University of Arkansas School of Architecture

“Masks of Reality” Seminar –  Spring 1994

This seminar entitled “Masks of Reality” consisted of a series of vignettes that were intended to explore various levels of meaning in representation, both in the realm of architecture, as well as more ‘secularized’ culture.

The final project challenged us to create a set of “cliff-notes” summarizing the various vignettes that structured the seminar. In the spirit of the course, this creation could assume any form of representation whether an actual book of something else. I chose something else. Because the topics -from ruminations on one’s childhood dwelling to, in my case, a speculation on the underlying meanings inherent in the presentation techniques of Rem Koolhaas/OMA – varied widely, seemingly interrelated only by the seminar itself, I chose, as a point of departure, to represent each topic as individual objects. The structure of the course would become a frame; a wood construct with hinged side panels, in which these ‘self-centered’ objects would reside, tenuously connected to each other much as were the actual vignettes.