Neutra Architecture Traveling Exhibit

Exhibit Page | Flyer Introduction | Learning Objectives | Questionnaire

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Welcome to:

"The View From Inside"
The Architecture of Richard and Dion Neutra

An exhibition project of the Institute for Survival through Design*

This exhibition was put together for your enjoyment and in the hope that viewing it will expand your way of looking at the built environment and the architect's role in its creation.

This show was conceived by Dion Neutra, son and partner of Richard, in 1982-83 when the Museum of Modern Art in New York City mounted its 50th anniversary solo show on Neutra. This was in commemoration of an original ground breaking modernist exhibition in 1932 -- the first time an architect west of the Mississippi had ever been included in a New York modern design show.

Dion visited New York just before the 1982 show opened and took notice at the way MOMA chose to represent the Neutra works. What gave him special pause was MOMA's choice to favor black and white photos of how the naked buildings looked when they were first completed. They eschewed his suggestion to include any references to the organic growth of the buildings into their sites over time.

Dion decided to curate a companion piece. His impulse was to show newer color shots of the buildings in a more mature environment, enveloped in lush landscaping. He decided to share some comments by owners/users, and attempt to delve more deeply into the context which shaped the designs. His plan was to get the show mounted at or near UCLA in 1984 at the same time the MOMA show tour was scheduled.

The show was mounted at the Pacific Design Center, the west side's premier furniture and design center, also known as the "Blue Whale." It ran for three months in the spring of 1984 at the same time the MOMA show was at UCLA in Los Angeles. It featured a "Neutra Room"; video, and four evenings of lectures by invited groups illustrating some of the points of the show.

"The View From the Inside" was reprised on the campus of USC in 1992 for Neutra's centennial, and again at UCLA, in late 1998. It also enjoyed a run of several months at the Neutra Office building in Los Angeles in the spring of 1999.

The notion of a traveling version of this show at half scale was born out of the realization that the 30 original 4'x8' panels were simply too costly to ship to remote venues. With increased interest in the Neutra work, it was obvious that a more compact and modest-sized exhibition would reach a wider audience and satisfy the increasing and renewed interest in the work.

After a year of grant applications and passes, Maxwell Starkman, AIA, architect and former colleague of Dion in the Neutra office in the early 50s, came through with a generous donation to the Institute. His 1999 gift was sufficient to fund production of the Exhibition 2000. Hence the show you are viewing today.

As you walk through the exhibit, here are some learning objectives you may wish to bear in mind:

1. In what ways could my evaluation of architecture be different than from merely viewing photos?

2. The next time I judge something of the designed environment, could anything change in my thinking? Evaluation? Appreciation?

3. What would I think of as the main elements of the Neutras' contribution to the field in their approach to design?

4. Are there any aspects of architecture as exemplified by the Neutra practice that were unexpected or new to me?

Either answer in the spaces provided or use additional sheets. Number to correspond to questions.
Return a copy of this flyer and any extra sheets to gallery supervisor or administration as feedback and for Continuing Education Credit. AIA members will be asked to mail their responses to USC or the Institute directly. Obtain address from local administration.

Questionnaire on the Information Gleaned from This Exhibition

Answer the questions below by way of feedback to the Institute, to gain class credit, or for Continuing Education Credit of 2 units for accreditation via the University of Southern California and its affiliate for this in Norman, Oklahoma. Feel free to add notes for improvement of future editions of this show.

1. From what you have learned through visiting the exhibition, give your interpretation of the meaning of the show title "The View From Inside."

2. Focus on recalling the five Neutra Principles illustrated on the panels. Pick three examples of projects or aspects thereof, that illustratre one or more of these principles. Please recall or paraphrase the Five Principles in the space provided or on a separate sheet.

3. How does the Neutras' approach to the design of their projects differ from that of most architects; can you give two examples?

4. Name three recurring themes that writers of letters agreed on about living in their Neutra environments.

5. Name three buildings illustrated in the show where you learned something about the context or background of the projects that you would not ordinarily have thought of when evaluating the final product from photos alone?

6. Panels 5 & 6, Neutra as Artist-Renderer: Name two of the attributes of Neutra's renderings that made them unique to him and his practice?

7. Name as many techniques/elements that you can of how the Neutras dissolved the line between inside and outside (i.e. placing man in relationship to nature).

8. On Panel 15, Larger Public Structures, in what respect is the remark 'by experts' quoted here contradicted by the rest of that panel?

9. Panel 24, Architecture and Health, asks the question "Should criticism of architecture start with 'Stylistics' or 'Humanistics?'" How would the Neutras answer this and why do you think so?

10. After viewing the show answer the question "What is architecture?" from the viewpoint of the Neutras.

*A non-profit foundation founded by friends and admirers of the Neutras in the 1960s. It is a 501 c.3. Corporation with many projects that always can use financial assistance. Your donation would be welcome and would qualify for a tax deduction. For more information, please see our Web site at www.neutra.org. Some ideas never age...

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"The View From Inside" The Architecture of Richard and Dion Neutra

An exhibition project of the Institute for Survival through Design*

Questionnaire on the Information Gleaned from This Exhibition

"The View From Inside"
The Architecture of Richard and Dion Neutra