Description

In the 1970s and 1980s, architectural drawings took on a new importance and a new set of meanings and uses. At the same time, many architects sought to overturn the traditions of modern architecture, which they viewed as dull, rigid, and formulaic. These architects, sometimes called postmodern, drew from theories in other disciplines and combined them with new and highly individual forms. Drawing was a primary medium of expression for their architectural ideas.

The drawings in this exhibition reflect the wide spectrum of graphics that spanned the worlds of art and practice. Sketches began to be viewed as an intimate record of creative expression as opposed to just a necessary step in the design process. Architecture, which under modernism had cemented itself as a technical craft, was seen increasingly by some architects as an artistic, theoretical pursuit. Drawings were a clear way for architects to convey their innovative ideas or prove their artistic virtuosity in the growing number of theoretical journals and magazines. For architects who saw themselves as originators of creative ideas rather than as creators of buildings, drawing was the medium closest to the original concept.

Significantly, it was in these same decades that commercial galleries, museums, and private collectors began buying, selling, collecting, and exhibiting architectural drawings like never before. This mutually sustaining network elevated architectural drawings from utilitarian documents to objects of artistic merit. It was also in this period that Martin E. Zimmerman ’59 began collecting the drawings on display in this exhibition, which he donated to the MIT Museum with Danielle Zimmerman in 2017.