Ornament : In
architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to
embellish parts of a building or object.
Embellishing :
In sewing and crafts an embellishment is anything that adds design
interest to the piece.
In 1996 on a tight
budget, and non-conform to their will, Herzog&DeMeuron completed
the Eberswalde library, of course the Eberswalde Library does not
mark « the return » of the ornamentation, but it is
however one of the first buildings to use imprints.
« The
prefabricated concrete panels are similar to the glass belts of the
groove-windows, and are imprinted thanks to specialized experience in
screen-printing. The basis for the motifs for the prints is photos
discovered by the artist Thomas Ruff in magazines he accumulated over
the years in his private collection. From this collection he selected
the appropriate motifs and arranged them in the horizontal belts
running around the façade. The imprint on the entire façade unifies
the surface; the differences between concrete and glass seem to be
annulled. »
Although this a
« new technique » and one that is especially refined in
this case. The idea of such a technic is not uncommon in Switzerland,
Italy and Alsace. Gehrard Mack would not describe this as concrete
printing, but a semi industrial version of « sgraffito ».
Some of the best examples may be found in the Grisons and is achieved
by adding layers, or scratching/washing layers off. What has been
done here is a contemporary variant, by adding Thomas Ruff's work as
a layer.
 |
| Basel Rathaus uses sgraffito |
The serigraphs
were based on photographs by photographic artist Thomas Ruff, it was
one of the first buildings to to use photo concrete on such a large
scale. This, too, is essentially nothing more than a
washed-out-concrete surface.
Using a photolithographic
process, the photo is transferred onto the concrete in a screened
black-and-white pattern, which is applied to a plastic film. This
photo-concrete film is placed into the shuttering, where the
hardening retarder on it ensures that the concrete dries out at a
different rate in different places. The result is rough and smooth
areas, as well as light/dark graduations. After the shuttering has
been removed, the light areas of the image remain smooth, while the
dark ones are cleaned out with low-pressure water.
 |
| Herzog&DeMeuron - Natural Histories |
And what are the
meanings of these photographs? In a conference given at the ENSA
Nancy by Paul VALÉRY on his publication « Learning from
Las-Vegas : La controverse » or, the controverse of
Learning form Las-Vegas. Paul Valery indicates this shift in
ornamentation when the ornament went from the US to Europe,
interestingly enough, in an interview in « EL CROQUIS 2006 »
the architects defend a position in which they wish to move on from
Post-Modern forms. It may well seem that the ornament has entered a mental ground in this, such
shifts in contemporary architecture are also defended by Jean-Louis
GENARD & Jean-Didier BERGILEZ on a poignant article about
minimalism.
 |
| Thomas Ruff - Häuser |
Let's take a look
at « Natural Histories » where we can find a section
called « imprints and moulds » surely we may find a
meaning for Ruff's photographs. The section opens with the architects
answering a question asked by Philip Ursprung : «A leitmotiv of
your work is photography ». Photography can catalogue over 150
years of human life it can « express this aspect of the human
condition with such poignant urgency ». But as honest as
photography there is deception, the works of Thomas Ruff express this
in the series Häuser that was created between 1987 and 1991.
Ruff's building portraits are likewise serial, and have been edited
digitally to remove obstructing details – a typifying method, which
gives the images an exemplary character. Of these Ruff notes, "This
type of building represents more or less the ideology and economy in
the West German republic in the past thirty years." Architects
Herzog & de Meuron soon became aware of this form of architecture
photography and invited Ruff to participate in their entry for the
Venice Biennale of Architecture in 1991 with a photograph of their
building for Ricola. Ruff's photographs challenge our faith in
« reality »
 |
| Ricoal Mulhouse photographed by Thomas Ruff |
Thomas Ruff's
photographs come from a concept « visual library », the
images from this series come from an archive Ruff has been
constituting since 1981, so how where they chosen ? They are
chosen in a very subjective maner (Strange, Absurd, Contradictory
etc...)
When it came to
chosing the pictures for the library Ruff asked himself : What
is a library ? And what may be it's function ? The
conclusion was fairly obvious for Ruff : A public building where
knowledges is stored and mde accessible in order that people gain
« historical and social awareness ». 12 very different
motifs that seem to fit the functions stated above were chosen, the
library facade becomes a board revealing what may well be happening
inside..
The ornament has
evolved, and the ornament like the one in the Eberswalde is not
architectonic, it may well be seen as a « decoration »
one that creates a dialogue on the facade between the building and
the passerby, it is not a conversion, the passerby can easely ignore
the ornament if he wishes, it is a conversation.
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Work cited in the post :
Natural Histories - Phillip Ursprung
Eberswalde Library - AA
Didelon Valéry - Leaning from las vegas "la controverse"
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