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7/11/2002

Out of the Ordinary

Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh

The Architecture and Design of Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates

Carnegie Museum of Art presents a retrospective of work by one the most important design and planning firms of the last half-century

Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architectural Center
November 8, 2002-February 2, 2003

Pittsburgh, PA... Out of the Ordinary: The Architecture and Design of Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates, on view at Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architectural Center November 8, 2002-February 2, 2003, surveys the work of one of the late 20th century's most influential architecture and design firms. Out of the Ordinary, with a wide variety of objects, including architectural drawings, models, and photographs, as well as furniture, textiles, and decorative arts, documents more than four decades of the firm's eye-catching, iconoclastic work.

Venturi Scott Brown and Associates (VSBA) is known for combining design elements in unexpected ways-an approach that has spurred some to include Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown among the founders of architectural Post modernism. Though they reject the Post- modernist label, Venturi and Scott Brown are guided by design principles that contrast sharply with Modernism's tendency to pare structures to essentials: turning the Modernist's rallying cry "Less is more" against itself, Venturi declared "Less is a bore." The firm has become known for an eclecticism that draws freely from varied sources, such as historic design styles and popular culture, including contemporary commercial architecture and advertising.

In 1950, Robert Venturi completed his master's thesis at Princeton, which sent out the first shoots of what would flower into an enduring architectural philosophy. Against the Modernist tendency to treat buildings as solitary objects without regard for their settings, Venturi argued that a building derives meaning from its context, and different contexts require different forms of architectural expression. A decade later, Venturi met Denise Scott Brown, when both were teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Despite vastly different backgrounds, from the outset Venturi and Scott Brown shared fundamental beliefs about design. They have been married since 1967 and became business partners in 1969.

Although Venturi has never completely cast off the general principles of Modernism, VSBA prefers an eclectic and practical approach-what they term "messy vitality"-to the stripped-down, universalizing tendencies of Modernism's earlier, more dogmatic advocates. VSBA's buildings, urban planning projects, and decorative arts designs all have strong links to their physical or historical contexts, so that while their projects are obviously contemporary, they strike a note of familiarity.

Venturi revealed his synthetic attitude and intelligence as early as his second completed building, the house in Philadelphia that he designed for his mother. For the façade of the Vanna Venturi House (1959-65), he combined a handful of basic architectural elements-in this case a gable, door, windows, and chimney-arranging the forms into a simple, inviting design that is plainly modern, yet also a strong expression of traditional ideas of home.

In the nearly four decades since the completion of the Vanna Venturi House, VSBA has created residential designs and many other types of buildings that are freely inspired by historical and contemporary sources. In his Eclectic House Series (1977), Venturi presented a sequence of elevations that captures the firm's inclusive yet radical embrace of history. From ancient Egypt through contemporary commercial architecture, with stops in the Gothic, Renaissance, and Art Nouveau periods, among others, the drawings chart architectural history as imagined in the design of dwellings.

Other objects in Out of the Ordinary spotlight the firm's fundamental design principles. A replica of the large coffee cup that Venturi incorporated into the façade of Grand's Restaurant (1961-62) reveals the architect's developing concept of "decorated sheds," or utilitarian buildings, some with oversized graphic elements (so-called "supergraphics"), that announce the building's function. The willingness to blend iconic and vernacular architectural elements has been consistent in VSBA's designs. For the Reedy Creek Improvement District Emergency Services Headquarters and Fire Station (1992-93), designed for Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, VSBA created an exterior that declares the building's purpose through imagery associated in the popular imagination with fire departments, in particular the black-on-white spotted coat of a fire company's Dalmatian mascot.

Recent high-profile international projects reveal the consistency with which VSBA has applied and interpreted that architectural philosophy. For the critically acclaimed Sainsbury Wing of London's National Gallery (1985-91), VSBA sensitively related the building's façade to its 19th-century neighbors on Trafalgar Square, creating an historically inflected yet distinctly contemporary complement to the original building. The firm's design for its largest commercial commission to date, the Hotel Mielmonte Nikko Kirifuri in Nikko, Japan (1992-97), brings together a variety of traditional architectural features and elements of Japan's lively contemporary commercial streetscape. Set in a national forest, the spa and hotel manage to harmonize the diverse aspects of Japanese culture.

Like the firm's architecture, VSBA's decorative arts projects are marked by practicality enlivened with bold eclecticism. The Campidoglio Tray (1980-83), created for Italian housewares retailer Alessi, has a radiating star pattern that mirrors Michelangelo's design for the pavement in Rome's Piazza del Campidoglio. A Cuckoo Clock (1986-88), also designed for Alessi, has bright colors and unexpected proportions, adding contemporary features to a timepiece with a decidedly traditional form. Among numerous other decorative arts objects, Out of the Ordinary includes chairs that VSBA created for Knoll between 1978 and 1984-the Chippendale, Sheraton, Art Nouveau, and Gothic Revival chairs. Each borrows from historic designs yet is sturdy, comfortable, and clearly modern.

The exhibition includes a multimedia installation, The Architect's Dream (2001), inspired by an 1840 painting by the same name. The original work, created by the Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole, synthesizes an astonishing variety of historical architectural styles into a utopian scene. In their version of The Architect's Dream, VSBA used digital technology to blend contemporary and historical images, creating a work that not only dramatizes the firm's liberal embrace of historical influences, but also serves to illustrate their philosophy of unifying our architectural past with the practical demands of the present day.
Tracy Myers, associate curator of architecture at Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architectural Center, considers the exhibition a fitting compendium of the firm's wide-ranging, decades-long practice. "The scope of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates' ouevre-geographically, typologically, and in terms of scale-is really quite remarkable. Even more remarkable is the fact that they have hewn to their design philosophy with such constancy, and this exhibition dramatizes their fidelity to their principles as well as their creativity."

Programs
Carnegie Museum of Art will offer a variety of public programs designed to enrich visitors' appreciation of Out of the Ordinary: The Architecture and Design of Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates. For more information about special events, programs, and classes related to the exhibition, call 412.622.3131 or visit the website.

Support
This exhibition was organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art with the support of the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, a program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

The programs of the Heinz Architectural Center are made possible by the generous support of the Drue Heinz Trust. Funding for this exhibition was provided in part by the Fellows Fund. General support for the exhibition program at Carnegie Museum of Art is provided by grants from The Heinz Endowments and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museum of Art is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the sixteenth century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of architectural drawings and models. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site.

Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates
Eclectic House Series, 1977 elevations, Robert Venturi Colored plastic film on photmechanical print 24 5/8 x 25 1/2 in. Collection of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc.

Out of the Ordinary offers a wide array of free public programs

Pittsburgh, PA...A wide variety of public programs complement Out of the Ordinary: The Architecture and Design of Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates. This exhibition, on view at Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architectural Center November 8, 2002-February 2, 2003, surveys the eye-catching, iconoclastic output of one of the late 20th century's most influential architecture and design firms. Programs are free unless otherwise noted.

Downtown Lecture Series
In this popular, free lunchtime series, Carnegie Museum of Art curators and staff members present slide-illustrated lectures on new exhibitions, important artists, provocative themes, and an inside view of the art world. Tuesdays, 12:15-1:00 p.m., The Library Center, George White Theater, 414 Wood Street, Downtown.

Out of the Ordinary: The Architecture and Design of Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates
Nov. 12
This slide-illustrated talk, presented by Tracy Myers, associate curator of architecture, provides an overview of Out of the Ordinary and the work of Venturi and Scott Brown, who throughout their careers, have rejected the sterility and austerity of Modernism in favor of a "messy vitality" inspired by sources as diverse as ancient Rome and modern Las Vegas.

Architects Speak Out!
In this series of lively gallery talks, Pittsburgh-area architects discuss their views on the many facets of the built and proposed environments designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. Thurs., 7:00 p.m., meet in the exhibition galleries.

Nov. 21
Kenneth Doyno, principal, Rothchild Architects PC
Stephen Quick, principal, Perkins Eastman Architects

Dec. 12
David Celento, architect/designer/educator, Celento Henn Architects + Designers
Sallyann Kluz, designer, Loysen + Associates Architects

Venturi, Scott Brown at Oberlin: A Day Trip
Andrew Shanken, professor of architecture at Oberlin College, guides this firsthand look at the Venturi wing of the Allen Art Museum and other architecturally significant buildings on campus. The tour includes a stop at Frank Lloyd Wright's Weltzheimer/Johnson house, completed in 1950. Sun., Dec. 1, 8:00 a.m.-early evening; $63 members/$70 nonmembers. Fee includes transportation and a box lunch. Call 412.622.3288 to register.

Lunch and Learn
Preregistration required. Call 412.622.3288. Fee includes lunch in the Carnegie Café. Meet in the Carnegie Museum of Art Theater unless noted. Thurs., 10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.; members $22/nonmembers $27.

The Innovative Architecture of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown Dec. 12
In the last four decades, architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown have up-ended the architectural establishment with an approach to design that integrates Pop Art, popular culture, vernacular architecture, and classical forms. Tracy Myers, associate curator of architecture, provides an overview of their inventive architectural and design projects in a slide-illustrated talk. After lunch, a tour will be provided of Out of the Ordinary.

Lectures
Commercial Landscape: Las Vegas and Beyond
Sat., Dec. 14, 1:00 p.m., Museum of Art Theater
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown looked at Las Vegas and discovered a hotbed of commercial vernacular architecture. Daniel Hershberger, president of the Society for Commercial Archeology, examines the buildings, artifacts, structures, signs, and symbols of the 20th-century commercial landscape and how it functions in daily life.

In Their Own Words
Sat., Feb. 1, 3:00 p.m.
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown provide insight on their diverse and energetic projects, ever-changing modes of critical thinking, and their place in architectural history.

Tours

Drop-in Tour
This free, daily drop-in tour highlights selected aspects of Out of the Ordinary. Tours meet in the Museum of Art lobby. Thurs., 7:00 p.m. and Sat. and Sun., 2:30 p.m.

Group Tours
Groups can schedule tours through the Group Visits Office at 412.622.3289. Three-weeks advance registration and prepayment are required. Prepaid rates: $7.50/adults, $4.50/seniors and children. Extended activities for groups, including lunch, may be arranged through the Group Sales Office at 412.578.2557.

University Night
An evening of music, and food with open galleries for university students and faculty to look, think, react, contemplate, discuss, and explore. Sat., Feb. 1, 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Outreach Education for Groups
Clubs and community groups can schedule a free preview Out of the Ordinary: The Architecture and Design of Robert Venturi Denise Scott Brown and Associates. Museum educators present these introductory slide talks. Call Deborah Starling Pollard at 412.622.5590.

Support
This exhibition was organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art with the support of the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, a program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

The programs of the Heinz Architectural Center are made possible by the generous support of the Drue Heinz Trust. Funding for this exhibition was provided in part by the Fellows Fund. General support for the exhibition program at Carnegie Museum of Art is provided by grants from The Heinz Endowments and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museum of Art is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the 16th century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of architectural drawings and models. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site.

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