The Manhattan Transcripts Project, New York, New York, Episode 4: The Block
Bernard Tschumi
French and Swiss, born Switzerland 1944
1980-81
A sheet of ink drawings and collaged gelatin silver photographs on tracing paper in which Tschumi stages architectural fragments and human actions to investigate how events make urban space.
You notice sparse, precise line drawings of dislocated building elements scattered like stage props, interrupted by black triangular photo inserts of small, moving figures, producing a cinematic, storyboard-like choreography across the paper.
This work is part of Tschumi’s seminal Manhattan Transcripts, which helped reframe architecture as a sequence of events and narratives—introducing filmic montage and performance into architectural representation.
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
9.1995.13
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
