The Manhattan Transcripts Project, New York, New York, Episode 4: The Block
Bernard Tschumi
French and Swiss, born Switzerland 1944
1980-81
An ink drawing with cut-and-pasted gelatin-silver photographs on tracing paper that pairs schematic, machine-like architectural diagrams with cropped action photos to insist that buildings are defined by events and movement.
You first notice the precise, almost mechanical line-work of fragmented architectural forms hovering across the top and center, contrasted with abrupt, high-contrast photographs of running legs pasted near the bottom and vast areas of translucent tracing paper that let the fragments breathe.
As one of the Manhattan Transcripts, this work helped reframe architectural representation from static plans to cinematic, event-based diagrams, influencing generations of architects to think of space as performance and narrative.
Medium
Ink and cut-and-pasted gelatin silver photographs on tracing paper
Dimensions
19 x 31" (48.3 x 78.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase and partial gift of the architect in honor of Lily Auchincloss
Accession
9.1995.12
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
