Sunday, January 31, 2010

Le Corbusier as Camoufleur

First, one of our favorite passages from Peter DeVries, The Tunnel of Love (NY: Penguin, 1982)—

I imagined myself asking her whether she liked Le Corbusier, and her replying, "Love some, with a little Benedictine if you've got it."

Beyond that, there's a reference to Le Corbusier's use of camouflage in Jonneke Jobse, De Stijl Continued: The Journal Structure (1958-1964): An Artist's Debate (010 Publishers:2005), p. 175—

He [Le Corbusier] described his use of polychromy as "architectural camouflage." By giving walls, ceilings and floors their own color, and modulating the space by means of contrasting colors for doors, windows, cabinets and fireplaces, he accented or disguised certain parts of the structure, thus creating the visual structure he was aiming for.