Review: Architecture in Comic-Strip Form

Abstract

Architecture in Comic-Strip Form National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo 9 October 2015–28 February 2016 This exhibition highlighted the comic strip as an architectural medium by presenting a selection of approximately eighty works, mostly from recent decades, accompanied by older pieces such as Archigram's Space Probe (1964) and Richard J. Dietrich's Metapherlach (1969). In addition to materials in various 2-D formats—posters, booklets, drawings, graphic prints, and so on—the exhibition featured a number of models and videos, which provided an element of dynamism to an otherwise traditional museum layout (Figure 1). Figure 1 Hollywood Bau/The Factory , by Alberto Cipriani and Mauro Marchesi, digital print of the original comic strip, 2008 (photo by National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo). One particular question echoed throughout: What is special about the relationship between comics and architecture? While it is difficult to claim that comic strips have a higher potential for architectural communication than other forms of visual expression, the genre obviously has a few advantages. One has to do with instant graphical recognizability. Entering a room full of comics is almost like reenacting childhood, a time in life when such material can be very formative. This means that architecture in comic-strip format is well suited to capturing the attention of nonarchitects as well as experienced professionals. It was difficult to …