Max Beckmann, Lido, 1924, Oil on canvas, 28-½ x 35-5/8, Saint Louis Art Museum. Bequest of Morton D. May. |
Water as Architectural Context and Exhibition Theme at the Pulitzer |
Henri Matisse, Bathers with a Turtle, 1908, Oil on canvas, 70-½ x 86-½", Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer Jr.
Roy Lichtenstein, Drowning Girl, 1963, Oil and magna on canvas, 67-½ x 66-¾", The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Philip Johnson Fund (by exchange) and gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bagley Wright, 1971.
Tadao Ando, Row House (Azuma House), Sumiyoshi, Osaka, in Japan, 1976 |
The Pulitzer Foundation Water is omnipresent in works of literary and visual art. That it is a symbol of life, cleansing, rebirth posits its value as a primary vital force — a virtual element. As such it has a tacit role in architecture. Water was surely incorporated into the design of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts building when it was conceived in the 1990s by Tadao Ando and completed in 2001. Born September 13, 1941 in Osaka, Japan Ando is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture was once categorized as Critical Regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field. His work is known for the creative use of natural light and for architectures that follow the natural forms of the landscape (rather than disturbing the landscape by making it conform to the constructed space of a building). The architect's buildings are often characterized by complex three-dimensional circulation paths. These paths interweave between interior and exterior spaces formed both inside large-scale geometric shapes and in the spaces between them. His Row House in Sumiyoshi (Azuma House), a small two-story, cast-in-place concrete house completed in 1976, is an early work that begins to show elements of his characteristic style. It consists of three equally sized rectangular volumes: two enclosed volumes of interior spaces separated by an open courtyard. By nature of the courtyard's position between the two interior volumes, it becomes an integral part of the house's circulation system. It is no surprise that Water engages the prevalence of water in the Pulitzer’s building by addressing the range of responses that water has elicited from modern and contemporary artists. Artwork by Max Beckmann, Robert Gober, Roni Horn, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Long, Henri Matisse, Claes Oldenburg, Cy Twombly, and others will be exhibited in relation to the building’s prominent watercourt and the space itself, which was conceived as a fluid substance directed by walls. Specific juxtapositions within the exhibition will encourage the visitors to think about the artwork in different and unexpected ways. The placement of decorative panels by Henri Matisse in close proximity with contemporary works on plywood by Richard Tuttle is one example. Another is the disturbing relation between women and water, as seen in Beckmann’s Fisherwomen and Matisse’s Bathers with a Turtle. Similarities can also be found between works that are not exhibited in the same gallery, such as Roy Lichtenstein’s Drowning Girl in the Entrance Gallery and Cy Twombly’s tale of drowning lovers, Hero and Leandro, opposite the Watercourt.
Max Beckmann, Fisherwomen, 1948, Oil on canvas, 75-¼ x 55", Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Morton D. May.
Bryan Hunt, Shift Falls, 1978, Private collection, 2007 Bryan Hunt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photograph by Robert Pettus. |
Ellsworth Kelly, River II, 2005, Wall relief comprised of two four-color lithographs, clear-coated and mounted onto two conjoined aluminum panels; overall 80 x 109", Private collection., © Ellsworth Kelly and Gemini GEL LLC. |
