MODEL SERIES I ( JOHN LAUTNER ) & DO WORDS HAVE VOICES ( BOTH 2011 ) THOMAS DEMAND & MARTIN BOYCE
Thomas Demand shares a fascination for architecture with Martin Boyce . During the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2012 , their work was shown side by side in one room : Demand ’ s Model Studies I , based on architectural models by John Lautner , and Boyce ’ s Do Words Have Voices . In M the two works are jointly displayed once again .
Do Words Have Voices is a ceiling installation exploring the history and legacy of modernist design and architecture . In 2011 Boyce won the famous Turner Prize for this work among others . It consists of six elements which can be shown separately or together . Each element is the result of a careful study and construction effort . As Boyce commented on Do Words Have Voices : “ It all centres on the landscape . I ’ m interested in the physical landscape , but also in the psychological landscape – in our densely built-up environment which we traverse each and every day and of which we are only occasionally aware . At such moments it may trigger a meaningful resonance . The work is meant to intensify these rare moments .”
John Lautner ( 1911-1994 ) was an American architect who became known in particular for his designs for buildings that resemble functional sculptures . After an internship with Frank Lloyd Wright , he started his own practice in Los Angeles . Most of his projects were also realized in California . Several models of designs that were never realized , are preserved at the Los Angeles Getty Research Institute . During a residency at the Getty Institute in 2013 , Demand had the opportunity to study and photograph these models . It resulted in a series of works that mainly focuses on the sculptural qualities of Lautner ’ s architecture .
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