Living Architectures Four Architectural Movies by Ila Bęka and Louise Lemoine
Koolhaas Houselife (Maison ŕ Bordeaux, OMA) Xmas Meier (Jubilee Church, Richard Meier) Pomerol Herzog & de Meuron (Pomerol Winery, H&dM) Gehry's Vertigo (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Frank Gehry)
Applying their keen eyes to architecture's everyday use, filmmakers Ila Bęka and Louise Lemoine create intimate portraits of iconic contemporary buildings, giving backstage access to their inner lives and hidden workings. Their celebrated documentary, Koolhaas HouseLife, previously screened at Storefront as part of the exhibition On Mock-ups, Home Videos and Housekeeping in March 2008, was recently described by Ada Louise Huxtable as "a small, smart, gently ironic, thoroughly delightful film that offers an affectionate but unflinching look at the everyday life of a contemporary architectural masterpiece-or what happens to a celebrated building after the photographers are gone."
In a new transatlantic exhibition of Bęka and Lemoine's ongoing research into architecture as living form, parallel video installations will be presented at Storefront for Art and Architecture and London's Architecture Foundation. The films depict the everyday human activities within Richard Meier's Church in Rome, Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao, and Herzog and de Meuron's Pomerol winery, alongside further footage of Koolhaas's Maison ŕ Bordeaux.
A revealing examination of iconic architecture in dialogue with its users - from line-dancing grape-pickers to abseiling window cleaners - their work explores architecture as an experience, rather than an image.
Exhibition dates: January 21 - Feb 26, 2009 Opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 6pm
