Modular constructivism: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:59, 11 January 2007

Revision as of 18:46, 3 March 2007

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'''Modular constructivism''' is a style of sculpture that emerged in the [[1950]]s and [[1960s]] and was associated especially with [[Erwin Hauer]] and [[Norman Carlberg]]. It is based on carefully structured modules which allow for intricate and in some cases infinite patterns of repetition, sometimes used to create limitless, basically planar, screen-like formations, and sometimes employed to make more multidimensional structures. Designing these structures involves intensive study of the combinatorial possibilities of sometimes quite curvilinear and fluidly shaped modules, creating a seemless, quasi-[[organic unity]] that can be either rounded and self-enclosed, or open and potentially infinite. The latter designs have proved useful and attractive for use in eye-catching architectural walls and screens, often featuring complex patterns of undulating, tissue-like webbing, with apertures which transmit and filter light, while generating delicate patterns of shadow.

Writing in ''Architecture Week'' ([[August 4]], [[2004]]), Hauer explains that "Continuity and potential infinity have been at the very center of my sculpture from early on." [http://www.architectureweek.com/2004/0804/culture_2-2.html] Hauer made an extensive study of biomorphic form, especially what he calls "saddle surfaces," which combine convex and concave curvature and thus allow for smooth self-combination, sometimes in multiple dimensions. Another inspiration is the sculpture of [[Henry Moore]], with its fluid curves and porousness.