Geoarchitecture

[Image: “Dolmen du Mas d’Azil,” by Eugène Trutat, via Wikipedia.]

I’ve been enjoying looking at these photos of ancient dolmens in the French countryside, taken by Eugène Trutat, after reading about them as part of a forthcoming exhibition here in L.A. called Rude Forms Among Us.

[Image: “Dolmen de Cap del Pouech,” by Eugène Trutat, via Wikipedia.]

“Over a span of several decades, the 19th-century photographer Eugène Trutat documented the Dolmen de Vaour,” the show’s curator, architect Anna Neimark, writes. “Three stones form the perimeter of a nearly rectangular interior; they are called orthostates. One orthostate is long, presenting a sort-of wall, while the other two are chunky and can be read as truncated columns. All three are set in from the perimeter, allowing a rather peculiar capstone to appear to float above them.”

Geology rearranged becomes architecture; the built environment is just the surface of the Earth, spatially amplified.

[Image: “Dolmen de Brillant, Mas d’Azil,” by Eugène Trutat, via Wikipedia.]

There is an opening reception and event with Neimark tomorrow night—Friday, January 31, at 7pm—for those of you near Los Angeles.

3 thoughts on “Geoarchitecture”

  1. It was great to see these images. The exhibit and background information set me on a search at the library and one search leading to another leading to just browsing stacks I found this in the, new to me, Journal of the History of Ideas.

    An essay in the October 2009 issue by Charles Withers: Place and the “Spatial Turn” in Geography and in History
    https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/riverbed_seashore/files/withers.pdf

    An interesting related read to the geology, geography, landscape and architecture thread. The back issues of the J.H.I is full of interesting topics: https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/91

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