Magic Architecture

Frederick Kiesler (1890–1965) was an Austrian-born American artist, architect, set designer, and sculptor best known for his exhibition installations and visionary architectural projects, including an experimental model of human habitation titled The Endless House.Spyros Papapetros is Associate Professor of Art and Architectural Theory and Historiography at Princeton University. His many publications include On the Animation of the Inorganic: Art, Architecture, and the Extension of Life and the edited volume Retracing the Expanded Field: Encounters between Art and Architecture (MIT Press, 2014).Gerd Zillner is Director of the Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna. He has curated numerous exhibitions on Kiesler and coedited the volumes Frederick Kiesler: Face to Face with the Avant-Garde and Friedrich Kiesler: Architekt, Künstler, Visionär.

• Introduction: The Unity of Vision and FactPART ONEChapter 1: The Eternal Preamble to ArchitectureChapter 2: Fear of the UnseenChapter 3: The Enigma of DeathChapter 4: The Enigma of BirthChapter 5: Birth necessitates Shelter; Death inspires ArchitectureChapter 6: The Cave, first natural ShelterChapter 7: The Nest, first artificial ShelterChapter 8: The Universe as ArchitectureChapter 9: The Split in the Unity of Vision and FactPART TWO ANIMAL ARCHITECTURE AND MAN’S ABILITY TO BUILDIntroductionInstinct, Memory and the Drive for InventionChapter 1: Man’s House is Animal ArchitectureChapter 2: The Building-Instinct of Animals: the Termitary of the TermitesChapter 3: Animal Engineering: the Dam of the BeaverChapter 4: Building Tools of AnimalsChapter 5: Man a Composite Animal of Building TechniquesChapter 6: Man’s first Invention: The (first) transformation of dead material into useful toolsChapter 7: The (second) transformation of dead material into magic tools of physical attractionChapter 8: The (third) transformation of dead material into magic tools of spiritual PowerPART THREE AWARENESS OF THE MIRACULOUSIntroduction: From Animal Housing to Magic ArchitectureChapter 1: The Birth of Magic DesignMan discovers his capacity to convert his own body into a dream-image through make-up.Chapter 2: Man discovers that the fingers of his hand are magic wands for the transformation of surfaces into images through the application of paint.Chapter 3: Man discovers that by making grooves (engraving) hard stone objects held in his hand can transform soft stone surfaces into images.Chapter 4: Discovery and Affirmation of the SuperfluousPART FOUR ART AND THE UNKNOWNIntroduction: The Superfluous becomes a NecessityChapter 1: The Meaning of MagicChapter 2: Man part of the Cosmos and Man apart from the CosmosChapter 3: Artifacts, Symbols and ArtChapter 4: Myth and MagicChapter 5: The psycho-plastic EraChapter 6: The ideo-plastic EraChapter 7: The Era of MetamorphosisChapter 8: The Era of AbstractionChapter 9: The Physio-plastic Era