Le
Corbusier: Moments in the Life of a Great Architect
de Rene Burri, Arthur Ruegg
Book Description
Great moments in the life and work of Le Corbusier expertly captured
by the Magnum photographer, Burri. An outstanding document of value
for art and architectural history. Burri was born in 1933 and has been
a member of the famous photo agency, Magnum since 1959. He photographed
Le Corbusier in the most diverse situations during the last decade of
his life from 1955-1965. With his characteristic appearance and forceful
personality Le Corbusier became the very embodiment of the modern architect.
As a public figure, he knew what was expected of him and he played the
part to perfection. Scenes from Le Corbusier's private and public life
depict classic moments in the lives of architects in an exemplary way.
Burri,
who won the Erich Salomon prize for outstanding photographic journalism
in 1998, is constantly chasing that moment of maximum intensity when
everything-the position of the people, the light, the significance of
the objects-is just right. Only then when he successfully captures "the
vibration of the living" is he satisfied.
On
his search for the ultimate moment Burri took around 3000 photographs
of Le Corbusier and his work. Some have been published and have become
icons. These together with previously unpublished photographs convey
a message which is still valid today but frequently we can no longer
set them in the historical context of the time. Consequently, Burri
has created sequences of pictures with the help of the Le Corbusier
expert, Arthur Ruegg (editor of Polychromie Architecturale) which should
revive typical moments in the life of the great architect in a particularly
vivid way. The individual sequences of photographs are complemented
by informative texts, providing background details on the situations
depicted.
In
the format of an album, this publication contains approximately 200
duotone and colour photographs. Much of the visual material has not
been previously published and will provide many a surprise for architects,
photographers and art historians. Preface by Mario Botta.