Writings on photography and modern architecture in Spaina critical reading of a contemporary anthology

Résumé

The project of compiling an anthology of texts on photography and modern architecture in Spain is framed within the results of a research project sponsored by MINECO 1 between 2013 and 2016. The visual representation of modern architecture was determinant in its conceptual and formal configuration process and has shaped the imaginary of its legacy, given that the historiography of architecture has been elaborated from the texts and the images that consolidated its identity. For this reason, the compilation of the until then existing interpretative and critical bibliography was essential to reassess the scope of this s ymbiotic relationship. When documenting the sources, we found that the references were scarce, dispersed and conformed an heterogeneous set due to the disparity of their nature and the diversity of authors, approaches and contexts. This fact provided the opportunity to elaborate a concise compilation that would combine the most significant texts in a volume aimed to balance that plurality. This initiative, somehow pioneering in our recent and immediate context, was meant to contribute with a complementary and transversal vision to the existing criticism. The chosen for reprint texts address the critical discourse of architecture from the contextual periphery of photography: authorship, photographic narratives, role of the media, etc. The reading of architecture from photography enriches the hermetic and inbred discourse of the discipline itself, opening new links with other visual arts. We understand that introducing this specific and recent case study (Bergera and Bernal 016) can enrich the conference’s theoretical debate. We aim to reveal that the critical reprint of texts under the anthology format —transcending its mere cumulative and documentary condition— remains relevant and opportune. The construction out of the heterogeneity of a collective theoretical positioning together with its transversal nature justifies the pertinence of continuing to undertake this kind of editorial and academic projects.