<html>Invitation to a lecture by Aaron Betsky on the topic of Architecture and Sex</html>
Prague – On Friday and Saturday, December 14th and 15th, 2012, three lectures will take place in Prague, Ostrava, and Brno by the famous architectural theorist and curator Aaron Betsky. Aaron Betsky will present a lecture titled Architecture and Sex, in which he will reflect on the intersection and disruption of the polarity of male and female space from both historical and contemporary architectural perspectives.
Aaron Betsky is the author of a number of books that have addressed the topic of sexuality. Among the most famous are Building Sex: Men, Women, Architecture, and the Construction of Sexuality (1997) and Queer Space: Architecture and Same-Sex Desire (1997). Betsky is an experienced organizer in the field of architectural presentation, which was confirmed, among other things, during his six-year tenure as the head of the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) in Rotterdam, one of the most important museum centers for architecture in the world. He is the author of several publications and influential articles, and serves as the director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, which is equivalent to the Rotterdam NAI in the United States. In 2008, he was the director of the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale.
The lecture, which he will present in three performances for students and the public at the Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague, at the Fiducia antiquarian and club in Ostrava, and at the Moravian Gallery in Brno, will summarize Betsky's research to date in the field of sexuality and architecture. The lecture will address the breaking of several polarities that are traditionally present in the formation of space, whether it is the polarity of masculinity and femininity, public and private space, solid architecture and fragile interior. Aaron Betsky sees one of the possibilities in the concept of queer lying outside these polarities. The lecture is organized by architectural historian Ladislav Zikmund-Lender. “Aaron Betsky is the third significant theorist I have invited to the Czech Republic to lecture on marginal topics that I believe are currently lacking here. Before Betsky, film theorist Richard Dyer visited the Czech Republic in 2010, and art historian and archaeologist Whitney Davis lectured in Prague and Brno in 2009.” Zikmund-Lender conducted interviews with all the theorists and plans to publish them along with significant studies by the speakers. Aaron Betsky's lecture tour in the Czech Republic is supported by the Embassy of the United States in Prague and the Czech Architectural Foundation.
Lecture Dates:
December 14, 2012, 1:15 PM, Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague, Hall “Krejcar”, Thákurova 9, Prague 6
December 14, 2012, 6:30 PM, Fiducia Antiquarian, Nádražní 615/30, Ostrava
December 15, 2012, 4:00 PM, Moravian Gallery in Brno, lecture hall of the Museum of Applied Arts, Husova 14, Brno
Lecture Abstract: AARON BETSKY: ARCHITECTURE AND SEX
Buildings are designed by men and women must create their own place within these structures. Moreover, we associate architecture with the idea of masculinity, while interiors are associated with emotion, sensuality, and femininity. How can we break this peculiar situation? One alternative is queer space. It exists between structure and decoration, but also consists of space where the human body is made present. This "third gender" space offers a model of architecture in which boundaries and differences are eliminated. The lecture will focus on both historical and contemporary architecture from the perspective of sexuality and offer reflections on how we can create truly sexy forms and spaces.
Aaron Betsky is the author of a number of books that have addressed the topic of sexuality. Among the most famous are Building Sex: Men, Women, Architecture, and the Construction of Sexuality (1997) and Queer Space: Architecture and Same-Sex Desire (1997). Betsky is an experienced organizer in the field of architectural presentation, which was confirmed, among other things, during his six-year tenure as the head of the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) in Rotterdam, one of the most important museum centers for architecture in the world. He is the author of several publications and influential articles, and serves as the director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, which is equivalent to the Rotterdam NAI in the United States. In 2008, he was the director of the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale.
The lecture, which he will present in three performances for students and the public at the Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague, at the Fiducia antiquarian and club in Ostrava, and at the Moravian Gallery in Brno, will summarize Betsky's research to date in the field of sexuality and architecture. The lecture will address the breaking of several polarities that are traditionally present in the formation of space, whether it is the polarity of masculinity and femininity, public and private space, solid architecture and fragile interior. Aaron Betsky sees one of the possibilities in the concept of queer lying outside these polarities. The lecture is organized by architectural historian Ladislav Zikmund-Lender. “Aaron Betsky is the third significant theorist I have invited to the Czech Republic to lecture on marginal topics that I believe are currently lacking here. Before Betsky, film theorist Richard Dyer visited the Czech Republic in 2010, and art historian and archaeologist Whitney Davis lectured in Prague and Brno in 2009.” Zikmund-Lender conducted interviews with all the theorists and plans to publish them along with significant studies by the speakers. Aaron Betsky's lecture tour in the Czech Republic is supported by the Embassy of the United States in Prague and the Czech Architectural Foundation.
Lecture Dates:
December 14, 2012, 1:15 PM, Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague, Hall “Krejcar”, Thákurova 9, Prague 6
December 14, 2012, 6:30 PM, Fiducia Antiquarian, Nádražní 615/30, Ostrava
December 15, 2012, 4:00 PM, Moravian Gallery in Brno, lecture hall of the Museum of Applied Arts, Husova 14, Brno
Lecture Abstract: AARON BETSKY: ARCHITECTURE AND SEX
Buildings are designed by men and women must create their own place within these structures. Moreover, we associate architecture with the idea of masculinity, while interiors are associated with emotion, sensuality, and femininity. How can we break this peculiar situation? One alternative is queer space. It exists between structure and decoration, but also consists of space where the human body is made present. This "third gender" space offers a model of architecture in which boundaries and differences are eliminated. The lecture will focus on both historical and contemporary architecture from the perspective of sexuality and offer reflections on how we can create truly sexy forms and spaces.
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Author
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Betsky v Brně
MG
12.12.12 08:05
Betsky v Ostravě
Fiducia
12.12.12 08:56
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