Description
Thislecture examines the materiality of dust through the realizing of stucco walls and profiles in the 17th century architecture of Francesco Borromini (1599-1667). Well-known for his plastic treatment of space and light, the Baroque master also asserted a sophisticated practice of using a unique, bone-white application of stucco romano, an extremely hard covering consisting of marble-dust and hydraulic lime. Largely overshadowed by his creative control of geometry and symbolism, Borromini's reliance on the materiality of stucco romano no doubt exceeds the standard fascination with what are seen as abstract all-white interiors. Potent images arise from dust - Borromini's innovative drawings in graphite, or the smoky air vibrating from his taught modénature - but we have to dig deeper to realize their true significance. Caught in our 19th century notions of dust as, what Mary Douglas famously called, "matter out of place", we overlook how materials in their dusty state augment architecture in unexpected ways.Period | 12 Apr 2018 |
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Held at | Virginia Tech, United States, Virginia |
Keywords
- Borromini
- Dust
- Theory of architecture
- Rome
- Baroque
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