31/10/2002
Brise-Soleil in Dallas
The MAC, Dallas
The Architecture of Cool is a survey of the 20th-century architectural building component known as brise-soleil. Brise-soleil functions as a sunscreen that covers windows, walkways, and building walls and diffuses sunlight, thereby moderating the buildings interior temperature.
The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) will present Brise-Soleil in
Dallas: The Architecture of Cool, an exhibition of photographs by
Dallas artist Tom Jenkins opening in the New Works Space on Friday,
November 1 with a reception from 5:30-7:30 PM at 3120 McKinney Ave.
Brise-Soleil in Dallas: The Architecture of Cool is a survey of the
20th-century architectural building component known as brise-soleil.
Brise-soleil functions as a sunscreen that covers windows, walkways, and
building walls and diffuses sunlight, thereby moderating the buildings
interior temperature. Originally developed in Europe by Modernist
architect LeCorbusier in 1933, brise-soleil gained popularity in the
United States in the mid-1940s and was continually integrated into
modern architecture through the 1960s. The screens, or sun-breakers,
were constructed of concrete, ornamental masonry blocks, metal, or
wooden louvers.
The Modernist brise-soleil structures on buildings in Dallas are often
demolished or radically altered due to their perceived obsolescence.
The photographs, taken originally with an interest in the building form,
have evolved into a documentation of a functional architecture by noted
architects, such as Edward Durrell Stone and ONeil Ford, that may
disappear from our city. Jenkins has photographed the National Mortgage
Company of America, the Salvation Army Texas Divisional Headquarters,
and many other examples of brise-soleil, both surviving and demolished.
Energy efficient and visually attractive, the brise-soleil adds texture
and depth to otherwise unremarkable surfaces; and despite the
contemporary use of
electricity to cool interiors, brise-soleil continues to serve its
original function.
Tom Jenkins is a photographer based in Dallas, Texas and has been
documenting examples of brise-soleil in the city for many years. He
earned his BFA in photography from the Kansas City Art Institute and and
did graduate work at SUNY in New York. His photographs are in many
public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in
New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. He has taught at The
Cooper Union School for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York
City and has served as the head photographer at the Dallas Museum of
Art. His works have been exhibited at the Photographic Archives Gallery
(Dallas), the Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama), Northlake College
Gallery (Irving), and many other contemporary art venues.
The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) is a contemporary non-profit
art venue that offers opportunities for experimentation and for the
presentation of art in all disciplines, and provides a forum for
critical dialogue between emerging and established artists and their
audiences. The MAC supports the artists role in society, cultivates
that relation through education and innovative programming, and stands
as an advocate for creative freedom. The MAC has been operating since
October 1994.
Opening in the New Works Space on Friday,
November 1 with a reception from 5:30-7:30 PM at 3120 McKinney Ave. The
artist will be in attendance at the opening. Exhibit hours are
Wednesday-Saturday 11am-10pm and Sunday 1 pm-5 p.m. Call (214) 953-1212
for more information or see the website. Admission is free. The
show continues through December 15. Please note: Tom Jenkins will be
featured at the FREE Arttalk on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. also at THE
MAC.
The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC)
3120 McKinney Ave. - Dallas