I am
curious as to why it is that you work in New York City. Have you thought
of basing your workspace somewhere else? What is it about New York that
lures you?
Like all Maritime cities New York remains a threshold, a kind of no manıs
land where a certain nomadic cosmopolitanism intercepts cultural
continuities qualititatively different from landlocked regions where
core-values are formalized by centralized power systems. In simpler terms
its like being next to a window, with the view afforded it is natural to
be curious how it would be to practice or network our operation in other
cities.
Is there
anything in your work that one could say is French or Iranian?
It has to do with the nature of the work and respectively the
surrounding forces, doesnıt it? In architecture it is difficult or one
should say disastrous to be this or that without taking into account the
regional or climatic factors. We should remember Bernard Rudowskyıs
ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT ARCHITECTS in pointing out that as architects it is
sometimes necessary to be non architects to understand the real concepts
behind things. Take the cooling towers in the hot regions of Iran for
example to crown a fully air conditioned casino in Vegas and we have
invented the emblem of imbecility. There are sadly many such caricatures
built by the stupid eclecticism of the so called post modern. conversely
there is much to learn from these systems in resolving an architectural
solution without blindly resorting to technological solutions in response
to climatic conditions. In art or non pragmatic arts the parameters are
different yet the same insofar as the medium suggests its own possibility.
We certainly hope the works are devoid of picturesque ethnicity.
Why did
you decide to collaborate in your art?
It is unavoidable. We share the same interests, we pretty much
have the same background and we live together, given these circumstances
it would be strange not to collaborate.
Both of
you worked for a few years with the Italian architect Gaetano Pesce. Did
this have any specific effect on your work and in turn; what effect did
you have on his work?
We worked very hard for him as you know, and willingly, thinking
we were part of a great rebellion of sorts. In time there was settling an
awkward realization that we were inventing an opponent that didnıt really
exist. It was a Don Quixoteıs delirium. The wheel was turning and some
very good works were being produced by others in the quiet. So you could
say overall it had a sobering effect. It would be very difficult to
believe we had any effect on his work.
As
partners, how do you define the similarities and differences between your
explorations with paint and your architectural designs?
It can get quite rugged, we have very different views part of which as
mentioned earlier transpires from the nature of the medium at hand.
Architecture enjoys an automatism not so readily available to plastic
arts. The parameters such as economic, programmatic, topographic, are
visible traces that the architect simply follows to shape the project. In
that regard it is a far more difficult task to be a painter or a sculptor
because the parameters are not so visible. One is reminded of the hazy
blindness of Borges that is never as definite as black but a world of hues
ranging from yellow to green , red is a memory, rainbow a thought. The
problem is thus the tangibility of memory in what is ultimately an act of
thought. Finally insofar as our practice, how to reconcile the pragmatic
methodology of architecture with the intuitive process of painting.
If you
could frame your works within three words, what would they be and why?
Ontology, intensity, modernity. They are self
explanatory.
In a
recent article , the October issue of Octogon magazine, I saw that you
call one of your chair designs "Queen" and another "King".
This seems to suggest a real game of sorts. Could you elaborate on this?
It began with "x moves", our toy project that
is still in progress. A city based on a chess game to culminate in ruins.
We used the name of the pieces for the chairs as ad-hoc(s). The chairs
themselves were meant to have sexual annotations, they were made to be
uncomfortable to devoid them of their usability, petrified poses of an
absent body. As such they are really sculptures. The original prototypes
done in cardboard in our studio which you own one, have a rather
pronounced lump. People blushed when they sat on them At the time it
appeared to us interesting that one can remotely fuck with people through
objects, the idea of discreet flirtation through mass production is still
tempting but it isnıt something we are currently pursuing, then again
things change so may be we will.
How
do you see the computer having
a new and defining role in changing architecture?
To reappropriate the question, one might ask: What is the role of
architecture itself in the face of our contemporary reality, the
electro-viral coup dıetat spawned by the computers. Take as an example
the metamorphosis of fortified cities as a function of military tactics,
the observation towers of stone citadels that in time became easy targets
with the development of long range projectiles hence abandoned in favor of
earthwork ramparts and bastions that insulated the towns, in turn
championed by the now dematerialized fortresses of electronic
wall, the solid radar curtain under the surveillance of the
jet-fighterıs birdıs eye, totally devised and monitored by computers.
The question therefore ricochets to question this time the defining role
of the architect in this meta-spectral age of the poltergeist; what are
the new
means of intensifying sensations to awake the anesthetic effect brought
by the un-real real time technologies, what are the poetic resources in
injecting pain to exorcise the ghost in the machine. Finally it is a
question of value, not form.
If you are on the other hand referring to the photogenic images enhanced
by computers, those blisters the profession has medalled as BLOBS to
represent the value of our age then we should seriously seek a
dermatological cure. We believe, as Fernand Leger once said: "...,
architecture is a natural function, it grows out of earth as plants and
animals do."
Would you
suggest that one school or another is at the forefront in architecture,
art, design?
If we add engineering to the equation, then the answer would be
Cooper Union, where these various disciplines are in direct contact, under
the same roof, sharing the same facilities and in some instances even the
same assignments. Hejduk sublimated the process of learning by inviting
teachers from a wide array of fields such as writers, poets,... . The idea
of education is still faithful to the pursuit of knowledge, the neutral
ground of research.
Click on the images above to see samples
of their work.
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