Interpreting the Semper-Menges Collage The collage that we have chosen to show in the exhibit combines the formal attributes of basket weaving Gottfried Semper referred to in Der Stil and the assembly techniques Michael Hensel and Achim Menges employed in their IDP pavilion. Since each cultural form is based on a similar technique, a fruitful ambiguity emerges in the reading of this collage form. Are we witnessing the formal reference to ‘primitive’ techniques in the full-scale architectural form? Or is this simply a digital print of a woven basket form? The answer to both is, of course, yes, which makes it that much harder to divorce form and meaning in the new hybrized form. Allowing the two material practices to overlay and extend from one another was an important aspect to preserve in this object.
Digital model was completed by Chris Beorkrem, Steve Danilowicz and Ryan Barkes.
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