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A presentation by Daniel Libeskind about the representation of memory, fragmentation, and conflict in post-modern architecture
Slought is pleased to announce the release of "Architecture: The Future of Memory," a lecture by Daniel Libeskind on April 3, 2001. In his presentation, Libeskind will speak about the celebration and lamentation of fragmentation in recent works such as the Jewish Museum in Berlin, and the relationship between this fragmentation and social trauma, violence and conflict in modernity. He will speak about the referentiality of signs of conflict and the symbolism of the shard, and argue for for an understanding of the earth itself as a shattered globe. Architecture, Libeskind asserts, is a mechanism for experiencing, narrating and treasuring memory and meaning.
This event has been organized by Aaron Levy, Gregory Flaxman and Carmen Lamas as part of the interdisciplinary "Theorizing" series. From 1999-2002, the Theorizing series at Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennyslvania has showcased notable developments in theory, continental philosophy, and cultural criticism. Nearly thirty events have featured architects, theorists and critics such as Slavoj Zizek, Joseph Masheck, Catherine Liu, Dorothea Olkowski, and Eduardo Cadava--many of whom continue to participate in ongoing Slought programming. As discursive exchanges addressing contemporary issues, these events continue to influence the subsequent direction of Slought.
Daniel Libeskind graduated from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in NY in 1970, then completed a postgraduate degree in History and Theory of Architecture at the School of Comparative Studies at Essex University in 1972. Eschewing the traditional route into architectural practice, Libeskind stayed within the realm of the academy to develop his highly particular architectural language. He was Head of the Department of Architecture at the Cranbrook School of Art and Design from 1978-85 and has held many teaching posts subsequently. Significantly, he founded and directed Architecture Intermundium, a private non-profit Institute for Architecture and Urbanism in Milan, Italy from 1986 to 1989. He has taught as the Paul Cret Chair of Architecture at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, and as a Professor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Libeskind opened his architecture practice in Berlin in 1990 after winning the competition for the Extension to the Berlin Museum with the Jewish Collection in 1989. Opened in 1999 as the Jewish Museum Berlin, it has been one of the most discussed architecture projects since its commission and drawn over 250,000 visitors since its opening even without any exhibition yet installed. Though he remains an American citizen, Berlin has become the home for his family and he is registered as an architect in Germany. Libeskind has been the recipient of numerous awards including the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Architecture and the Berlin Cultural Prize, and TIME magazine's The Best of 1998 Design Awards for the Felix Nussbaum Museum in Osnabrück, Germany. In 1999, he received the German Architecture Prize and the Goethe Prize. His work has been exhibited extensively in major museums and galleries around the world and is in the collections of institutions such as the MOMA in New York, the MAK in Vienna and LA, the NAi in Rotterdam, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. He also served on the jury for the first National Design Award in 2000 along with Robert Wilson. Libeskind has also been the subject of numerous international publications in many languages. His ideas have influenced a generation of architects and those interested in the future development of cities and culture.