Pougny (Iwan Pimi) by Catalogue de l’œuvre (review)

182 Books by Winston Churchill: ‘We shape our buildings and afterwardsour buildingsshape us’ (cf. C. Eade, ed., The War Speeches of the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1953)Vol. 3, p. 56). The book is divided into three sections. Each section deals with an area where the author feels that architecture can effect significantly human existence. These areas he identifiesashealth, physical activity and mental activity or thought. Wogenscky’s treatment of architecture and health ishandledwithsummarydispatch,slightlymorethan four pages. Indeed, he does little more than state his belief that the environment we create can effect our health without detailinghis arguments. The discussion of the relationship between architecture and physical activity is more extensive. Here he analyzes the active role of architecture in conditioning the physical behavior of both basic societal units (single persons, couples, families) as well as of society as a whole with its constituent institutions and organizations (politics, hospitals, schools, factories, etc.). Two examples will suffice to indicate the range of his concerns. In discussing individualbehavior, he details the myriad ramifications that the design of a chair can have on the physical activities of those who use it (pp. 40-41). In his investigation of factories, he notes that the spatial configuration, through control of workers’ movements, can ultimately affect productivity and profit(pp. 75-77). In this section,he alsoeloquently advocates high-rise, independent apartment blocks each containinga nursery, schoolsand shopsaswell as the residential units (pp. 96-102). These blocks are to be separatedby generousareasof greensward. By comparing such housing with developments consisting of single-familydwellings,he shows how the former can provide advantagessuch as economy of physical activity not only for the inhabitants but also for those who collect refuse, deliver mail or provide other services. Theseideas echo, of course, proposals made by Le Corbusier throughout his career and first realized by him in the Unit6 d’Habitation at Marseilles (1946-1952). It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Wogenscky spent twenty years, 1936-1956, first as his pupil and then as his assistant. The largest segment of the book covers the influence of architecture on thought processes. Wogenscky not only considers the way in which created environmentcan determineindividual mental activity but also the way in which it can affect a family’s thinking and the collective psyche of a society, which suggests his knowledge of recent research in the social sciences. The text is followed by eight photographs of buildings designed by Wogenscky. These are a curious addition as they in no way relate to the text. The buildings reveal that the influence of Le Corbusier, suggestedabove, extends beyond theory to actual practice. Wogenscky has produced a fascinating and potentially important volume. Beyond an architect ’s actual production, it is always interesting to know his underlying philosophy and its sources. He spells out his beliefs in considerable detail in a lucid and readable fashion. The importance of the book will depend on the breadth of its audience and the extent to which it can influence that audience. It is deceptively commonsensical . (The samejudgement has been made of Le Corbusier’s first major publication, Vers unearchitecture (Paris: Crbs, 1923). Cf. R. Banham, Theoryand Design intheFirst Machine Age (London: ArchitecturalPress, 1960)p. 224.) Thisis a possible drawback, as the reader is inclined to accept Wogenscky ’s ideas as obvious. However, there is a largegap between seeminglyobviousideasand their realization in practice. A quick glance at most modern architecture reveals the extent to which Wogenscky’s theories, evident as they may be, could and should be put to use. Pougny (Iwan P u n i ) . Catalogue de l’ceuvre. Tome 1: Les ann6es d’avant-garde, Russie-Berlin, 19101923 . Herman Berninger and Jean-Albert Cartier. Ernst Wasmuth, Tubingen, 1972. 256 pp. Reviewed by :John E. Bolt* This monograph on Pougny, one of the leading lights of the Russian avant-garde, appears most opportunely. Over recent years attention has been captured increasingly by the Russian contribution to modern European art. As the spelling of his name would imply, Jean Pougny has been regarded until recently as a pupil of the Paris school, who produced exquisite, minature canvases reminiscent of Bonnard or Vuillard. Only at very recent exhibitions, such as...