Since my book is called ‘theory of perspective demonstrated’, I thought it was only logical to have my first search be ‘perspective’. For this I used the Xenotheka library and choose theory as my topic of conversation. This combination proved to have over 10000 results, many being very interesting. The first book I chose to take a closer look at, was ‘Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture Vol I’. This was mainly because one of the quotes immediately caught my eye. “(…) good architecture required the use of perspective(…)”. I found this very interesting and decided to read a larger excerpt. Schumacher goes on to name two architects, who had both before been painters and gifted in the art of perspective. He says that this knowledge of the subject lead them to be such great architects. I find this connection to art very interesting, as the author of my book also used a lot of drawings to demonstrate his ideas of perspective.
The second book I chose, found with the same searched words, was ‘Architecture Theory since 1968’ by Michael Hays. Here, the quote that caught my attention was “But between perspective and photography there is an epistemological break.” Since photography didn’t exist, when the author (John Cowley) of my original book was alive, I started to wonder what he would think about it. Personally, I believe that he would still prefer drawing over photography. While photography may be easier and faster, it is not capable of capturing things, such as a given perspective, the same as a drawing. A picture can feel overwhelming, as it captures everything and is never quite the same as what one sees through ones own eyes. A drawing can focus on the elements that are truly important, and is generally done exactly as seen from the eye of the drawer. This leads me to believe, that even if John Cowley was alive during a time where photography existed, he still would have chosen to draw the illustrations in his book, rather than replacing them with photographs.
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Andreas Albrecht Instrument zur Architectur
We have found the same book in Alice quite a coincidence. Architecture Theory since 1968. You ask yourself the question if the author of your book would have used photography as a a tool if he could have had access to the technology. And conclude that he still would have drawn rather than used photography. In my case I would agree with you because in my book the drawings are very carefully done and have artistic elements, therefore the drawings aren’t just technical they are also a form of art. But I still think my author would have used some pictures to use as reference images maybe even as bad examples.