:: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:1::

:: oh for the light of vitruvius’ blinding light ::

mesmerizing architects :: well :: actually not ::
more like the true face of the twentieth
century :: sure :: the surreal penetrating
luminosity of the twentieth century :: consider the
world before the 1st world war :: and the world
in-between world wars :: and the world before the
2nd world war :: and the world since the 2nd world
war :: and the world since the end of the cold
war :: in the process we have become faceless ::
an anonymous mass :: a gelatinous mass ::
scared :: afraid :: with the umbrella of mutually
assured overkill mass destruction over us like a
protecting :/: reassuring hand :: slaughtering our
minds :: so :-: what exactly is surreal
architecture :: surreal :?: absurd :?: is this
normal architecture :?: all other
architecture merely mundane and boring buildings
:?: who decides :?: the literati :?: the
illuminati :?:

1
:: edward james also “appears” (so to speak) in magritte’s “the pleasure principle: portrait of edward
james” :: many have said this is a dali self-portrait; wikipedia, among other sources, says it’s james :: image
could be protected by copyright ::

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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 :: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:2::

:: whatever architectural surrealism may or may not be

this is definitely not architecture :: more like some dilettante
interior decorator with acute migraine :: or a stoned interior
designer with multiple borderline personality disorders :: the
exterior :: by a colorblind exterior designer (sometimes known
as the architect): anyway edward james was sick :: blasphemously
defacing the simple beauty conjured up by the architect :-:
edward lutyens :-: one of england’s great architects ::::
yet :: ok :: delightful :: ok :: charming :: colorful :: ok :-: the
interior :: not everybody’s taste :: but :: great :: try to slip that
past a real-estate-agent :: above all :: there’s passion ::
architects :=: not a lot of passion :: why :?: the
profession’s scared :: scared to express emotions ::
students discouraged from expressing their passion :-: so :-:
is this surreal or merely colorful ::

2
:: monkton house, west dean, west sussex © crown copyright.NMR :: an interior view of monkton house
looking down a brightly decorated corridor :: the house was built in 1902 and designed by edward lutyens :: it
was redecorated in the 1930s in a style which was mainly influenced by salvador dali :: [image might be protected
by copyright laws]

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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 :: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:3::

:: and this :: surreal :-: perhaps: but definitely not architecture :: pure
and utter nonsense :: this :-: thing :: cannot be included in any thoughts on
architecture :: does not even have the intellectuality of a salvador dali ::
a true genius :::: yet :::: picturesquely charming :: delightful :: playful :: this
is how architecture should be :: a highly individualistic expression ::
not some brain-dead cookie-cutter bourgeois architecture :: fearless
beyond creative :: borderline brilliant :: have we become too scared to
dare :: what would happen if we did build our own castles :: in an act of civil
disobedience :: snubbing our noses at the burocrats who dictate what our
world must look like :: so architects don’t hold the keys – the only keys – to
creative building design ::

3
:: ideal palace of ferdinand cheval (hauterives, france) in 1879, french mail carrier ferdinand cheval
began building a structure that was inspired by the shape of a stone he tripped over one day :: thirty-three years
and many, many stones later, cheval’s “ideal palace” was completed :: made of stones bound together
with lime, mortar and cement, the palace is considered an extraordinary example of naïve art architecture ::
images could be protected by copyright ::

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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 :: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:4::

:: and what has this got to do with architecture :: more like some homeless
shelter :: nothing worth wasting a thought on :::: yet :::: somewhat puzzling :: at first ::
kinda feminine :: that is: no brutal, angular male stuff :: but :: is it sophisticated ::
or just some male’s rambling thoughts :: aimless :: purposeless :: just for the hell of
it :: a paleo-habitat :: deeply embedded in man’s collective memory :: yeah :: the
cave :: surreal in a banal sort of way ::

4
:: frederick kiesler. (american, born romania. 1890-1965) model for endless house project. 1960 :: images
could be protected by copyright ::

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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 :: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:5::

:: even worse :: bizarre flashback to a time before

civilization :: man’s paleo-home :: dark memories from an
age of brutal survivalism :::: yet :::: man’s primordial egg ::
cocoon :: womb :: freudian :: jungian :: fearing the
trauma of birth :: existential angst :: whatever :: pure
shelter :: free from trappings :: no unnecessary stuff :: no
cluttering furniture :: retreating back into the safety of the
reassuring shell :: escaping the aggressiveness of life’s senseless
ceaseless attacks ::

5
:: living in shelters, the future of the cavern :: the endless house , frederick kiesler -1950-1960
:: grotto for meditation and endless house attempt to satisfy both practical and spiritual human
demands :: images could be protected by copyright ::

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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 :: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:6::

:: architecture :?: an antithesis to the ka’aba :?: antithesis to the static rigidity of
cathedrals :: no divine reflection of western ideologies :: that’s right :: definitely not
architecture :::: yet :::: serene beauty :: surreal in a magnificent way ::
tranquility :: awe-inspiring :: so much more architecture than so much
eurocentric architecture :: calmly reflecting on the rebellion that changed the
world :: then :: and still to this day :: powertecture :: surreal in as much as it
effortlessly overshadows the banality of mundane pretentious architecture :: or a virtual
surreality reaching deep down into the soul ::

:: the shrine of the book, which houses the dead sea scrolls, at the israel museum in west
6

jerusalem : : images could be protected by copyright ::

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::5:7::

:: possibly a nightmare :: but strictly personal :: file under you-can’t-

do-that-here :: this is not architecture :: this is nothing ::
really :?: it is more beautiful :: more serene :: than any
contrived politically kowtowing architecture ::

7
:: design for the entrance hall of a marylebone flat, david connor, 1985 :: museum no. E.5-2007 adam ants
flat, london, england :: a dramatic flat for a theatrical performer :: the flat was envisaged as a video set :: the
furniture was specially made and over scaled, fabrics were commissioned and the walls painted by stage artists ::
client: adam ant :: images could be protected by copyright ::

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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 :: suRReal :~: isM ::

::5:8::

:: what’s there to say :: the master himself :: if only albert camus could
have built a home :: ok :: so it wouldn’t have looked like this :: but it
would have been the pinnacle of architectural inventiveness ::
unrivaled by any who call themselves architects :: so it’s art :: much
like the art crawling all over gothic cathedrals :: only it is more
classical than eurocentric cookoo-eyed visions of classical stuff :: after
all :”: dream of venus :”: doesn’t get any more classical ::

:: eric schaal, façade of the dream of venus pavilion, 1939 :: eric schaal, salvador dalí and gala in
8

the fish-headed ticket booth for dream of venus, 1939 :: images could be protected by copyright ::

: :fRaNcis-safaie-bR0wN::
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