Spatial Points of View

Studying the spatial implications of Cubism.

Space in the cubist painting is never “empty” (a void receding to infinity) but is contained within the surface of the paint; space is both as solid and as transparent as the objects that frame it. Depth is achieved not by illusion but by cognition — by teasing the eye and mind to complete the object in three dimensions. Thin to the eye, but thickened conceptually, Cubist space offers a potential resistance in the process of making analogous to other materials found in the design lab, such as cardboard, wood, plaster, and sheet metal.

The Cubist probe into perception is revisted in order to examine its contributions to architecture and visual culture. Can Cubism inform or extend our capabilities as architects to think three-dimensionally, to locate things in space, and to represent three-dimensional ideas in two-dimensional form?