The artist combined in her music, name and attire neoclassical and modern moods: her name hinted at Diana, the goddess of hunting, while "est" indicated the third person singular of the Latin verb "sum" ("to be").
Her name perfectly fit with the lyrics of her tracks: "Tenax" featured indeed Latin quotes from Terence and Seneca; her second single, "Le Louvre", mentioned instead works of art such as the Mona Lisa, preserved at the Parisian museum.
Her producers conceived for her at the time an image that combined Greek and Roman mythology with the colours, prints and patterns of Memphis Milano.
During live or TV shows Diana Est often donned a bodysuit with a pleated tunic (designed by Sibot) or a white toga-like garment made with what looked like a basic white piece of fabric matched with a mini-dress with a print à la Nathalie Du Pasquier with matching boots, usually designed by Armando Pollini. At times she accessorized her look with Perspex bangles or earrings by Ugo Correani and gloves by historical brand Alberto Portolano. Often her sets or early videos featured architectural elements such as random columns with Perspex shards protruding from them.
A hit in the discos in the early '80s (where kids would sing her lyrics in Latin, a language they detested in school – yes, I can't deny it, we detested it), the lyrics for "Tenax" featured the sentence "Forse è già mattino e non lo so" ("It may already be morning and I don't even know") that was also painted at the entrance of Riccione's infamous Cocoricò disco club.
Diana Est eventually disappeared from the scenes shortly after another record and a new look that wasn't as successful as this one, in the meantime Electra did a cover of "Tenax" in English, entitled "Are You Automatic?" and released it in 1983.
News coverage about ancient artifacts offers us valuable opportunities to identify inspirations that we can creatively merge with modern influences.
A while back, for example, the Protection of Cultural Heritage Division of the Carabinieri spotted in a private collection the head of a statue stolen in the 1970s from the body of Hydria (water carrier), a sculpture part of the collections of Villa Albani Torlonia, and recently managed to get it back.
Hydria is depicted wearing a short tunic, an idea that can be remixed with the inspirations seen in this post to create a summer dress or top inspired by antiquities, but with a modern twist about it that combines the postmodernist architectural moods seen at the beginning of this post. The material to make it? Well, obviously some plain white cotton bedsheets (they are definitely the best to create a light and breezy summer piece...). Enjoy your mini-tunic or top and always remember that in "the presence of the past" there is definitely an inspiration for the future.
With many thanks to Kutmusic for digging out a few Diana Est records as inspirations for this post.
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