Effacer la crise et retrouver l'humain : la politique d'embellissement de la Section et les sculptures du bâtiment Apex
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2004
- handle: 10670/1.i620u2
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Beaux-Arts Federal Trade Commission architecture américaine design années 1930 Public Buildings Federal Trade Commission american architecture design 1930sCiter ce document
Véronique Ha Van, « Effacer la crise et retrouver l'humain : la politique d'embellissement de la Section et les sculptures du bâtiment Apex », Revue française d’études américaines, ID : 10670/1.i620u2
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This paper deals with the policy of the embellishment of public buildings in Washington, DC, under the aegis of the Section of Painting and Sculpture. It addresses the shifting value of architectural sculpture which becomes more humanized and which stands for a reappraisal of the significance of public sculpture. By taking over the embellishment of the Apex building, the Section disturbed the official artistic authority bestowed upon the Commission of Fine Arts (since 1910) and upset the general character of architectural sculpture in the Federal Triangle. Also known as the Federal Trade Commission building, the Apex, constructed by Bennett, Parsons and Frost in 1937-1938, breaks away from the general tradition of Beaux-Arts decoration which had allowed architectural sculpture and its allegorical figures to stand as guardians of moral and artistic values.