Week 8

During this week and even more so during the readings, I am reminded and once again entralled by a specific art installation that poses similar questions. Joseph Kosuth’s piece titled “1 and 3 Chairs” is the best way to described the complexities of the readings from this week. Words are incredibley one sided and only show a mere facet of the entire design. The definition of a chair is arguably what a chair is but is it more a chair then the actual chair or a picture of a chair. Both Venturi and Noberg-Shultz in this weeks readings portrayed this quagmire to me within their respective works. Venturi discusses how descriptions and conversation about said design successfully are able to paint a picture of the building in question. That is trully what defines the building rather than what Noberg-Shultz was saying in how the building speaks for itself. I would argue that Venturi would argue the dictionary definition of a chair is more a chair then the actual chair while Noberg-Shultz would say that they physical chair itself communicates more then words could. Again just bringing it back to how one sided words are and how they truly can’t capture the entire being itself. Honestly one could even go further and tie this to the hedgehog vs fox arguyment, I would say that foxes would picture the definition of a chair and hedgehogs would pick the actual chair.

Norberg-Schulz. 1976. Genius Loci

Venturi, Robert. 1966. Complexity and Contradiction.

Kosuth, Joseph (1965) 1 and 3 Chairs