In a speech prepared for the AJ Women in Architecture lunch, Scott Brown called on her role in Robert Venturi’s 1991 win to be acknowledged retrospectively. Describing it as a ‘very sad’ situation, she said: ‘They owe me not a Pritzker Prize but a Pritzker inclusion ceremony. Let’s salute the notion of joint creativity.’ — architectsjournal.co.uk
16 Comments
It is about time.
Agreed. Official acknowledgement should be the least of what she deserves.
Ain't that a bit like giving Paul Simon a Grammy and not even inviting Art Garfunkel to the ceremony?
The Pritzker is a joke prize.
I second that, the Pritzker is a joke prize.
But even still, she deserves the recognition.
Actually they shouldn't because Venturi Scott Brown buildings are awful pomo garbage.
You can stay in the dark and wax your shallow views.
totally agree she should be recognized. in fact, the reason robert venturi turned down the aia's gold medal (early 90's) was because they refused to award it jointly...
Ms. Venturi Scott Brown's main achievement was to help destroy modernism's hedgemony in architecture rather than execute first rate buildings. The fact that the she got stiffed shows how unprogressive the field of architecture really is. Being politically liberal? Easy. Being intellectually liberal...priceless.
I can't get into the intellectual aspect of this. It's hard to tell what was Venturi's work and what was Scott-Brown's work, or was it always a joint effort? I look at a lot of his/her/their work and it has not held up well. I sort of liked the Seattle Art Museum for its surface articulation and successfully creating something "hard" and institutional, and "softening it up." I wish I could say the same for this student services type building at Univ. of Delaware. I've seen better theses than this.
http://www.wohlsenconstruction.com/assets/uploads/projects/Delaware_U_Arther_1.jpg
At any rate, they definitely have their place, especially after coining "less is a bore."
vote for a petition to change this!
https://www.change.org/petitions/the-pritzker-architecture-prize-committee-recognize-denise-scott-brown-for-her-work-in-robert-venturi-s-1991-prize?utm_campaign=twitter_link&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition
ROBERT VENTURI: "Denise is an architect and a planner, I am an architect. For us, a large part of design is setting out ideas and critiquing them. You try something and then you criticize it. I love that we constantly critique what we are doing – and do it as partners."
Venturi Scott Brown and Associates has repeatedly tried to show that Denise is an equal partner. It is time for Pritzker to recognize her work!
If you believe that Denise Scott Brown deserves the same as Robert Venturi, please take a minute to sign the petition!
https://www.change.org/petitions/the-pritzker-architecture-prize-committee-recognize-denise-scott-brown-for-her-work-in-robert-venturi-s-1991-prize
There are a few things i don't understand and should be answered. I'll play devils advocate, even as a supporter of female architects (Maya Lin is my favorite designer of all time).
1) What was the prize rewarding exactly? Robert Venturi was responsible for Complexity and Contradiction, the Vanna Venturi and much early work. DSB's contribution begins six years later in 1970. If the prize is for the early groundbreaking act, then Venturi alone seems to be responsible. If it's a full career work, then DSB could be included.
2) Ada Louise Huxtable was on the jury. Why did she leave DSB off?
3) What does Venturi think about this? Does it matter? Whose opinion matters?
4) Does Maya Lin deserve a Priztker? (Yes)
5) Was it disrespectful by DSB of Toyo Ito to campaign for this before his ceremony, effectively overshadowing him (thanks to the twitterverse)?
Just some politically incorrect questions.
I would think that a letter from Venturi would be enough to get this done...that is if he believes his partner should have her name added.
I tend to agree that adding DSB would also have to include John Rauch.
From Robert Venturi Acceptance Speech, 1991
"And last, you will notice during this loosely chronological description I have used more and more the first person plural, that is, ‘we”—meaning Denise and I. All my experience representing appreciation, support, and learning from, would have been less than half as rich -without my partnership with my fellow artist, Denise Scott Brown. There would be significantly less dimension within the scope and quality of the work this award is acknowledging today—including dimensions theoretical, philosophical and perceptive, especially social and urban, pertaining to the vernacular, to mass culture, from decorative to regional design—and in the quality of our design where Denise’s input, creative and critical, is crucial."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/women-in-design-call-for-denise-scott-brown-pritzker-prize_n_2991734.html
Denise speaks out.
http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/denise-scott-brown-interview.aspx
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