Questioning the established reading and revealing the contradictions in the genesis of the German Pavilion
14/11/2023.
[BCN] Spain
metalocus, ANTONIO CORREDERA
metalocus, ANTONIO CORREDERA
From 11 to 26 November, the Fundació Mies van der Rohe presents the last major intervention of the 2023 program in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion: Politics and Architecture, by professor, architect, and historian Dietrich Neumann.
The intervention Politics & Architecture comes to us a few weeks after El Marge, and also focuses on the time of the International Exhibition of 1929, making us aware of the confusing political context of the genesis and execution of the Pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van Rohe and Lilly Reich.
Dietrich Neumann's research reveals data that questions whether the Pavilion was the representation of the young democracy of the Weimar Republic and its endorsement of the modern architecture that it is often assumed to be.
The intervention Politics & Architecture comes to us a few weeks after El Marge, and also focuses on the time of the International Exhibition of 1929, making us aware of the confusing political context of the genesis and execution of the Pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van Rohe and Lilly Reich.
Dietrich Neumann's research reveals data that questions whether the Pavilion was the representation of the young democracy of the Weimar Republic and its endorsement of the modern architecture that it is often assumed to be.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Politics and Architecture, by Dietrich Neumann, shows much evidence points to enormous political tensions between the conservative German commissioner, Georg von Schnitzler, and the progressive government in Berlin, which had explicitly advised against a pavilion and did not provide funding for it. Von Schnitzler commissioned the pavilion anyway but ended up having to pay for much of it from his own funds. In a provocative manner, he defied government directives and raised both the current flag of the Weimar Republic (black, red, and gold) and the one he preferred, the banished flag of the former Kaiserreich (black, white, and red) in front of the Pavilion.
Similarly, the German Pavilion was inaugurated without the inscription "Alemania" in front, which did not appear until months later.
In turn, the Berlin government boycotted the opening ceremony, which was attended by the Spanish royal family and dictator Primo de Rivera, but no high-ranking German politicians.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
The interventions proposed by Neumann in the Pavilion – a new flag, the front inscriptions of the Pavilion, the table for the visitors' book devoid of the signatures of German dignitaries – as well as the production of a new publication of the same name that collects scientific research and the photographs on which he has based the research, invite us to find in the Pavilion some elements that were there before, others allude to and reflect on the weight of symbols and the precariousness of their historical interpretations.
In turn, the Berlin government boycotted the opening ceremony, which was attended by the Spanish royal family and dictator Primo de Rivera, but no high-ranking German politicians.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
The interventions proposed by Neumann in the Pavilion – a new flag, the front inscriptions of the Pavilion, the table for the visitors' book devoid of the signatures of German dignitaries – as well as the production of a new publication of the same name that collects scientific research and the photographs on which he has based the research, invite us to find in the Pavilion some elements that were there before, others allude to and reflect on the weight of symbols and the precariousness of their historical interpretations.
“While our interventions make the Pavilion's replica more complete, they also render its history and meaning more complicated.”
“Seeing the Pavilion between the two flags shows its position on the fence - somewhere between modernity and conservatism.”
“Seeing the Pavilion between the two flags shows its position on the fence - somewhere between modernity and conservatism.”
In the words of Dietrich Neumann.
Politics and Architecture by Dietrich Neumann. Photograph by Anna Mas.
Dietrich Neumann already lectured at our 2016 symposium on the figure of Mies van der Rohe and the German Pavilion at the Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929. and wrote a chapter in the publication “Mies van der Rohe. Barcelona 1929.″ His publications “An Accidental Masterpiece” and “The Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe. One Hundred Texts since 1929”; which follow similar lines of inquiry regarding the political and architectural context of 1929 in Germany and Spain, as well as the Pavilion’s reception history were also presented at the Pavilion in 2021. And now this intervention is accompanied by a new publication "Politics and Architecture" with the scientific texts, documents, and images that support it.
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Author
Dates
From 11 to 26 November 2023.
Location
Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Av. de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 7, 08038 Barcelona, Spain.
Photography
Dietrich Neumann
Dietrich Neumann is a professor of modern architectural history and urban studies at Brown University. Trained as an architect in Munich and London, he received his doctorate from the University of Munich. His publications have dealt with the history of grandstands, filmography, architectural lighting, building materials, and the Milanese architects Mario Palanti and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
He has been a fellow at the Canadian Centre forArchitecture, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the American Academies inBerlin and Rome and won the Founder's and Philip Johnson Awards from the Society ofArchitectural Historians for two of his publications. He served as president of the society from 2008 to 2010 and as director of Urban Studies and of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities at Brown University.
He is a member of the Architecture and Design Committee of the Museum of Modern Art and the current president of Docomomo New England. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Porto, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Yale University, where he was the first Vincent Scully visiting professor. His new book "Mies van der Rohe: An Architect in His Time" will be published by Yale University Press in spring 2024.
He has been a fellow at the Canadian Centre forArchitecture, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the American Academies inBerlin and Rome and won the Founder's and Philip Johnson Awards from the Society ofArchitectural Historians for two of his publications. He served as president of the society from 2008 to 2010 and as director of Urban Studies and of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities at Brown University.
He is a member of the Architecture and Design Committee of the Museum of Modern Art and the current president of Docomomo New England. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Porto, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Yale University, where he was the first Vincent Scully visiting professor. His new book "Mies van der Rohe: An Architect in His Time" will be published by Yale University Press in spring 2024.
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