The first portion she pointed out was a pale ochre wall patterned with thin, perpendicular white lines mimicking mortar between masonry blocks. Looking upward we then saw panels of blue faux marbre, high above them gilded column capitals and bosses (the ornamental knobs where vault ribs intersect), and, nearby, floor-to-ceiling piers covered in glossy yellow trompe l’oeil marbling, like some funeral parlor in Little Italy. — nybooks.com
8 Comments
Fascinating. Restoration as destruction. Post-modernism devouring pre-modernism.
"Though little is specifically known about the church’s original appearance—despite small traces of pigment at many points throughout the interior stonework—the project’s leaders, apparently with the full support of the French state, have set out to do no less than repaint the entire interior in bright whites and garish colors that are intended to return the sanctuary to its medieval state."
Who knew it was only the modernists who where obsessed with 'truth' in architecture?
Davvid - this isn't solely a post-modern idea. Viollet-le-Duc advocated interpretive restoration as early as the 19th century. What's interesting is since the rise of Modernism, history has been seen to be a fixed state - something that can only be valuable as provided in its original vision.
My view is that treating historic architecture (and history itself) as a preserved specimen actually kills much of the value. It makes history seem alien and unlike reality as we see it where change is continuous and unpremeditated. I think we would enrich our experience while developing a healthy understanding of the nature of change if we let historic buildings be revised and adapted to suit current trends. Even if it means changing back again at another point in the future, or changing to something else.
midlander +1
I went on the Attingham Summer School for the Study of the British Country House lo those many years ago. The topic of what era to showcase in any reconstruction/presentation work is a fascinating one.
In my opinion, what matters is making sure that visitors understand that what is being presented is one among many eras of use of the building. Emphasizing the long life of these structures, and how their use related to their contemporary culture over time, makes them all the more interesting.
"What's interesting is since the rise of Modernism, history has been seen to be a fixed state"
Is history actually changing or is our relationship to history changing?
If it is in fact our relationship to history thats changing, I can't help but think that this restoration is informed by the last 50 years of post-modernism in architecture history. I find it hard to believe that an architect in 2014 is actually channeling the state of mind of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
" I find it hard to believe that an architect in 2014 is actually channeling the state of mind of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. "
Nobody is channeling anything, they are simply trying to recreate how the medeival cathedral was intended to communicate. One could go further and clad Roman concrete with thin marble panels or paint the Greek Temples as they where intended. Suffice it to say that not everyone bought into the modernist polemic about historicism, or else everything over (fill in the blank) years would be a museum piece.
My view is that treating historic architecture (and history itself) as a preserved specimen actually kills much of the value.
There are other aspects to be considered. The temples at Ise Jingu are rebuilt every 20 years using traditional technology. This serves among others things to maintain cultural traditions including the highly developed craft of woodworking - from forest management to traditional tool making and use as well as the ability to do things that no machine can.
Additionally, a great deal of "progress" often comes with a high cost including the loss of advanced knowledge based on millennia of experience. For example, native cultures and knowledge of medicinal plants, etc.
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