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.
You see, what is my purpose of performance artist is to stage certain difficulties and stage the fear the primordial fear of pain, of dying, all of which we have in our lives, and then stage them in front of audience and go through them and tell the audience, 'I'm your mirror; if I can do this in my life, you can do it in yours.'
So that I saw music as a way of documenting realities from the urban cities of Latin America.
It's tricky when you're doing a recording, because the only weapon you have is your voice and the delivery of that voice. You don't have a gesture or a facial expression, there are no costumes or set pieces. Everything needs to be present in the voice.
It doesn't matter at all for me that I work in hospital or anywhere with limited space. Every day, I'm creating new works with all my might.
In an artist's life, death is perhaps not the most difficult thing.
Fashions fade, style is eternal.
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