Life is more important than architecture.
Oscar NiemeyerRead
I was attracted by the curve — the liberated, sensual curve suggested by the possibilities of new technology yet so often recalled in venerable old baroque churches.
Interpretation
The quote speaks to the blend of modern technology and the timeless beauty found in traditional architecture.
Oscar Niemeyer expresses his fascination with how modern technology can create sensual and liberating curves in design, akin to the curves found in ancient baroque architecture. He highlights the relationship between innovation and tradition, suggesting that new advancements can evoke the elegance and beauty of the past.
In practice
This quote can be used in a lecture on the integration of technology in modern architecture.
Life is more important than architecture.
I deliberately disregarded the right angle and rationalist architecture designed with ruler and square to boldly enter the world of curves and straight lines offered by reinforced concrete... This deliberate protest arose from the environment in which I lived, with its white beaches, its huge mountains, its old baroque churches, and the beautiful suntanned women.
We need to feel that life is important; we need that fantasy so we can live a little better.
Here, then, is what I wanted to tell you of my architecture. I created it with courage and idealism, but also with an awareness of the fact that what is important is life, friends and attempting to make this unjust world a better place in which to live.
When you have a large space to conquer, the curve is the natural solution.
Curves are the essence of my work because they are the essence of Brazil, pure and simple.
Every experience shapes your writing, being stuck in a car on a lonely bridge, or dancing at a prom, being the it girl on the beach, all of those things influence your life, they influence how you write, and the topics you choose to write about.
Polaroid by its nature makes you frugal. You walk around with maybe two packs of film in your pocket. You have 20 shots, so each shot is a world.
Photos are profound because they have such short lives. They are more like fingerprints, dead leaves, rain puddles, or the corpses of flies.
The humblest painter is a true scholar; and the best of scholars the scholar of nature.
Everything a director does must help the story and the performances. Otherwise, it is useless.
A writer lives in awe of words, for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator.
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