33 Formalisms

There is as of yet no significant critical theory that guides the current production and critique of architectural form. Impelled by or resulting from this theoretical void, cultural institutions have sidelined architectural form in favor of complementary entities such as “the urban,” “the digital,” and “sustainability.”

Treading on the toes of many disciplines, “formalism” continues to confound its allies and enemies alike. The confusion regarding formalism’s character is based both on misuse and misappropriations as well as formalism’s own abuses, which lead one to question whether formalism was ever or is even now a stable, theoretical proposition. The tenets of formalism have reformed and rebanded to the point where one cannot locate a formalist epistemology within art and architecture. It can only be identified as multiple formalisms.

thresholds 33: Formalisms brings to light a series of debates within which formalism is embedded- challenging, celebrating, and denuding formalists and formalism as a stable entity itself.

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35
Residual

34
Portability

33
Formalisms

32
Access

31
Ephemera

30
Microscosms

28
Baroque

27
Exploration

26
Denatured

25
Sacrosanct

23
Deviant

22
Fashion

20
Be-longing

19
The Invisible

16
Speed. IMPACT. Change

14
Landscape and the Environment