Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernist Myths in CCA

Throughout the CCA’s main galleries, the exhibition is organized around seven thematic groupings that each describe the shortcomings of an otherwise mythical aspect of postmodernism. Visitors will encounter rereadings of the neutrality of architecture institutions, the inherent communicative abilities of architecture, the specificity of architectural research techniques, the postmodern architect’s independence from commercial interests and positioning as a humanist, and the artistry that is thought to have produced postmodern images.
 
Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernist Myths continues a long line of investigation at the CCA of how architecture relates to its own past, resulting in new readings of key moments in the history of modern architecture. Authored by Sylvia Lavin, a forthcoming publication by the same title serves as an extension of the counter-historiography of postmodernism presented in the exhibition. Original texts by Lavin and contributions from sixteen other authors study the material evidence to dismantle the predominant narratives of postmodern architecture and architects. To be released in English and French editions in early 2019, Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernist Myths are designed by Anna Haas (Zürich) and co-published by the CCA and Spector Books.