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Juan Jose Lahuerta's Columns of Smoke series offers bold new
readings of modernity and its key figures while redefining the
connections between architecture, ornamentation, and the portrayal
of both in print media. The third volume focuses on the Spanish
architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), whose spectacular fin-de-siecle
bohemian modernism stood in revolutionary contrast to the leading
approaches of the day. With the rise of Le Corbusier's modern style
of architecture in the early twentieth century, architects who
favored ornamentation and a strong bond with nature, like Gaudi,
were relegated to the sidelines. Lahuerta draws on first-hand
documents, many previously unpublished, to show that Gaudi, far
from being the isolated eccentric seen in other accounts, was
keenly aware of the major theories and works of his time and
cleverly used industrial processes to produce ornamental details
that appear today to be almost handmade. Equally impressive was
Gaudi's ability to capitalize on his fame once in the public eye,
as both the architect and his buildings appeared in illustrations
in the popular press. His influence on avant-garde artists like
Salvador Dali, who admired the edible appearance of Gaudi's Casa
Mila in Barcelona, and Pablo Picasso, who was fascinated by the
eroticism of the Casa Batllo, attests to the architect's impact far
beyond his field. Richly illustrated with rare images from a
variety of sources, this highly visual take on Gaudi is also a
spirited commentary on the roots of modernism more generally.
Entertaining and perceptive, Antoni Gaudi challenges us to
reconsider what we thought we knew about this pioneering architect
and his distinctive work.
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