Homo Urbanus – A Citymatographic Odyssey
Films by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine, Italy/France
Opening: 27 March 2020, 5pm with Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine
Duration of exhibition: 28.03.–22.04.2020
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-6pm
Film screenings: 31 March and 7 April at 8pm
Venue: HDA – House of Architecture, Mariahilferstraße 2, 8020 Graz, Austria
On the occasion of Diagonale – Festival of Austrian Film, the HDA – House of Architecture presents the exceptional works of Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine, two of the foremost architectural artists and filmmakers of our time. The exhibition presents a selection of their most famous films. The most recent series is Homo Urbanus, which focuses on the relationship between people and cities in different parts of the world.
On display will also be their celebrated film Koolhaas Houselife, which was first shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008 and soon earned cult status, together with their movies Moriyama-San (architecture by Sanaa, Japan), The Infinite Happiness (architecture by BIG, Denmark), Barbicania (Brutalist Barbican Estate in London from the 1950s) and Spiriti (architecture by Rem Koolhaas, the Netherlands). This film series on well-known houses emphasises the presence of everyday life within some of the most iconic architectural projects of recent decades.
For the last 15 years, Bêka & Lemoine have stood out in the international architectural scene through their cinematographic work known for its innovative nature and its tender and characteristic humour, which has disrupted the usual representation of contemporary architecture by putting people and uses at the forefront. A project which defies the question of genre by placing itself at the interface between documentary and video art through a singular and highly subjective style. Bêka & Lemoine’s authentic artistic perspective on architecture comes from their background in the two fields and opens new horizons to the relationship between architecture and cinema.
Their films have been widely presented at major biennales and international cultural events such as the Venice Architecture Biennale (2008, 2010, 2014), the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2016, the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017 and Performa 17 in New York, among many others. Their films are also frequently exhibited in some of the most prestigious museums and international cultural institutions all around the globe. Bêka & Lemoine’s films have also been selected and awarded by major film festivals such as CPH:DOX (Copenhagen), DocAviv (Tel Aviv), Chicago International Film Festival (Chicago) and Torino Film Festival (Turin).
The complete works of Bêka & Lemoine were acquired in 2016 by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York for its permanent collection.
Opening 27 March at 5pm
Welcome:
Beate Engelhorn, Director HDA, Graz
Peter Schernhuber and Sebastian Höglinger, Festival Directors, Diagonale, Graz
Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine, Italy/France
Film Screenings
31 March at 8pm
Koolhaas Houselife (Architecture by OMA, Rotterdam)
Moriyama-San (Architecture by Sanaa, Japan)
7 April at 8pm
The Infinite Happiness (Architecture by BIG, Denmark)
Barbicania (Brutalist Barbican Estate in London from the 1950s)
Exhibition curated by HDA – House of Architecture