Drawing on Walls: Louis Kahn’s Murals

Louis Kahn: Drawing, Thinking, Architecture Architectural Representation, Work Processes and Designerly Knowledge (forthcoming, Winter 2018).

AfterreturningfromRomein1951,LouisKahncompletedamuralintheWeissHousewithAnneTyng.AlthoughtheonlyothermuralthatKahnactuallycompletedwasfortheTrentonBathHouse,Kahnproposedseveralinthe1940sand1950s.Knownasanarchitectofconstructedandunadornedwalls,theimpulsetodecorateinthiswayseemsforeigntohissensibility.Whatcompelledtheseproposals,andwhywasthepracticeabandoned?AnanswertothesequestionsinvolvesaconsiderationofKahn’sevolvingunderstandingofdrawingandhisrelationshiptohiscontemporariesinarchitectureandpainting.

Kahn,weknow,beganhisstudiesasanartist;drawingcamenaturallytohim.WilliamF.Gray,oneofhishighschoolteachers,introducedhimtoarchitectureatatimewhendrawingwastheprimarymeansforstudyingarchitecture.1Aworkofarchitectureemergedfirstonthepage,oftenasapalimpsest,assuccessiveattemptstodefineformandspacecollapsedintolayersofgraphiteontranslucenttrace.Theactofobservationisalsoacreativeact,ifofadifferentsort.UnlikeMiesorWright2,whodidnotleavebehindtravelsketchesorpaintings3,Kahn,andhismostsignificantmodelCorbusier,did.AlsolikeCorb,Kahnconsideredhimselftobeapainter,evenifhisdifferencesinthisregardaremorerevealingthanhissimilarities.WhileCorbusier’spaintingsandmuralsremainedanopenprocessforexploringissuesofformandcolor,wewillseethatKahn’sinterestinthesemediawanedashecametorealizethatdrawingmighttranslateintobuilding.

WealsoknowthatKahnwasfamiliarearlyinhiscareerwiththeworkoftheEuropeanmodernists,particularlythroughhisassociationswithGeorgeHoweandOscarStonorov.Fromthe1920’sthroughthe1950’s,Kahnsoughttomakemodernismalanguagehisownratherthanfollowingthedoctrinaireassertionsofothers.

Europeanmodernism,asinterpretedbyPhilipJohnsonandHenryRussellHitchcockintheir1932MuseumofModernArtexhibition,wascodifiedastheInternationalStyle:“first,anewconceptionofarchitectureasvolumeratherthanmass.Secondly,regularityratherthanaxialsymmetryservesasthechiefmeansoforderingdesign.Thesetwoprinciples,withathirdproscribingarbitraryapplieddecoration,markthedictumsoftheinternationalstyle.”4KahnfamouslychallengedthefirsttwodictumsoftheInternationalstyle–volumeversusmassandregularityversussymmetry–intheTrentonBathHouse.Wasthemuralhepaintedthereanacceptanceorarejectionofthethirddictum?Theanswerresidesinthequestionsofarbitrarinessanddecoration,andwhetherthemuraliseither.

1 Carter Wiseman, Louis I. Kahn: Beyond Time and Style: A Life in Architecture. (New York: W.W.

Norton, 2007) 20.

2 Jan Hochstim and Louis I. Kahn, The Paintings and Sketches of Louis I. Kahn. (New York: Rizzoli, 1991)

3 The words “drawing” and “painting” need always to be qualified; either can be used as an open-ended exploration or a documentary technique. The open-endedness is the key in the context of this paper; though the two completed Kahn murals were executed in paint, I am thinking of them as drawings in the sense that they were done quickly, 4 Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson. The international style: architecture since 1922. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 1932)

Here,too,CorbusierwasaninvaluablereferenceforKahn.Aslateas1972,Kahnwoulddeclare,“Everymanhas...afigureinhisworkwhohefeelsanswerableto.Ioftensaytomyself,‘How’mIdoing,Corbusier?’”5IfCorbusiereverfeltboundbyanyoftheInternationalStyle´sconventions,itwascertainlynotbyproscriptionagainstapplieddecoration.AppliedornamenthadbeenintegraltohisyouthfularchitectureinLaChauxdeFonds,andevenhis„white“phaseofthe1920sand30swastoagreatdegreepolychromatic,withearlymurals(forthePavillonsSuisse,EspritNouveau,LeTempsNouveaux,Nestlé,wallpaperforSalubraandfamouslyatVillaE.1027,thehomeofJeanBadovicianditsdesigner,EileenGray)settingthesceneforasynthesisofartandarchitectureinhismaturework.Perhapsitisnotsurprisingthen,thatKahn’sprojectsofthe1940’sand50’s,whichdrawonCorbusierinmanyrespects,also“ornament”thewallswithcolorand/orfigure.

The1946-48competitionfortheJeffersonExpansionMemorialinSt.LouisgaveKahntheopportunitytotrymany,perhapstoomany,things.Kahnstatedasmuchinalettertothewinner,EeroSaarinen,sayingthathehad“developeditratherpoorlybyinjectingtoomanyideas[making]nothingparticularlystrong.”6Theprojectwasenormous,encouragingmanycompetitorstoentertheongoingdiscussionofmonumentality.Ashisofficeworkedthroughthosemanyideas,Kahnfocusedonthedesignofseveralmuralsinspiredbythemesofcommunityandhistory.InfluencedalsobyPicasso’sGuernica7andpossiblybyWPAmurals,Kahnusedimagerytotellthestoryofindustrywith“LifeandTrafficontheMississippi,”civilizationwith“MuralonthethemeofCivilization,”andmulti-racialsocietywithamuraldepictingAfricanAmericanandNativeAmericansjoiningCaucasiansandattestingto“theinfluenceofthemanyracesonAmericaneducation,science,andculture.”

DuringandafterthedepressionandWorldWarII,thecommunalandpoliticalaspectsofKahn’sworkwereexplicit.“LifeandTrafficontheMississippi,”forexample,wastobedevelopedbythecommunityundertheguidanceofa“masterartist”.8Thestudiesforthemuralincluderepresentationsoffishandanimals,boatsandtrees,allmadeofatiledmaterialandlegiblecloseuporfromfaraway.SarahGoldhagennotesthatthecommunalproductionofthemuralsandtheirmultiplescalesofidentificationsupporttheideaofacommunityofindividualsthatbecameintegraltoKahn’slaterinstitutionalcommissions.

WhileworkingontheJeffersoncompetitionduringtheautumnof1947,KahnbegandesigningtheWeissHouse.Amuralwasnotpartoftheoriginaldesign.Theconstructiondrawingsshowthewalladjacenttothefireplacecladwithverticaltongueandgroovepaneling,similartootherpartsofthehouse.BetweenJune23andAugust9of1948,thisareachanged.Anundergroundutilityroomwasrelocatedandcombinedwiththefireplaceasacore,andtheadjacentwallwasenlargedandplastered.Alargersketchofthefireplace,drawnat½”=1’-0”in

5 Louis I. Kahn and Alessandra Latour. Louis I. Kahn: writings, lectures, interviews. (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991) 307. 6 Kahn to Eero Saarinen, October, 1947, cited in Rumiko Handa, "Design Through Drawing: Eero Saarinen's Design in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Competition," PhD. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1992, 104. As quoted in Sarah Williams Goldhagen, Louis Kahn's situated modernism. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press 2001) Note 99, p. 224. 7 Allesandra Latour, editor, Louis I. Kahn, l’uomo, il maestro in, (Roma: Kappa, 1986). Interview with Anne Tyng. 43. 8 Goldhagen, Louis Kahn's situated modernism, 36-37.

Novemberof1948,seemstohavebeentheunderlayforatleastonestudyforthemural,thoughnodateappearsonthestudyitself.

Atleasttwootherpreliminarydrawingsexistofthismural.9Theseareclosertothefinaldrawingitself,andwereprobablyproducedlater.Thelaterstudiesshowamuchfinergridthanthe1/2“=1’-0”scaledsketch.AnneTyng,whowasKahn’smajorcollaboratorontheWeissHouse,describedtheconceptualbasisofthemuralasa“giantpointillism”includingsymbolsfromthePennsylvaniaDutchandablackandwhitepatterntorepresenttheWeiss’sdog,aDalmatian.“Pointillism”supportedtheefforttocombinescalesandtalentsattheJeffersonMemorial:multipleauthorsundertheeyeofamaster,withsmallimagesandsingletilescombiningtoformalargerwhole.TyngcomparedtheideaofapaintingwithinapaintingtoKahn’semergingunderstandingofservedandservantspacesthatdescribeddiscretespatialtypeswhilecoheringasalargerform,referringtothemas“thespacewithinthespacewithinthespace”.10

Thisisnotasimplerelationship:scaleiscritical.Thescaleandsizeofadrawingdeterminethelevelofdetailthatcanbeseenandconstructed.Asinanarchitecturaldrawing,thegivendimensionsofamural´sgridcandecreaseasthescaleofthedrawingincreases.AttheUnitedNationsBuildinginNewYorkCityin1952,KahnsawthemuralsdesignedbyFernandLégerandexecutedbyLéger’sstudent,BruceGregory.GregoryenlargedLeger’s10”x10”sketchwithoutcompensatingfortheenlargement’seffect.Kahnwasperturbedbythisoversight,andrealizedthatakindofpointillismcouldmediatebetweenthescaleofthehandandthescaleofthemural.11

AdrawingthatisveryclosetothefinalWeissmural,publishedinArchitecturalForuminSeptember1950,mayreferenceKahn’stravelstoNovaScotiaandNewEnglandinthe1930’s.Kahn’straveldrawingsofthistriparepopulatedwithsimplegabledroofhousesandbarnssimilartothosesurroundingtheWeissHouseinPennsylvaniaDutchcountry.12Regardlessoftheimagery’ssource,themuralgridtechnique’seffectisstriking.Tyngdescribesthe“giantpointillism”havingmultiplereadingsdependingontheviewer’sposition:singularimagesdistinguishableupclosemergeintolargerformsatadistance.13

9OnewaspublishedinArchitecturalForuminSeptember1950,andtheother,inthecollectionofNathanialKahn,canbeseeninGeorgeHMarcusandWilliamWhitaker,TheHousesofLouisI.Kahn.(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,2013),84,fig.107. 10 Latour, Louis I. Kahn, l’uomo, il maestro, 43. Also mentioned in Marcus and Whitaker, The Houses of Louis I. Kahn, 85; and Louis I. Kahn and Anne Griswold Tyng, Louis Kahn to Anne Tyng: the Rome letters, 1953-1954. (New York: Rizzoli,1997), 43. 11 Latour, Louis I. Kahn, L’uomo, Il maestro, 43. 12 Nancy Norris “Contemporary Home of Mr. and Mrs. Morton Weiss”, Times Herald, Norristown, Penn., August 1, 1953, 6. The mural was completed sometime after Kahn returned from the American Academy. Though noted as having been done as late as 1955 (McCarter), a photograph of the completed mural was published in the Times Herald. Hochstim also published drawings that he called studies for the mural, dated as late as 1955, and “Study for a mural based on Egyptian motifs”, 1951. Pyramids and travel to Egypt were perhaps on Kahn’s mind. 13Perhapsonlycoincidence,anevenearliersourceofKahn’s“giantpointillism”mayappearinhisownwork.Kahn’s1940drawingoftheOserHousefireplacetilework–inscale,regularity,andtexture,–approximatesthatoftheWeissHousemural.

Thesuccessivestudiesofthemuralshowtheimpactofscale.The1948½”=1’-0”studyshowsagridrepresentingonefootonaside;inthelaterstudies,andinthefinalmural,thegridhasbeenreducedtorepresentapproximately6”.Asthedrawingsmoveclosertothefinalworkinarchitecture,theissueofscalebecomesparamount.

GeorgeMarcusandWilliamWhitakerhaverecognizedcorrespondencesbetweenMarcelBreuer’s1949“HouseintheMuseumGarden”atMoMAandtheWeissHouse.Tyng,whostudiedatHarvardunderBreuer,mayhaveinfluencedtheseborrowings:thebinuclearplan,theKnollfurniture,andtheuseofcoloronthebedroomandhallwaywalls.14MarcusandWhitakeralsopointtotheuntraditionaluseofstoneintheBreuerhouse,ausethatrefersmoretopaintingthanconstruction:“Thestonefireplacewallseemstodenyitsweight;ithasatautseriesofabstractplanesandshapeswhichpresentedadeliberatecounterpointtotheearlierformsofbuildingtradition.”15

ThecollaborationbetweenTyngandKahnonthehouse,byheraccount,engagedsomeofKahn’smostimportantmatureconcepts:theconceptof“giantpointillism”translatedintoonethingnestedinsideanother:servedandservant,orinlaterwork,ruinswrappedaroundbuildings;andthe“shadowjoint”,wherematerialsdonotmeeteachother,butareseparatedbyareveal:athinlinemadebyashadow.WhatevercausedthesubmergedutilityroomintheWeissHousetomoveupstairsandbecomepartoftheconsolidatedcore,providingthesurfaceforthemural,theresultingdiscussions,asreportedbyTyng,werecriticalevents.

Paintedcoloronwalls,asinthebedroomsandhall,wasquicklyleftbehindafterthisproject.YearslaterKahndescribedchanginglightasbeingallthecolorheneeded.“EversinceIknewthattobetrue,Igrewawayfrompaintinganddependedonthelight.Thecoloryougetthatwayisnotapplied,butsimplyasurprise.”16

Questionsofrepresentationandabstraction,socentraltothetwentiethcenturyartandarchitecturaldiscourse,arepresentinKahn’ssketchandnotebooksthroughoutthepostwaryears.KahnincludesdirectreferencestovernaculararchitectureandculturalaspirationsinthesebooksandintheJeffersonExpansionMemorialproject.Kahntitledsomeofhisdrawings“Abstraction”between1948and1951;theymarkashiftinhisthinkingonrepresentation,abstractionandlanguage,ashiftsharedbymanyothersatthetime.By1944andperhapsearlier,KahnwasawareoftheworkofJosefandAnniAlbers,withwhomheeventuallybecamefriendsandcolleagues.AlbersexhibitedinPhiladelphiain1947,thesameyearthatKahnbeganteachingatYale.KahnwasinstrumentaltobringingAlberstoYalein1949,andanotherleaderofabstraction,WillemdeKooning,taughtatYalefrom1950-1952,andsharedaroomwithKahnoncampus.

Eeva-LiisaPelkonen,inheressay“TowardACognitiveArchitecture”17discussesthepossibleimpactofKahn’sassociationwiththeAlbers.PelkonencomparesKahnandJosefAlbers’languagethroughthe1950’sandfindsAlbersleadingthediscussionofa“quasi-mysticalaspectoftheform-givingprocess”.Kahn,whohadarguablygrownupwithatleastsome

14 Marcus and Whitaker, The Houses of Louis I. Kahn, 87. 15 Ibid., 37-39. 16 Kahn and Latour. Louis I. Kahn: writings, lectures, interviews, 295, Interview with Beverly Russell. 17 Mateo Kries, Jochen Eisenbrand, and Stanislaus von Moos, editors. Louis Kahn: the power of architecture. (Weil am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum. 2012), 133-148

exposuretoGermanRomanticisminGoethe´smorphologyandorganicism,AmericanTranscendentalismandperhapsJewishmysticism,wouldhavehadatleastoneortwoothervoicesresonatinginhisverysyntheticmind,whileinthe1950shewashangingoutwithsomeotherquasi-mysticalgeomancerssuchasBuckminsterFullerandAnneTyng,andreadingD’ArcyThompson.18Nevertheless,whatevertheirmetaphysicalimplications,AnniAlbers’wovenworkandJosefAlbers’workwithbrickandwallsprovidethought-provokingparallelstoKahn’semerginggeometriesandideasaboutmaterials.

JosefAlbers’work,inparticular,maybeilluminatingwithregardtoKahn’searlydrawingonwalls.A1950commissionatHarvardshowsAlbers“weaving”withbrick:apatternofsolidandvoidinanarchitecturalmaterialcreatesa“drawing”withthewall’smaterials.Twoyearslater,AlberscollaboratedwithKingLuiWu,anotherarchitectontheYalefaculty,inthedesignoftworesidentialfireplaces.Drawingagainwithbrick,AlbersandWucreateapatternofshadowandtexture.Stilllaterin1959,oneofAlbers’“StructuralConstellations”isincisedinamarblewallandfilledwithgoldleaf.

Ifhiscolleaguewasdrawingwithbricksin1950,Kahnwasstrugglingwiththetranslationofdrawingintobuilding.Kahnappearedoneweekendin1955inTrentonwithanassistant,MarieKuo,andpaintedhissecondmural“spontaneously”19notunlikeLeCorbusieratVillaE.1027.Indeed,anearlysketchoftheBathHouseshowedCorbusianfiguralmuralsonallexteriorwalls.20Asfinished,bothbuildingandmuralwerereducedinscopefromtheoriginalandevokeanarchitecturethatpredatesLeCorbusierandthemodernmovementbycenturies.

The“spontaneity”wasillusory,sinceseveralpreparatorystudiesexist.ThoughKahn’stravelsandtraveldrawingsof1951mayormaynothaveinfluencedtheWeissmural,theyarepalpableintheTrentonmural,whichwascompletedbeforetheopeningon31July1955.Earlystudies,morethanthefinalwork,echothewavesinthefloormosaicsoftheBathsofCaracalla21,Whateveritssources,theTrentonmurallackstheperspectivaldepthandliteralrepresentationsoftheWeissmural,andengagesthegeometryoftheblockwallonwhichitispaintedtodeploynon-representationalbutallusivelinesandcurves.

Inanunpublishednotebook,Kahnwroteaboutthismural,theissuesofscaleandrepresentationthatitbringstobear,anditsfinaltranslationasrealized.Theundatedentrystates22:

Mural—TrentonTheenlargementofascaleddrawingtofullscalemaybeunderstoodbetterbyactual

photographenlargementofthesmallscale.Thecontoursfromaccidentalsarebroughtoutofthoughnottobeimitatedstillsuggeststhebreakingupintosmallerpartsoftheconstructionsoftheline.Thesinglestrokeatsmallscalebecomesaconstructedmovementatlargerfullsize.

DoingthemuralattheCommunityCenteratTrentonitwasevidentthatthescaledrawingwasonlydirectionalandthatthelinesandfieldshadtobebuiltupfromthelimitsofthe

18 I am indebted to Michael Merrill for this insight. 19 Susan G. Solomon, Louis I. Kahn's Trenton Jewish Community Center, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press. 2000), 97 and footnote 29, 170. 20 Goldhagen, Louis Kahn's Situated Modernism, Plate 9 21 Solomon, Louis I. Kahn's Trenton Jewish Community Center, 95. 22 Louis I. Kahn personal notebook, LIK, 030.VII.4. Transcribed here in its entirety as faithfully as possible.

brushthemediumandthesurfaceandtreatedasaconstructionproblem.Theoriginalideaofthedisciplinessetbytheexisting8x16blocksstillholdhowever.Theblockactuallyisroughthescaledrawingissmooth.Theactualjointsbetweenblocksarenotuniformthejointsinthescaledrawingareuniformthetransformationfromdrawingtoanactualverticalwall—whichcannotbetiltedorlaidflatasinadrawingrequirestheuseofaladderandthejumpingfromittoviewtheworkandbackagain.Manynewexperiences(factorindeed)enterwhicharenotpresentinmakingadrawingorpaintingAgainthestruggletheworkthelabor)mustbeevident.

Thestrugglemustbeevident—feltbytheobserver.Whenonemuststoptoconsiderthe?effectonoursensesofapaintingletussay100’longpaintedtoimitatethestudiosketch100”long.Itisaquestionofscale.Scalemaybedefinedasrelatedtothelaborandtheinstrumentoflabor.Isitthehand?Thespray?Orthebulldozerorcrane?Alsoitisrelatedtothereadabilityofhowitisdone.HowitisdoneWecannotexpectthespraytosimulatetheactionofthehandnorthehandtoimitatethetexturesoruniformityofthespray.Norcanthehandoftheartistdrawpaintasingleline10feetlongwithoutpickingrewettingthebrushseveraltimesandprobablymodifythecolorinsodoing.

Thehousepainterpridesindisguisingthehisbrushmarksandinthematchingofcolorsuniformly.

Theartistpaintershowshisbrushstrokesandconsiderseachnewbrushstrokeasanewcolor.(eventhoughthesamecolorisused.)

Scaleisthebrushstroke.Ifthehandgetstobeasbigasacranethenthescaleisequallyassojustifiableasthe

scaleproducedbythehand.Thesetwoscalemustnotresembleeachother.Leger’simmensemural(U.N.)froma10”x10”sketchsuffersforlackofscale.

Thetranslationfromscaledrawingtobuiltwork,albeitaflatworkinthiscase,requires

onetorecognizetheplaceof“thehand”inthefinalconstruction.Isthecranethehand,andifso,doesitallowthesizeofthefinishedpiecetobesimplyanenlargementofthesmalldrawing?Ifthesametool(thehandwithadrawingimplement)isstillinuse,themarkswillcreateamuchbroadervariationonthefinaldrawnwork.“Thereadabilityofhowitisdone”isinevitable,andsomustbeembeddedintheultimatework.“Scaleisthebrushstroke.”

ThelessonslearnedinKahn’stranslationsfromdrawingtofinishedproductarelessonsabouttoolsandsubstratesandaboutthelimitsofthehumanhand.WhenKahnwrites“doingthemuralattheCommunityCenteratTrentonitwasevident...thatthelinesandfieldshadtobebuiltupfromthelimitsofthebrushthemediumandthesurfaceandtreatedasaconstructionproblem”,Kahnbeginsatranslationfromdrawingtobuilding.Thejointsoftheblockregulatetheendeavor,andtheirregularsurfaceoftheblockanimateandchangethenatureofthepreparatorysketch.23

Thoughheproposedsmallmuralsinsubsequentresidentialprojects,noneexist.TheclosestsurvivingrelativestothemuralsarethetapestriesattheUnitarianChurchinRochester,ultimatelydesignedbyKahn’sofficeandwovenbyJackLenorLarsen.Thebuildingwasdesignedandconstructedfrom1959-62;theplannedtapestriesfollowedin1963.24

AnniAlbersbeganthecollaboration,butdidnotcompleteit;stillhercontributionisfelt.Herworkstartedwitha4”incrementtocoordinatewiththeblockdimensions.Thefinished

23 Kahn might not be pleased with the restoration of the mural in Trenton. It appears in photographs to be far more finished, eliminating the sense of the brushstroke, or the roughness of the block substrate. 24 A descendant of these tapestries may be the paintings that were commissioned for the Korman House.

tapestriesalignwiththeopeningsrequiredforventilationandcirculation,andareorganizedincolorbandsthatreflectthelight.Eachlineofthewarpfiberscanbeconsideredadrawnline,usedtobuildasubtlegradationincolor.Thevisibilityoftheindividuallinesexistsonlyatcloserange.Kahn’sinterestinthedrawinghasmovedtohandandscale.Inaddition,Kahnorganizestheformworkoftheconcreteandcontrolstheconcreteblockbyitshue,drawingatthescaleofthebuildingwithacraneas“thehand”.AswithAlbers’andWu’sbrickcompositionsdrawingisnolongerapplied,itisintegraltoconstruction.

ComparingagaintoLeCorbusier,RobertoGargianipointsoutthatforCorb,atapestry,whilesharingthecontrasttotheconcreteandplayingaroleacoustically,wasa“grand,easilytransportedfresco,ormuralnomade,whileforKahnitwaspartofthewallandtheroomandthelightwherewashung.Ineffect,itwasapartofthearchitecture,notafurnishing.25

TheTrentonBathHouseiswidelyacceptedasabreakthroughforKahn:areturntoweightanddefinedspace,andanassimilationoflessonslearnedfromRome,Egypt,andCorbusier.Kahnhadfoundhiswayofspeaking,andafterthisitnolongerrequireddrawingonthewall.Kahn’sdeclarationsaboutthehand,thetool,andscalerelativetothemuralinTrentonrevealanunderstandingofdrawingthewallbyconstructingthewall.Drawingonthewallwasunnecessaryifthewallitselfwasconsideredadrawing.Completewithouttheapplicationofcolor,coatingormaterial,thewallwasdrawn(constructed)andreadytoaccepttheanimationoflightandshadow.Neitherrejectednoraccepted,theInternationalStyledictum“proscribingarbitraryapplieddecoration”wasabsorbedbytheactofconstruction.

WhilecompletingtheBathHouse,KahnobsessedoverthejoineryoftheYaleArtGallery–thedirectionalityofformworkandthepausesbetweenmaterials–thatlefttracesofconstruction.Kahn’swritingbecomesevermorearticulateontherelationshipbetweentheexploratorydrawingandtheconstructiondrawing:weshoulddraw“aswebuild,fromthebottomup,stoppingourpencilsatthejointsofpouringorerecting.”Ifthisweretobedone,“ornamentwouldevolveoutofourlovefortheperfectionofconstruction.”26InalectureatTulaneUniversityin1955,KahnspeaksoftheformworkjointsintheYaleArtGalleryasthe“beginningofornament”,settingupapatternthatspeaksofthewaythebuildingismade.27

IfthemuralsdrawnonthewallsoftheTrentonBathHouseandtheWeissHousemightstillbeconsidered“arbitraryapplieddecoration”,theypointtowardKahn´smaturework.Morethanmereepisodes,inthemwecansenseKahnstrugglingwiththelargerquestionsofdrawing,ornamentandconstruction,representationandabstraction,andwithhisownself-imageasartistorbuilder.AfterTrenton,“drawingaswebuild”becameKahn’snorm:leavingbehindapalimpsestofconstruction:formworkmaterialtextures,ties,joints,andreveals,the“shadowjoints”ofTyng’smemory,markingachangeofmaterialwiththeshadowofaline.

AftertheArtGalleryandtheUnitarianChurch,thejointandchangesofmaterialwouldalwaysbeseenaslinesinadrawing.AtSalk,theKimbell,Dacca,andTheYaleCenterforBritish

25 Roberto Gargiani and Steve Piccolo. Louis I. Kahn: Exposed Concrete and Hollow Stones, 1949- 1959. Treatise on Concrete, 248. First ed.(Lausanne, Switzerland: EPFL Press, 2014). See pages 248-251 for a longer discussion of the tapestries and the block coloration.

26 Kahn and Latour, Writings, Lectures, Interviews. p.57. 27 Ibid., p. 63

Art:thereisnotaprojectthatdoesn’tcelebratethelineleftbehind.MarshallMeyers,whocompletedKahn’sfinalproject,theCenterforBritishArt,atYale,

comparedKahn’sworkingcharcoalsketchesinthestudio,whichleaveaghostofprocessonasinglepieceoftracepaper,totheresidueofconstructionheinsistedon.28WhatmayhavebegunasheandAnneTyngdiscussedandcompletedthemuralattheWeisshouseendedwithdrawingsmadebycranesandconcretepours.Thewordmural,afterall,comesfromtheLatinwordmuralis,itselffrommurus:simplywall.Ultimatelythewallwasenough.

28 Kahn and Latour, Il Uomo, Il Maestro, 71-87. Interview with Marshall D. Meyers, 19 March, 1983.