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- Title
Les revues françaises de l'entre-deux-guerres et la genèse de la notion de Mouvement moderne.
- Authors
Jannière, Hélène
- Abstract
Since the 1980s, several studies on the historiography of modern architecture have focused on the manner by which the critical and historical category "Modern Movement" has been elaborated by architects, critics and historians of the period 1920-1960. Such studies have shown the leading role of the narratives of historians committed to the cause of modernism and publications, in the emergence and vulgarisation of the term. But other kinds of publications have had a more ambitious position, among them French periodicals from L'Architecture Vivante (1923-1933) to L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui (1930-), both having been signalled out by architectural historians and critics as "ideological media" created to support modern architecture, and certain art journals, such as Cahiers d'Art and L'Amour de l'Art. Jannière exposes the paradox of such periodicals. By examining the lexicon used and circulated by these sources, she tries to demonstrate that the term "Modern Movement" as an aesthetic category or as a term designating a unity of goals has in fact scarcely been used in these types of periodicals. Only very few occurrences crop up. Moreover the term "Modern Movement" refers predominantly to a genealogical construct implying the notion of forerunner as an evolutionist interpretation. Such articles are conceived as panoramic overviews of contemporary architecture in several European countries. By employing the term "Modern Movement," they witness on the one hand the international spread of "modern" architecture, and by focusing on local and national peculiarities of these buildings, they attempt on the other hand to demonstrate that national roots are a very vital component of "genuine" modern architecture. Such genealogies of the Modern Movement had already been set forth by radical 1920s architectural publications (notably in German-speaking countries). But in French architecture and art periodicals, these genealogies constructed a restrictive conception of a modern and national architecture which had very Little in common with the category "Modern Movement" as featured in criticism and more generally in orthodox historiography of architecture which established both a unity of goals and a modern project. In conclusion, the author suggests the genesis of the term itself should be further investigated by examining other periodicals from other countries. Such investigations might contribute to the hypothesis that the term "Modern Movement" as employed post-World War II was better consolidated and widespread than during the earlier period between the wars.
- Subjects
FRANCE; MODERN movement (Architecture); MODERN architecture; FRENCH architecture; MODERNITY; ARCHITECTURAL education; HISTORIOGRAPHY
- Publication
Docomomo Journal, 2005, p263
- ISSN
1380-3204
- Publication type
Article