The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was built to house the Hirschorn art collection, prostate acquired by the Smithsonian in 1965. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, visit this site Owings, and Merril and opened in 1974. The site previously held the large red brick Medical Museum which was demolished to make room for the Hirschorn. The design was unique, a concrete cylinder on four large piers with a large void in the middle with a large fountain and courtyard. The building itself was criticized from the beginning as being out of place on the National Mall. It has alternately been described as a bunker, gas tank, spaceship, and the world’s largest doughnut. While it certainly houses a respectable collection of modern and contemporary art and is a fine example of Brutalist architecture (depending on one’s opinion), two recent projects hope to bring new life to the often reviled building.

Doug Aitken’s latest work, Song 1 made good use of the building by projecting on all three-hundred sixty degrees of the outer walls. The film features dozens of people singing versions of the famous american standard “I Only Have Eyes for You” including versions commissioned for the project by Beck and Devendra Banhart, interspersed with other scenes and audio. The film ran from March to June and just closed. Like Aitken’s previous work Sleepwalkers, Song 1 makes use of the architecture. The architecture isn’t integral in storytelling but using a building as screen for such films humanizes the building.

More clips and stills are available on the Song 1 project website: http://www.dougaitkensong1.com/

The architecture of the Hirschorn is also undergoing a seasonal expansion via an inflatable enclosure designed by Diller, Schifido +Renfro. The project will fill the donut hole void with a temporary structure turning the exterior area into an enclosed area that can be programmed for various uses (conferences, concerts, etc).

The Hirschorn feels limited by its architecture, its circular structure and low (by today’s standards) ceilings necessitates creative programming. By filling the void and using the outside walls as projection screens, the Hirschorn is opening itself to new possibilities.


The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was built to house the Hirschorn art collection, viagra which was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1965. The site picked for the Hirschorn had previously held the large red brick Medical Museum which was demolished to make room for the new museum. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, symptoms Owings, buy and Merril and opened in 1974. Its design was unique, a concrete cylinder on four large piers with a large void in the middle featuring a large fountain and courtyard. The building itself was criticized from the beginning as being out of place on the National Mall. It has alternately been described as a bunker, gas tank, spaceship, and the world’s largest doughnut. While the Hirschorn certainly houses a respectable collection of modern and contemporary art and is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, two recent projects hope to bring new life to the often reviled building.

Doug Aitken’s latest work, Song 1 used the exterior of building as a screen by projecting on all three-hundred sixty degrees of its outer walls. The film features dozens of people singing versions of the Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s famous standard “I Only Have Eyes for You” including new versions commissioned for the project by Beck and Devendra Banhart. Like Aitken’s previous work Sleepwalkers, Song 1 makes prominent use of the architecture. However, architecture isn’t integral to his storytelling but using a building as screen for such films serves to humanizes the building or reconsider it in a different light.

More clips and stills are available on the Song 1 project website: http://www.dougaitkensong1.com/

Bunshaft’s building is also getting a redo by undergoing a seasonal expansion via an inflatable enclosure designed by Diller, Schifido + Renfro. The project will fill the donut hole void with a temporary structure turning the exterior area into an enclosed area that can be programmed for various uses like conferences and concerts.

The Hirschorn’s architecture is sometimes constraining, its circular structure and low (by today’s standards) ceilings necessitates creative programming. By filling the void and using the outside walls as projection screens, the Hirschorn opens itself to new possibilities.


The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was built to house the Hirschorn art collection, pills which was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1965. The site picked for the Hirschorn had previously held the large red brick Medical Museum which was demolished to make room for the new museum. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, information pills Owings, and Merril and opened in 1974. Its design was unique, a concrete cylinder on four large piers with a large void in the middle featuring a large fountain and courtyard. The building itself was criticized from the beginning as being out of place on the National Mall. It has alternately been described as a bunker, gas tank, spaceship, and the world’s largest doughnut. While the Hirschorn certainly houses a respectable collection of modern and contemporary art and is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, two recent projects hope to bring new life to the often reviled building.

Doug Aitken’s latest work, Song 1 used the exterior of building as a screen by projecting on all three-hundred sixty degrees of its outer walls. The film features dozens of people singing versions of the Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s famous standard “I Only Have Eyes for You” including new versions commissioned for the project by Beck and Devendra Banhart. Like Aitken’s previous work Sleepwalkers, Song 1 makes prominent use of the architecture. However, architecture isn’t integral to his storytelling but using a building as screen for such films serves to humanizes the building or reconsider it in a different light.

More clips and stills are available on the Song 1 project website: http://www.dougaitkensong1.com/

Bunshaft’s building is also getting a temporary upgrade by undergoing a seasonal expansion via an inflatable enclosure designed by Diller Schifido + Renfro. The project will fill the donut hole void with a temporary structure turning the courtyard into an enclosed area that can be programmed for various uses like conferences and concerts.

The Hirschorn’s architecture is sometimes constraining, its circular structure and low (by today’s standards) ceilings necessitates creative programming. By filling the void and using the outside walls as projection screens, the Hirschorn opens itself to new possibilities.


The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was built to house the Hirschorn art collection, thumb which was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1965. The site picked for the Hirschorn had previously held the large red brick Medical Museum which was demolished to make room for the new museum. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, check Owings, this and Merril and opened in 1974. Its design was unique, a concrete cylinder on four large piers with a large void in the middle featuring a large fountain and courtyard. The building itself was criticized from the beginning as being out of place on the National Mall. It has alternately been described as a bunker, gas tank, spaceship, and the world’s largest doughnut. While the Hirschorn certainly houses a respectable collection of modern and contemporary art and is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, two recent projects hope to bring new life to the often reviled building.

Doug Aitken’s latest work, Song 1 used the exterior of building as a screen by projecting on all three-hundred sixty degrees of its outer walls. The film features dozens of people singing versions of the Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s famous standard “I Only Have Eyes for You” including new versions commissioned for the project by Beck and Devendra Banhart. Like Aitken’s previous work Sleepwalkers, Song 1 makes prominent use of the architecture. However, architecture isn’t integral to his storytelling but using a building as screen for such films serves to humanizes the building or reconsider it in a different light.

More clips and stills are available on the Song 1 project website: http://www.dougaitkensong1.com/

Bunshaft’s building is also getting a temporary upgrade by undergoing a seasonal expansion via an inflatable enclosure designed by Diller Schifido + Renfro. The project will fill the donut hole void with a temporary structure turning the courtyard into an enclosed area that can be programmed for various uses like conferences and concerts.

The Hirschorn’s architecture is sometimes constraining, its circular structure and low (by today’s standards) ceilings necessitates creative programming. By filling the void and using the outside walls as projection screens, the Hirschorn opens itself to new possibilities.


The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was built to house the Hirschorn art collection, and which was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1965. The site picked for the Hirschorn had previously held the large red brick Medical Museum which was demolished to make room for the new museum. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, this site Owings, and Merril and opened in 1974. Its design was unique, a concrete cylinder on four large piers with a large void in the middle featuring a large fountain and courtyard. The building itself was criticized from the beginning as being out of place on the National Mall. It has alternately been described as a bunker, gas tank, spaceship, and the world’s largest doughnut. While the Hirschorn certainly houses a respectable collection of modern and contemporary art and is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, two recent projects hope to bring new life to the often reviled building.

Doug Aitken’s latest work, Song 1 used the exterior of building as a screen by projecting on all three-hundred sixty degrees of its outer walls. The film features dozens of people singing versions of the Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s famous standard “I Only Have Eyes for You” including new versions commissioned for the project by Beck and Devendra Banhart. Like Aitken’s previous work Sleepwalkers, Song 1 makes prominent use of the architecture. However, architecture isn’t integral to his storytelling but using a building as screen for such films serves to humanizes the building or reconsider it in a different light.

More clips and stills are available on the Song 1 project website: http://www.dougaitkensong1.com/

Bunshaft’s building is also getting a temporary upgrade by undergoing a seasonal expansion via an inflatable enclosure designed by Diller Schifido + Renfro. The project will fill the donut hole void with a temporary structure turning the courtyard into an enclosed area that can be programmed for various uses like conferences and concerts.

The Hirschorn’s architecture is sometimes constraining, its circular structure and low (by today’s standards) ceilings necessitates creative programming. By filling the void and using the outside walls as projection screens, the Hirschorn opens itself to new possibilities.


The Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was built to house the Hirschorn art collection, viagra sale which was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1965. The site picked for the Hirschorn had previously held the large red brick Medical Museum which was demolished to make room for the new museum. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, viagra 60mg Owings, and Merril and opened in 1974. Its design was unique, a concrete cylinder on four large piers with a large void in the middle featuring a large fountain and courtyard. The building itself was criticized from the beginning as being out of place on the National Mall. It has alternately been described as a bunker, gas tank, spaceship, and the world’s largest doughnut. While the Hirschorn certainly houses a respectable collection of modern and contemporary art and is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, two recent projects hope to bring new life to the often reviled building.

Doug Aitken’s latest work, Song 1 used the exterior of building as a screen by projecting on all three-hundred sixty degrees of its outer walls. The film features dozens of people singing versions of the Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s famous standard “I Only Have Eyes for You” including new versions commissioned for the project by Beck and Devendra Banhart. Like Aitken’s previous work Sleepwalkers, Song 1 makes prominent use of the architecture. However, architecture isn’t integral to his storytelling but using a building as screen for such films serves to humanizes the building or reconsider it in a different light.

More clips and stills are available on the Song 1 project website: http://www.dougaitkensong1.com/

Bunshaft’s building is also getting a temporary upgrade by undergoing a seasonal expansion via an inflatable enclosure designed by Diller Schifido + Renfro. The project will fill the donut hole void with a temporary structure turning the courtyard into an enclosed area that can be programmed for various uses like conferences and concerts.

The Hirschorn’s architecture is sometimes constraining, its circular structure and low (by today’s standards) ceilings necessitates creative programming. By filling the void and using the outside walls as projection screens, the Hirschorn opens itself to new possibilities.


Photomontage is a technique that has long been used by artists to create new visions of reality. Its use can be traced back to the origins of photography; double exposures and cut and pasted layers were common enough even in the beginning. In the modern era, story it became especially prominent in the Dadaist work of John Heartfield, seek Hannah Höch and others, remained popular with many Surrealists. It had a resurgence in Pop Art of the 1960s and its architectural offshoots like Archigram and Superstudio. And as digital technologies evolved into the 1980s and 1990s, it was used by photographers like Andreas Gursky, Jeff Wall, and Thomas Ruff, who is his series, Häuser (1987-1991) erased windows and composited digital images to create unknowable and hyperreal spaces. Photomontage has also long been central to the rendering of architectural projects. Photographers Filip Dujardin and Lauren Marsolier inherit this legacy of photomontage and are currently exhibiting in California.

Filip Dujardin, D'ville 005 (2012)

Filip Dujardin, D’ville 005 (2012)

Highlight Gallery San Francisco features new work from the Belgian photographer, Filip Dujardin. Dujardin’s (Dis)location pairs selections from two recent bodies of work; Guimaraes: The Photographic Mission: The Transgenic Landscape and Deauville: Architectures Imaginaries. These projects resulted from residencies in Deauville, France and Guimaraes, Portugal respectively.

Dujardin’s works create an archive of buildings and architectural fragments and he experiments with their formal possibilities in fantastical ways. His work pushes the margins of architectural photography by playfully exploring the possibilities of stacking and slicing by creating images of impossibly multiplied building forms. He is a remix artist for buildings by repeating and transforming architecture. The images are not bound by the psychical nature of actual buildings or by the constraints of force, gravity, and shear faced by architects and engineers. There is one reading of this work as utopian, as the willing into existence of previously unthought-of forms. However this is probably being generous as the photographs seem more formal and sculptural, satisfied by their ability to trick the eyes and please the mind.

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 001 (2012)

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 001 (2012)

While the French city of Deauville offered more familiar modernist buildings for Dujardin, Guimaraes presented him with more historical forms. In previous bodies of work Dujardin has mostly used modernist forms and fragments, however here the centuries-old castles became a rich vein of new forms to explore. (Dis)location’s combination of works showcase two clashing environments and multiple building styles, however the title owns this contradiction by locating viewers both in the no-place of architectural fantasy and the interstices of distinct geographical places and cultures. The act of dislocation is also the act of removing reality from the photograph. These spaces are not inhabitable but appear hazy in front of viewers, held just at arm’s length, out of reach. The constructed spaces are a nowhere place of dreams and fantasy. Maybe it is the buildings dreaming of becoming something else. The dreamlike quality of these images is an essential component of photomontage and is one of the main reasons that the technique has remained popular throughout the history of photography.

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 003 (2012)

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 003 (2012)

In his most fantastical images, he loses the magic moment of truth, the largely unconscious process of “is that thing real?” Some of the works are too clean, and when the images are immediately read as unreal instead of held in transition by the viewers’ suspension of disbelief, the effect is lost. There is a fine balance needed to trick the brain and to elicit a positive response of the viewer. His popularity points partially to the successful execution of this world-building procedure for his viewers. For comparison it would be helpful to contrast Filip Dujardin to photographer Lauren Marsolier.

Lauren Marsolier is a contemporary photographer who also works in photomontage. Marsolier’s ongoing series Transitions, which just opened at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica explores the phenomena of transition. Marsolier probes the effects that a change of view can have on emotional, perceptual, and spatial awareness. She explores this question of transition both as a psychological force and as a spatial condition. Her concept of transition is framed by the loss of the solid grounding of the ideologies of the past, the implosion of clear boundaries, and a sense of placelessness caused by collapse of stable signifiers. Her works contain subtle juxtapositions of location, mismatching the foreground buildings and background landscape. The scenes are calm, even serene but discomfiting, too quiet to let viewers guard down. The works’ content, mostly of buildings and deserted landscapes are quite eerie.

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Lawn, 2012

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Lawn, 2012

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Covered Car 2012

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Covered Car (triptych), 2012

There are commonalities between Marsolier’s and Dujardin’s approaches. Their images share a similar flatness where buildings are isolated from their background environment. Cloudless bright skies feature in almost all of Dujardin’s work as it frequently does in Marsolier’s Transitions. In previous works, however Marsolier has shown more versatility, experimenting with night shoots and varied lighting conditions. Another key difference is that her photography comes from a landscape tradition whereas Dujardin is primarily an architectural photographer. There remains the question of what is the function of a contemporary photomontage.

The bigger question of understanding the aesthetic of photomontage is the question of affect. Is it enough to ask “Am I seduced by this image?” Is optic seduction enough or is there a need to strike other sensorial places or imply deeper questions? Marsolier says she is aiming for this transitory place in her images. They are transcribing feelings and reaching into an uncanny space by making the void of post-modern life visible. For Dujardin is the experimental catalog of forms and the sheer visual pleasure of seeing them enough or is the very act of making fantastic forms actually creating a vision for the future?

Lauren Marsolier, Buildings And Pines

Lauren Marsolier, Buildings And Pines, 2012

(Dis)location is at Highlight Gallery through March 29th. 1 Kearny Street, San Francisco
Transition is at the Robert Berman Gallery through March 30th. 2525 Michigan Ave C2 Santa Monica

Photomontage is a technique that has long been used by artists to create new visions of reality. Its use can be traced back to the origins of photography; double exposures and cut and pasted layers were common enough even in the beginning. In the modern era, story it became especially prominent in the Dadaist work of John Heartfield, seek Hannah Höch and others, remained popular with many Surrealists. It had a resurgence in Pop Art of the 1960s and its architectural offshoots like Archigram and Superstudio. And as digital technologies evolved into the 1980s and 1990s, it was used by photographers like Andreas Gursky, Jeff Wall, and Thomas Ruff, who is his series, Häuser (1987-1991) erased windows and composited digital images to create unknowable and hyperreal spaces. Photomontage has also long been central to the rendering of architectural projects. Photographers Filip Dujardin and Lauren Marsolier inherit this legacy of photomontage and are currently exhibiting in California.

Filip Dujardin, D'ville 005 (2012)

Filip Dujardin, D’ville 005 (2012)

Highlight Gallery San Francisco features new work from the Belgian photographer, Filip Dujardin. Dujardin’s (Dis)location pairs selections from two recent bodies of work; Guimaraes: The Photographic Mission: The Transgenic Landscape and Deauville: Architectures Imaginaries. These projects resulted from residencies in Deauville, France and Guimaraes, Portugal respectively.

Dujardin’s works create an archive of buildings and architectural fragments and he experiments with their formal possibilities in fantastical ways. His work pushes the margins of architectural photography by playfully exploring the possibilities of stacking and slicing by creating images of impossibly multiplied building forms. He is a remix artist for buildings by repeating and transforming architecture. The images are not bound by the psychical nature of actual buildings or by the constraints of force, gravity, and shear faced by architects and engineers. There is one reading of this work as utopian, as the willing into existence of previously unthought-of forms. However this is probably being generous as the photographs seem more formal and sculptural, satisfied by their ability to trick the eyes and please the mind.

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 001 (2012)

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 001 (2012)

While the French city of Deauville offered more familiar modernist buildings for Dujardin, Guimaraes presented him with more historical forms. In previous bodies of work Dujardin has mostly used modernist forms and fragments, however here the centuries-old castles became a rich vein of new forms to explore. (Dis)location’s combination of works showcase two clashing environments and multiple building styles, however the title owns this contradiction by locating viewers both in the no-place of architectural fantasy and the interstices of distinct geographical places and cultures. The act of dislocation is also the act of removing reality from the photograph. These spaces are not inhabitable but appear hazy in front of viewers, held just at arm’s length, out of reach. The constructed spaces are a nowhere place of dreams and fantasy. Maybe it is the buildings dreaming of becoming something else. The dreamlike quality of these images is an essential component of photomontage and is one of the main reasons that the technique has remained popular throughout the history of photography.

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 003 (2012)

Filip Dujardin, Guimarães 003 (2012)

In his most fantastical images, he loses the magic moment of truth, the largely unconscious process of “is that thing real?” Some of the works are too clean, and when the images are immediately read as unreal instead of held in transition by the viewers’ suspension of disbelief, the effect is lost. There is a fine balance needed to trick the brain and to elicit a positive response of the viewer. His popularity points partially to the successful execution of this world-building procedure for his viewers. For comparison it would be helpful to contrast Filip Dujardin to photographer Lauren Marsolier.

Lauren Marsolier is a contemporary photographer who also works in photomontage. Marsolier’s ongoing series Transitions, which just opened at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica explores the phenomena of transition. Marsolier probes the effects that a change of view can have on emotional, perceptual, and spatial awareness. She explores this question of transition both as a psychological force and as a spatial condition. Her concept of transition is framed by the loss of the solid grounding of the ideologies of the past, the implosion of clear boundaries, and a sense of placelessness caused by collapse of stable signifiers. Her works contain subtle juxtapositions of location, mismatching the foreground buildings and background landscape. The scenes are calm, even serene but discomfiting, too quiet to let viewers guard down. The works’ content, mostly of buildings and deserted landscapes are quite eerie.

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Lawn, 2012

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Lawn, 2012

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Covered Car 2012

Lauren Marsolier, Landscape with Covered Car (triptych), 2012

There are commonalities between Marsolier’s and Dujardin’s approaches. Their images share a similar flatness where buildings are isolated from their background environment. Cloudless bright skies feature in almost all of Dujardin’s work as it frequently does in Marsolier’s Transitions. In previous works, however Marsolier has shown more versatility, experimenting with night shoots and varied lighting conditions. Another key difference is that her photography comes from a landscape tradition whereas Dujardin is primarily an architectural photographer. There remains the question of what is the function of a contemporary photomontage.

The bigger question of understanding the aesthetic of photomontage is the question of affect. Is it enough to ask “Am I seduced by this image?” Is optic seduction enough or is there a need to strike other sensorial places or imply deeper questions? Marsolier says she is aiming for this transitory place in her images. They are transcribing feelings and reaching into an uncanny space by making the void of post-modern life visible. For Dujardin is the experimental catalog of forms and the sheer visual pleasure of seeing them enough or is the very act of making fantastic forms actually creating a vision for the future?

Lauren Marsolier, Buildings And Pines

Lauren Marsolier, Buildings And Pines, 2012

(Dis)location is at Highlight Gallery through March 29th. 1 Kearny Street, San Francisco
Transition is at the Robert Berman Gallery through March 30th. 2525 Michigan Ave C2 Santa Monica

Below is a list of NYC events, generic
openings and lectures. As always check the venue for the most up to date information.


[google-calendar-events id=”2″ type=”list” title=”Bay Area Events” max=”30″]