spring 2008
ARC 386M/350R:
Analysis of Contemporary Formalisms
Instructor:
William O'Brien, Jr.
"You could put it this way: analysis is itself a form in its own right, like translation, criticism and commentary, as one of those media through which the very work unfolds. Works need analysis for their truth content to be revealed." Theodor Adorno, On the Problem of Musical Analysis.
Description. This seminar will present recent formalisms in art, music and architecture -- those formalisms which resist immediate classification with existing methods of formal analysis. Such works exhibit qualities which transcend disciplinary boundaries and are emblematic of a largely uncharted aesthetic. We will monitor the relationship between these apparent novelties of formal language and the ubiquity of computation in design and composition processes. Labels previously given to these types of works have been: the algorithmic, the emergent, the generative, the systematic, the rule-based, the ambiguous, the simultaneous, the morphogenetic, etc. This course will draw attention to similarities and differences among recent formalisms and seek (new) methods of formal analysis that aptly describe, reveal and interpret observed and latent qualities.
Objectives. This course aims to: (1) provide general exposure to progressive formalisms in architecture, as well as in other creative disciplines, (2) hone a vocabulary fit to describe unfamiliar qualities and aesthetic attributes within such works, (3) develop appropriate analytical techniques that enable close examination, interpretation and ultimately, judgment about contemporary formalisms, (4) establish parallels between avant-garde 'practices' and recent cultural tendencies.
Format. Lectures will trace the technical and conceptual roots of selected examples by considering modes of, and motivations for their creation. Selected readings will range from theoretical and philosophical to historical, to critical, to technical. Course research will be formal analyses of selected contemporary works -- analyses will be part writing and part representation (requiring an interest in, and/ or facility with digital techniques). Discussions will provide a forum for invention, presentation and critique of formal analyses. Limited enrollment.