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Functionalism, 2003 - 2005 Version I: Digital print on vinyl, 2.75 x 4.9 metres Functionalism is an on-going series of mural-sized prints of Mexico City's Polytechnic Institute Complex (1957 - 1964. Photographer: Guillermo Zamora. Architect: Reinaldo Pérez Rayón.) Reproduced from a period publication, this black and white photograph freezes these buildings in the year of their construction. The image captures a sense of functional clarity in the buildings portrayed. The stacked class-rooms of the Mexico City Polytechnic, raised on pilotis, stand in rows like display cases in a museum, their functional system of support and slab exposed to the viewer like the contents of a vitrine Functionalism is site specific to each exhibition. For the VIII Havana Biennial (November, 2003. Image left), the image was printed as a vinyl banner and stretched onto an existing scaffolding structure inside the Pabellón Cuba. For "Made in Mexico" at ICA Boston (January, 2004. Image, below left), the photo-mural has been applied to panels which lean against the wall, accompanied by two enameled glass panels. Due to their scale and integration into the architecture of each site, these pieces are evocative of the photo-murals used in technical museums, trade fair displays, and fair pavilions. The floor-to-ceiling photographic mural has been used to extend the exhibition space and integrate it with the architecture displayed in the photograph. |
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Terence Gower
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