By JULIA OLSEN
The BYU Museum of Art is hosting the touring exhibit, “The Art of Architecture,” spotlighting 20 of the world’s most distinguished architects.
Each of the featured architects are recipients of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, awarded by the Hyatt Foundation and referred to as “the Nobel of architecture.”
Before coming to BYU, the exhibit was displayed throughout the United States, Europe and South America. BYU was the first engagement in the United States when the exhibit returned from Brazil.
“(The exhibit) will carry forward the purpose of the prize, stimulating viewers to a greater awareness, particularly in terms of architectural awareness,” said Bill Lacey, the executive director of the international prize jury.
The Pritzker Prize was established in 1979 by the Pritzker family to honor, each year, a living architect whose work demonstrated talent, vision, commitment and contributed to the culture of the world.
The award has been presented to living architects internationally for their standing works.
“We became keenly aware of just how little regard there was for the art of architecture,” said Jay A. Pritzker, president of the Hyatt Foundation.
Since the 1992 premier of the exhibit at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago, the displays of photographs, drawings and models of the artists’ work has brought more appreciation and recognition to the art of architecture in the communities it has visited.
By the end of the 10-year tour in 2001, the exhibit will include the works of 25 accomplished architects.
In conjunction with the exhibit, the Museum of Art is presenting a series of lectures, called “Perspectives,” examining different aspects of architecture.
Thursday at 7 p.m., Travis Anderson, an associate professor of philosophy at BYU, will speak as a part of the lecture series. Admission is free.
Anderson has published numerous articles on philosophies of art and plans to speak on “Deconstruction Architecture: Reconfiguring the Time and Space of Human Spiritual Relations.”
Finishing the series of lectures is Mark Hamilton, professor of architectural history at BYU, on September 17, and Barbara Shaw, a professor at the University of Utah, on September 24 at the Museum of Art.
The exhibit will remain at BYU through the end of September. The next tentative engagement is at the Centre de Design de L’Uqam in Montreal, Canada.
