Foreword

Soros, Susan Weber

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Foreword

Susan Weber Soros

Description: Le Corbusier Before Le Corbusier: Applied Arts, Architecture, Painting, and...

Le Corbusier Before Le Corbusier: Applied Arts, Architecture, Painting, and Photography, 1907–1922

~~Le Corbusier Before Le Corbusier: Applied Arts, Architecture, Painting, and Photography, 1907–1922 examines the early years of one of the greatest architect-designers of the twentieth century. In the United States, where Le Corbusier received only one major commission—The Carpenter Center at Harvard...

Author

Susan Weber Soros

PublisherBard Graduate Center

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-22002

Foreword

Le Corbusier Before Le Corbusier: Applied Arts, Architecture, Painting, and Photography, 1907–1922 examines the early years of one of the greatest architect-designers of the twentieth century. In the United States, where Le Corbusier received only one major commission—The Carpenter Center at Harvard University—his reputation is largely based on the extensive bibliography associated with his name. The prolific writings helped draw international attention to the remarkable architectural and design work of the interwar years, and it is this so-called heroic period that we generally associate with Le Corbusier. Indeed, the Villa Savoye in Poissy, and the tubular steel furniture of the late 1920s, which he designed in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret, have become icons of modern architecture and design.

The exhibition history of Le Corbusier has not accurately demonstrated the extent of his unique contribution to the arts of the twentieth century. The Museum of Modern Art, a leading proponent of Le Corbusier featured him in no less than five exhibitions. Yet it has been more than fifteen years since Le Corbusier has been the focus of a major exhibition. In 1987 the centenary year of his birth, there were exhibitions held in various locations throughout the world; to date, however, no museum in the United States has organized a comprehensive Le Corbusier retrospective. Thus despite his remarkable achievements and international fame—and even though we may think we know his work well—important aspects of his life and career remain elusive. Le Corbusier himself was a master at constructing his own image, emphasizing in his writings only those segments of his life that appeared most flattering to his achievements and to his self-made identity as a modern architect. This is especially true of the early years about which Le Corbusier remained circumspect. Toward the end of the twentieth century a few scholars began to research this period. H. Allen Brooks, for example, in his groundbreaking study, Le Corbusier’s Formative Years, reconstructed the narrative of Le Corbusier’s life in his birthplace of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Yet while Brooks has served as a catalyst for interest in the young Le Corbusier among academics, the exploration of this period has largely remained outside the public purview of exhibitions.

Le Corbusier Before Le Corbusier is intended to further illuminate the diverse and rich cultural explorations and artistic achievements of Le Corbusier’s life prior to the 1920s and the central Parisian years of his career. The magnificent drawings and sketches, penetrating photography, and surprising selection of decorative arts objects in both the exhibition and its accompanying catalogue shed light on the fledgling years of one of the most influential and innovative individuals of the twentieth century. The exhibition considers how the young and highly ambitious Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (his name prior to adopting “Le Corbusier” in 1920) satisfied his thirst for knowledge about architecture, design, and culture, and his deep yearning to become an artist, specifically a painter, not an architect. It reveals his artistic successes, struggles, and failures. By studying this period of his life, we discover a remarkable landscape filled with unexpected sources of inspiration for Le Corbusier’s ideas extending from Gothic architecture in France to the art and culture of the age of Louis XIV, from the ancient world to the Italian Renaissance and the cultures of Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and the Middle East. We also learn of Le Corbusier’s varied educational experiences and business exploits, of his studies of the decorative arts and ornamental design, his travels, and his experiments with photography, painting, and drawing.

This contribution to the study of Le Corbusier is certain to stimulate the imagination of our readers and visitors to the exhibition. I know it will reveal some surprises and will serve as an affirmation of the belief that to innovate one must maintain a persistent creative dialogue, as did Le Corbusier, with past, present, and future.

The Bard Graduate Center is honored to have been invited to participate in this project by Eva-Maria Preiswerk-Lösel, curator of the Langmatt Museum, Baden, Switzerland, where the exhibition was inaugurated in March 2002. I am grateful to Kurt Forster for suggesting this collaboration. Stanislaus von Moos and Arthur Rüegg first proposed the idea of an exhibition examining the early work of Le Corbusier. They have served admirably as project directors, curators, and editors of this volume. Klaus Spechtenhauser played a major role in the realization of the exhibition and was tireless as the project assistant in Zürich. Silvio Schmed has contributed creatively to the exhibition plans and to their implementation in New York and in Baden. I appreciate the diligent work of Brigitt Schär-Wettstein who was the liaison between the Langmatt Museum and the Bard Graduate Center.

I am also grateful for the generous contributions to this volume from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts; and Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. Additional support was provided by Pro Helvetia, Arts Council of Switzerland.

The Fondation Le Corbusier is the principal lender to the exhibition and has been helpful in numerous ways with this project. Early on, the exhibition received the support of Evelyn Tréhin, director of the Fondation Le Corbusier, who deserves a special word of thanks. I am grateful to the institutions and individuals who loaned work to this exhibition, and whose generosity has provided a rare view of Le Corbusier’s remarkable artistic pursuits: the Bibliothèque de la Ville, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland; Madame de Freudenreich-Jornod; Langmatt Museum, Baden, Switzerland; Musée des Beaux-Arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland; Musée de L’Air et de L’Espace, Paris-Le Bourget; Musée Léon Perrin, Môtiers, Switzerland; Museum of Modem Art, New York; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; Marie-Françoise Robert; Schweizerische Theatersammlung, Bern, Switzerland; Marc Stähli, and an anonymous lender.

Our knowledge of Le Corbusier’s early career has increased substantially due to the fine essays contributed to this volume by Antonio Brucculeri, Françoise Ducros, Stanislaus von Moos, Francesco Passanti, Arthur Rüegg, Leo Schubert, and Pierre Vaisse. In addition, dozens of catalogue entries, based on new research, were prepared by H. Allen Brooks, Antonio Brucculeri, Corinne Charles, Marie-Eve Celio, Françoise Ducros, Giuliano Gresleri, Stanislaus von Moos, Francesco Passanti, Arthur Rüegg, and Klaus Spechtenhauser. Franz Xaver Jaggy has provided wonderful new photography of work that Le Corbusier designed in Switzerland. The difficult task of translating many of the catalogue texts has been skillfully accomplished by: Caroline Beamish, Francesco Passanti, Diane Roth, Stanislaus von Moos, Nina Stritzler-Levine and Richard Wittman (French-language texts); Fabio Barry and Rachel Bindman (Italian-language texts); and the late David Britt and Fiona Elliott (German-language texts). Martina D’Alton has done a splendid job as copyeditor, and Sally Salvesen has produced a stunning design that evokes the wonder of Le Corbusier’s work. I also want to thank Jean-Louis Cohen and Barry Bergdoll for their assistance and recognition of the scholarly importance of this project.

Many individuals at the Bard Graduate Center contributed to the realization of this exhibition and catalogue. I want to thank Nina Stritzler-Levine for her work on this project. She was assisted by the staff of the exhibition department, including Edina Deme, Ronald Labaco, Susan Loftin, Jennie McCahey, Linda Stubbs, Olga Valle Tetkowski, and Han Vu. Additional exhibition assistance was provided by two students in the Bard Graduate Center masters program: Lisa Skogh and Brandy Culp. A marvelous array of public program events was created by Lisa Podos with Jill Gustafson and Sonia Gallant. Susan Wall and Tara D’Andréa of the development office skillfully found the necessary funding for this important exhibition. Tim Mulligan assisted by David Tucker organized a successful press campaign. Sandra Fell provides assistance with many related matters in my office. I appreciate the work of Lorraine Bacalles who, assisted by Dianora Watson, gave important administrative support to this project. The library staff under the direction of Greta Ernest answered numerous calls for assistance. The gallery facility is managed by John Donovan and his able staff. Finally, my thanks go to Chandler Small and the Bard Graduate Center security staff for looking after the galleries with great professionalism.

Susan Weber Soros
Director, The Bard Graduate Center

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