The Duck and the Document: Stories of Postmodern Procedures
An exhibition curated by professor Sylvia Lavin
SCI-Arc is pleased to announce, The Duck and the Document: Stores of Postmodern Procedures, curated by Sylvia Lavin professor and Director of the Critical Studies M.A. and Ph.D. program in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design.
On view Apr. 14—May 28
Opening reception Apr. 14, 7 p.m.
The Duck and the Document features a series of fragments, from handrails to façade panels, salvaged from canonic buildings of the late 20th century. Typically associated with drawing and the circulation of media images, postmodern architecture is generally understood to have been largely a matter of style and surface ornament, freed from the exigencies of political and technical systems by the force of architectural autonomy. The Duck and the Document challenges this view by embedding the expected imagery of postmodernity within materials that demonstrate the dense tangle of regulations, production specifications and technologies that constrained architectural design rather than liberated it. While these True Stories of Postmodern Procedures describe a less heroic and autonomous architect, they also produce a more persuasive account of architectural ingenuity as it sought to survive the bureaucratization not merely of the architectural profession but of the very idea of architecture. Featuring artifacts from the buildings and archives of Peter Eisenman, Deborah Sussman, Charles Moore, Mike Reynolds, SITE and others.
Research, curatorial and design assistance provided by the UCLA Curatorial Project Team.
SCI-Arc exhibitions and public programs are made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs.