THE JOURNAL IN QUESTION
When an architecture publication from the 1970s is omitted from an exhibition about architecture publications from the same period, does it make a sound? It does if Lebbeus Woods is one of its staunch defenders. He noticed that the current exhibition at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, Clip/Stamp/Fold: The Radical Architecture of Little Magazines, curated by Beatriz Colomina, has left out a “little magazine,” launched by Steven Holl—one of Storefront’s board members, no less! No, it’s not booklets of watercolors, it’s the Pamphlet Architecture series, which Holl started in 1977 as impromptu, Xerox-able missives that gave young practitioners, including Lars Lerup, Zaha Hadid, and himself, the chance to write about and present their work. The series continues today, published by Princeton Architectural Press via a series of yearly competitions. Colomina’s show includes publications such as Casabella to more obscure journals, including one we’ve never heard of, ARse. Woods, himself an early Pamphlet-eer, surmised, “She obviously feels it belongs to the ’80s, but it’s not true.” He griped, “She’s certainly enough of a historian to check dates.”
The ever-gracious Colomina clarified, “What happened is that the show was originally going up to 1976 and when we added a few more years at the very end, somehow Pamphlet got left behind.” She continued, “There is a note in the gallery and the newsletter encouraging people to send info about other magazines. Anyway since we are all in New York, it would be easy to add another bubble and include Pamphlet as long as we get originals soon.” Problem solved.
DO THE SHUFFLE
The world of architecture publications continues its bloodletting. From the recent Hanley Wood acquisition/axing of Architecture to changes at Domus and Abitare, now comes reports that Architectural Record, whose editorial masthead is top-heavy, is trimming its staff: At the end of November, it let go long-time editor-at-large James Russell, who began his career as an associate editor at Record and continued to work there part-time, while serving as architecture critic for the Bloomberg news agency, a gig he’ll continue. In an email, Russell wrote, “Pursuant to a significant restructuring that affected all the business units of McGraw-Hill Construction, I have left Architectural Record, after 18 years, with regrets.” The same restructuring also saw the promotion of another 18-year McGraw-Hill veteran, Laura Viscusi, who became publisher of the magazine and will also oversee Engineer News Record. “Stability” does not seem to be the keyword here. This trend explains why
AN editors have been writing Eavesdrop since we lost our last ’dropper. Speaking of, has anyone noticed a certain notorious blog—rhymes with “shutter”—is moribund? The New York Times House & Home section must have put “anonymous blogs” on its ban list for contributors, next to gossip columns.
COMMENTS, TIPS, JOB APPLICATIONS: EDITOR@ARCHPAPER.COM
