The handmade architectural drawing is a kind of nostalgic remnant of a reality that has long since passed. Until the computer age, buildings were shaped by architects and engineers on large sheets of complex drawings. In the 1980s and 90s, the architects experienced a dramatic change, where their own ancient craft gradually disappeared, and were replaced by new, distanced digital tools. In 1991, architect Christian Nordberg-Schulz wrote to the magazine Byggekunst that he of course understood well that the new aids were both useful and time-saving, but he believed that they broke “the direct contact between brain and hand…” MODERN ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING: “Rooms without functions IV » (2016), by the architect office Hesselbrand, is part of the exhibition at the National Museum. Photo: The National Museum/Andreas Harvik This was an experience he was not alone in. Many felt that they were simply losing their grip on their own profession. This is a fascinating, clear example of the consequences a change in technology can have. When I read about the exhibition “Hand and machine. Architectural drawings”, I was glad that the museum wanted to thematize this interesting transition. When I entered the exhibition, I became far more uncertain. Lacks visual hierarchy The exhibition is shown in one half of the very bright hall in the museum. Here, as many objects, images, texts, screens and installations have been squeezed in as it has been possible to get space for. As if there were not enough stimuli for the visitor, the floor is also plastered with giant enlarged photographs of objects and symbols linked to the analog architectural reality. Here you literally walk on everything from the ruler, table lamp, colored pencils, pen, saw and the wood, which should give you an insight into how the architect once worked. VERY DIFFERENT: In the exhibition there are many displays, but also a stepladder and something resembling a kind of winch, or working lift. It is unclear to me what they think that all these objects contribute to health. Photo: Ina Wesenberg / Nasjonalmuseet Through sculpture busts and books, we are also reminded of the time when people were able to immerse themselves in art and books; a culture of reflection and immersion that is on its way to disappearing. Apart from these somewhat banal references, it is otherwise quite difficult to see the underlying theme of the exhibition. It amazes me that the National Museum creates an exhibition like this; which lacks the most fundamental insight related to visual communication. There is no visual hierarchy here at all. Everything is indifferent, and thus the sensations in it also disappear a little. There is nothing that gives us direction and helps us see a narrative in the chaos. GOOD FILM: In one of these enigmatic installations it was at least possible to sit down and watch a film. It is about sustainability and reuse. An incredibly fine and important film which nevertheless seemed rather out of place in relation to what I thought was the theme anyway; namely the architectural drawing then and now. Photo: Ina Wesenberg / The National Museum What am I going to do with it? I go from one fitter to another. Philippe Schaerer has created some digital collages of stylized houses. One is purple, another is red. They are certainly beautiful and expressive, but what kind of role do they play in the context? What kind of picture is it actually? Art or tool for architecture? I simply don’t understand it. And it doesn’t get better as I navigate through the tangle of objects and elements in the exhibition. One installation consists of nine screens, where different images flicker past so quickly that it is difficult to form an overview of what you are actually seeing. WHAT SHOULD IT MEAN?: Here the picture flashes by so quickly that it is impossible to form any impression of what is actually being conveyed. Even if I stand there for a long time and watch, it is unclear what I will get out of this installation, and what kind of relationship it has to the subject related to architectural drawing as a medium. Photo: Ina Wesenberg / The National Museum There is a view from the street into the intimate premises of a barber. Some young people are sitting in front of something that looks like hay bales. Here there are house facades and cars parked along a curb. We look into a beautiful living room interior with open wardrobes, where the clothes are folded and organized according to the colors of the rainbow. Fair enough, but what on earth am I supposed to understand from this? Thematic derailments I stand and ponder at a shed with stools around. Here there are coffee cups hanging on hooks, and on the table there is a pink note that says “This must be fixed”. Am I supposed to sit here? Drink coffee? Fix something? I’m confused again. BECOMING CONFUSED: Some of the installations seem interactive, without me fully understanding how I should enter. Photo: Ina Wesenberg / Nasjonalmuseet There is nothing that helps to explain to me how I might be part of this apparently interactive installation. A little discouraged, I sat down on a stool in front of a screen under a beautifully executed appliqué textile that is strung up like a kind of solar sail over my head. Finally I meet something I can relate to and that excites me. A film that is both surreal and poetic and that deals with the enormous climate footprint of the construction industry. Here, a number of really important and interesting questions are raised related to sustainability, reuse and down-growth. Both through the title and the communication material, it is now announced that it will be about the architect’s drawing then and now. SEE: Art critic Mona Pahle Bjerke talks about the exhibition in Nyhetsmorgen. My impression is basically that the exhibition is quite full of such thematic side tracks. And this is probably the main problem in the project; that the curator has not managed to choose a clear focus. Both thematically and visually, the presentation appears chaotic and inaccessible. If someone were to take an interest in the aforementioned digital magazine in architecture, I would probably rather have bought the excellent publication that accompanies the exhibition. It has much more to offer than the exhibition itself! news reviews Photo: Ina Wesenberg / The National Museum Title: “Hand and Machine. Architectural drawings” Curator: Joakim Skajaa City: The National Museum Period: 17 November 2023 – 31 March 2024 Estimated time: 40–60 minutes
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“Hand and machine. Architectural drawings” at the National Museum – Reviews and recommendations
