998 research outputs found
What counts as art in England: Pevsner and the minor canons
No full textBook synopsis: Nikolaus Pevsner was one of the most important and influential art historians of the twentieth century. He opened up new areas of enquiry in the history of art, revolutionising architectural studies in England and playing a key role in establishing the discipline of design history. Through his lectures and broadcasts, as well as the remarkable volumes in The Buildings of England series which made him a household name, he did much to encourage greater interest in, and understanding of, art and architecture among a wide public. This wide-ranging collection of essays, based on papers delivered at the conference held at Birkbeck in celebration of the centenary of Pevsner's birth, offers the first sustained critical assessment of Pevsner's achievements. With contributions by leading international scholars, the volume brings together a wealth of new material on Pevsner and his intellectual background, both in Germany in the late 1920s and 1930s and in England, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s
Nikolaus Pevsner: art history, nation, and exile
No full textShortly after losing his teaching position at Göttingen University in September 1933, Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-1983) travelled to England as a refugee from National Socialist Germany. Thanks to his prodigious energy and ambition, his career flourished, and at the time of his death in 1983 he had become a national institution and the preeminent expert on British architecture. The emotional and scholarly transition from Adolf Hitler's Germany to 1930s England was by no means easy for Pevsner, however, and this article investigates Pevsner's continuing debt at this time to German art history (Kunstgeschichte) in general, and to his doctoral supervisor, Wilhelm Pinder, in particular. The discussion, set within the broader context of émigré studies, addresses the contrasting practice of art history in the two countries at that time and the essential differences between conservatism, nationalism, and fascism
'The Rediscovery of the Picturesque'. Nikolaus Pevsner and the work of architects and planners during and after the Second World War
No full textIl saggio tratta del ruolo svolto dallo storico anglo tedesco Nikolaus Pevsner quale promotore delle innovative politiche culturali che contraddistinsero la rivista mensile Architectural Review durante e dopo la seconda guerra mondiale: in particolare il titolo si riferisce all'interpretazione in chiave operativa della teoria del Pittoresco applicata ai programmi di ricostruzione delle città britanniche all'indomani del conflitto. In questa prospettiva il Pittoresco forniva alle giovani generazioni di architetti e urbanisti britannici intercettati dalla rivista la necessaria legittimazione di percorsi progettuali che si avviavano a prendere progressivamente le distanze dai canoni consolidati dell'International Style orientandosi verso strategie della progettazione radicate in una preesistente tradizione locale. Il volume, curato da Peter Draper, ha origine da una conferenza organizzata secondo un processo di selezione dei paper tramite peer review, tenutasi alla School of History of Art, Film and Visual Media del Birkbeck College di Londra - UCL nel luglio 2002. Alla stesura del volume hanno collaborato Alexandrina Buchanan, Andrew Causey, Ian Christie, Nicola Coldstream, Paul Crossley, Ute Engel, Adrian Forty, Stefan Muthesius, Gillian Naylor, Seymour Slive, Lynnie Walker, Nigel Whiteley. La conferenza del 2002 è stata recensita in Alan Powers, "Missionary zeal", Architects' Journal, 25th July 2002, vol. 216, issue 4, pp. 48-48; Catherine Croft, Adrian Forty, "An open book. Saint Nikolaus", Building Design, n. 1542, 19th July 2002 pp 18-19, 28. Il volume in cui il mio saggio è contenuto, è stato recensito in Tim Benton, "Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner", Journal of Design History, 2006, vol. 19, issue 4, pp. 357-360. Michael Johnson, "Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner", Visual Culture in Britain, 1st January, vol 9, issue 1, 2008, pp. 123-126. Malcolm Airs, "Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner", Journal of Architectural Conservation, March 2005, vol. 11, issue 1, pp. 99-100. William Whyte, "Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner", British Art Journal, Autumn 2004, vol. 5, issue 2, pp. 96-97. Ian Sutton, "Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner", Apollo, August 2004, vol. 160, pp. 78-79 Alan Powers, "Keeping the peace", Architects' Journal, 9th September 2004, vol. 220, issue 9, pp. 51-51 Gillian Darley, "Moses of the Modern movement", Architectural Review, December 2004, vol. 216, pp. 96-9
Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner
No full textBook synopsis: Nikolaus Pevsner was one of the most important and influential art historians of the twentieth century. He opened up new areas of enquiry in the history of art, revolutionising architectural studies in England and playing a key role in establishing the discipline of design history. Through his lectures and broadcasts, as well as the remarkable volumes in The Buildings of England series which made him a household name, he did much to encourage greater interest in, and understanding of, art and architecture among a wide public. This wide-ranging collection of essays, based on papers delivered at the conference held at Birkbeck in celebration of the centenary of Pevsner's birth, offers the first sustained critical assessment of Pevsner's achievements. With contributions by leading international scholars, the volume brings together a wealth of new material on Pevsner and his intellectual background, both in Germany in the late 1920s and 1930s and in England, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s
Il dibattito romano sulla riforma dell'insegnamento accademico e 'Le Accademie d'arte' di Nikolaus Pevsner (1940)
No full textSi presenta una riflessione sul dibattito intorno alla formazione artistica nel secondo Settecento romano utile a ripensare l'inquadramento storico del ruolo delle Accademie disegnato da Pevsner negli anni Quaranta
The Reality of Refuge: How can we adopt a more humane response to a humanitarian crisis?
No full textThe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are over 79.5 million people forcibly displaced globally. Among them are almost 26 million refugees. When 1% of the worlds population has been forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution, the issue is undeniably urgent. Unfortunately, these situations are not short term. The United Nations estimates that the average refugee will spend 17 years in a camp. Data from the UNHCR and literature by members of the field are used to gain a comprehensive understanding of the nature of both planned and makeshift refugee camps, why they are temporary and what makes up their physical and social fabric. This knowledge is applied to perform a descriptive and critical analysis of existing refugee shelters and camps designed from both top-down and bottom-up approaches and the consequences of each. By using existing research and documentation observing and analysing how residents appropriate their surroundings to better suit their individual needs, the discrepancy between the actual needs of refugees and the needs which are currently fulfilled by existing responses is exposed. Existing theory is used to assess the capacity of architecture to redefine the refugee crisis through design in order to achieve more socially sustainable, long lasting alternatives. An architectural approach, based on the assumption of permanence, which understands the importance of addressing social, cultural and psychological needs, as well as immediate physical requirements, is the foundation of conceiving of an alternative, humane refugee camp
Lo pintoresco en arquitectura
No full textEl interés de Nikolaus Pevsner por lo Pintoresco no es solamente el de alguien que pretende examinar uno de los fenómenos mas llamativos del siglo XVIII, sino el del historiador comprometido con su tiempo que intuye en aquél una de las raíces de la arquitectura del Movimiento Moderno, y no la menos profunda. En sus artículos, generalmente para The Architectural Review. Pevsner combina, desde esta perspectiva, el estudio histórico de lo Pintoresco a través de buena parte de sus principales teóricos, con la crítica de las realizaciones actuales -en los años posteriores a la II Guerra Mundial- y la búsqueda de su genealogía a partir de algunas particularidades compositivas y forma/es. Ambos caminos persiguen el mismo objetivo.
Una síntesis de su argumentación fue expuesta en esta conferencia, pronunciada en el Royal Institute of British Architects y publicada en The Journal of the R.I.B.A., vol 55, núm. 2, diciembre de 1947, págs. 55 a 61. La traducción ha sido realizada por Marta Heras y revisada por quien suscribe. Se ha conservado la transcripción en su integridad, incluyendo el debate posterior que descubre algunas de las encontradas posiciones en la arquitectura británica del momento, además de unas cuantas sabrosas precisiones del conferenciante.
(Para una revisión extensa de la postura sostenida por Pevsner puede verse: "¿Pintoresco o moderno? Nikolaus Pevsner y el debate de la arquitectura británica en la posguerra", Anales de Arquitectura núm. 5, de inmediata aparición; que introduce la versión castellana de los principales artículos escritos por el historiador sobre lo Pintoresco en el siglo XVIII, publicada en la misma revista)
Nikolaus Pevsner, arpenteur des arts
No full textPour la discipline de l'histoire de l'art, aujourd'hui dominée par la tradition anglo-saxonne, le sauvetage des universitaires étrangers menacés par la montée du national-socialisme dans les années 1930 est devenu le glorieux récit des origines d'une communauté scientifique internationale soudée. Cette histoire héroïque, qui attribue l'essor de l'histoire de l'art à la contribution des intellectuels réfugiés, demande pourtant à être nuancée, car elle occulte les tensions latentes entre l'idéal d'universalisme de la science et le rôle toujours actif des particularismes nationaux dans la formulation des savoirs. Ces tensions parcourent la vie et la carrière de l'historien d'art d'origine allemande Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-1983). Pevsner, émigrant en Grande-Bretagne en 1933, a dû construire les conditions de sa propre intégration et pour cela modifier le périmètre de l'histoire de l'art d'un point de vue social, institutionnel et thématique, à travers ses écrits et une intense activité de popularisation et de défense du patrimoine artistique britannique qu'il n'a cessé d'arpenter
A critical analysis of Nikolaus Pevsner's theory of the origin of the Modern Movement
No full textWith Pioneers of the Modern Movement, Nikolaus Pevsner evoked a controversy which has survived for over three quarters of a century. Following years of acerbic condemnation, it is generally accepted that Pevsner's theory tracing the origin of the Modern Movement to William Morris and Walter Gropius has been discredited. I believe that the critics' own stylistic biases, combined with Pevsner's provocative polemics, have obscured the value of a theory designed to reveal the genesis of a narrowly-defined movement in architecture. The conclusions within this thesis follow an extensive review of the works of authors who are critical of Pioneers, research of literature relating to factors influential to the evolution of the Modern Movement in Germany, and an in-depth study of Pioneers itself. Those who extrapolate Pevsner's theory in an attempt to suggest that it is meant as an explanation for the source of the broader phenomenon of modern architecture do a disservice to this work. As a complete history of modern architecture, Pioneers is limited in scope. Contrary to being a detriment, this brevity makes it an excellent source for introducing a discourse on modern architecture to the fledgling theorist.Architectur
'Meet me at the left lion': encounters within Nottingham's Old Market Square
No full textArchitecture can form the structure for internal or external gathering places, however, geographer Doreen Massey defnes places, not by their physical characteristics, but as the points of interconnecting fows of people, goods, communications, memories, and imagination, positing that all places are meeting places. At the heart of the city centre, Nottingham’s Old Market Square is where the local inhabitants go to work and play; protest, mourn and celebrate. It is a place of formal and informal encounters, where friends and acquaintances meet, by chance or design; where strangers might exchange a glance or a few words; where people watch other people. Originally a shared market place for Saxon and Norman settlements, the earliest maps of the city show that the footprint of the square has remained the same for many hundreds of years, though its design and edge have gone through numerous transformations. The latest remodelling was undertaken by internationally renowned landscape architecture practice Gustafson Porter: unveiled in 2007, it has won a raft of awards including the inaugural RIBA CABE Public Space Award. Drawing on work undertaken with architecture students to explore individual experiences of the square, the paper will outline some of the fows, past and present, as well as the physical elements, which contribute to the square’s success as a place of encounter
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