Although I like some of Oscar Niemeyer's work overall I am not a huge fan. Unfortunetly in Brazil, specially in Brasilia, criticizing the man is often taken as an insult to the country itself. This obviously hinders objective analysis concerning his work. This is why articles like this one, written by someone who I imagine is not influenced by such an atmosphere is useful.
The author of the post is Edward Winkleman and he uses Niemeyer's desire to alter some of his buildings to discuss if an artist should tinker with work which has been presented to the public. He also talks about some of Niemeyer's creations here in Brasilia which have seen changes and gives a before and after critique.
Here is a slide show of some of the constructions mentioned in Winkleman's post.
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Thanks for the post on my blog. I actually "borrowed" the NY Times article and slide show to share with some of my readers who have been pondering "what is Brasilia like..." So, what brings you to Brasilia?
ReplyDelete"...a careless, tossed-off quality"
ReplyDeleteThese few words say it all, when I was last in Brasília I thought his newer projects were completely uninspiring.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteHere for work.
Daniel,
Have you ever been to the Dnit Building in Brasilia? I think it is up there with the best Neimeyer has given us yet it is not a landmark, unless you have to deal with Dnit to solve something then it is a landmark of anguish.
Anyway I will try to discover who designed that building and also take some pictures so to make a post. I haven't found any good pics of that building on the web.