Accidentism
Accidentism

by Josef Frank ; intr. by Christopher Lang

Author(s)
Josef Frank
Publication, year
: , 1958
Scope
unpaged, 30 cm.
Carrier
A4 map / file

When the architect and designer Josef Frank (1885-1967) published his essay 'Accidentism' in the Swedish journal Form in 1958, it was the ultimate statement of his long-standing disquiet with the tenets of mainstream European modernism. It was not that Frank rejected the possibilities of a new architecture, or that he desired a return to past forms; rather, it was that he objected vigorously to the notion that modernism could be monolithic or narrowly defined. “Away with universal styles,” he wrote. “Away with the idea of equating art and industry, away with the whole system that has become popular under the name of functionalism.” He proposed that “we should design our surroundings as if they originated by chance”.


Person as subject
Josef Frank
Keywords
architectuur / architecture , modernisme / modernism , toeval / chance
Location
Cabinet 9 - 2: Kunst stromingen en thema's / Art Movements and Themes
Remarks
File containing an essay and an article.