Lecture date: 1975-01-17
At ARTNET
Day 1 PM – Peter Eisenman
[Continuation of Peter Eisenman’s lecture started in 2/7]: Eisenman describes how David Smith began to explain in his work arguing that “when I look at object A from position A, I receive concept, image A. But if I look at A from position B, I get image and concept B.” There is a disjunction between the physical object seen as a holistic thing and its changing conception by the fact that the individual moves from place A to B. Eisenman mentions Robert Morris, who places the interest that before was on the individual into another field, thus considering not only the individual, but also the object and the phenomenological space that contains all of them. “What I try to do in my recent work is to explore aspects of conceptuality” Eisenman states and continues explaining: out of the physical experience of a building, you get an idea which has nothing to do with that experience. When you go back to that object, the physical experience is modified. Experience A brings concept B and then the experience is changed: experience B. The presentation is followed by slides of his projects and questions from the audience.
Extracts from the round of questions:
P. Eisenman: By trying to be semantic free, you are only creating another semantic. I was not very successful when I tried to do housing, for example, because the program is so strong, that all I could do is design. (…)
C. Rowe: I do have a problem. This house (the one formerly shown by P.E.) claims to stand out of culture, but at the same time it can be associated with Van Doesburg. It poses a problem, because it does stand somewhere and an icon is something too. This is why I cannot, myself, distinguish icon from its form. (…)
P. Eisenman: I spent two years designing that house, it is a puzzle very difficult to entangle. There is the level of complexity necessary in order to reduce the meanings you would attach to it. You can look at things in order to say ‘I understand this, I understand that’ but the first reaction in this house is ‘I don’t understand’; you have to first not understand it, the minute you don’t understand and begin to question, you are changing your experience of that object. Then I am changing the nature of your experience. I don’t know about conspicuous consumption, I don’t have to say anything about those things, I do not believe in progress or change; I am only concerned with competence.
(Audience): … and with clients who can afford to build your houses.
P. Eisenman: (Hesitates) … Yes.
Symposium over two days speakers include; Will Alsop, Peter Eisenman, Charles Jencks, Peter Cook, Cedric Price, Bernard Tschumi, David Stezaker, Colin Rowe, Dalibor Vesely, Jo Rykwert, Rosalee Goldberg. Chairman Bob Maxwell.
