The face of the German house : modernization and cultural anxiety in twentieth-century architectural photographs

This dissertation proposes that architectural photography-which became an independent genre in twentieth century Germany-was a primary route along which the cultural and political conflicts of modernization were addressed within the contested space of public discussion, and that these photographs helped produce the political and cultural changes driving major developments in German architecture and urbanism since the 1920s. My study explores the history of the representational and disciplinary ambiguity between the house photograph and the portrait, with particular attention to political and social connotations in the work of four German practitioners whose photographic oeuvres are more closely related than is commonly understood: Paul Schultze-Naumburg (1896-1949), Albert Renger-Patzsch (1897-1966), August Sander (1876-1964), and Bernd Becher (1931-2007).My study of these figures' architectural photographs highlights their participation in broader debates on architecture and public space, specifically through the overarching metaphor of the "face" of the German building. I argue that the work of these photographers, as well as their circumstances of production, epitomize the concurrent and colliding forces of modernity and industrialization.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Weiss, Kirsten (Kirsten Anne)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mark Jarzombek.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45942

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45942