$UFKLWHFWXUDO Pelkonen, E 2013 In Search of Aalto.

Architectural Histories, 1(1): 9,

pp. 1-3, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ah.ah
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review

In Search of Aalto. A Review of Alvar Aalto: The Mark

of the Hand
Alvar Aalto: The Mark of the Hand, Harry Charrington and Vezio Nava (eds.),
Rakennustieto Publishing, 427 pages, Helsinki 2011, ISBN: 9789516829954

Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen*

Books on Alvar Aalto’s architecture have been published To be sure, the interest in Aalto comes and goes with the
and continue to be published around the world. One times. After he had been granted a retrospective at New
could ask: What viewpoints remain undocumented and York’s Museum of Modern Art as early as 1938, Aalto’s
why should they be presented at this time? Surprisingly, position in the canon was cemented in the second edition
however, there is still room for Aalto research; he is still of Sigfried Giedion’s Space, Time and Architecture: The
one of the least researched of the “masters” of modern Growth of a New Tradition (1949). While Aalto is today
architecture. A quick search of the webpages of Colum- often treated as a representative of the ‘other tradition’ of
bia University’s Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library modernism, Giedion’s Aalto chapter reminds us that he
gives the following result: Frank Lloyd Wright, 1139 hits; once occupied a prominent position not only within the
Le Corbusier, 1013; Mies van der Rohe 331; and Alvar international modern movement but also in its historiog-
Aalto, 283. raphy. For not only does Giedion’s account place Aalto in
Language barriers and the diversity of Aalto’s architec- the company of Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd
ture may contribute to the hesitancy of researchers to pick Wright and Mies van der Rohe as one of the so-called mod-
up the subject. Readings of Aalto as a representative of ern masters, but he also makes the section devoted to him
an ‘other modernism’ (Colin St. John Wilson) or ‘critical the longest of them all – 39 pages, compared to 35 for
regionalism’ (Kenneth Frampton) have further contrib- Gropius, 31 for Le Corbusier, 27 for Wright and a meager
uted to him being considered an exceptional case, one 23 for Mies. Aalto was also particularly loved in war-torn
that cannot be a paragon, particularly in the present era of Italy, where he was endorsed by the eminent architectural
globalization and massive urbanization. Manfredo Tafuri historians Bruno Zevi and Gillo Dorfles, who saw Aalto
and Francesco Dal Co have gone far as to claim in their sur- respectively as a representative of the ‘organic’ and what
vey that Aalto’s ‘historical significance has perhaps been the latter called the ‘timeless essence of baroque archi-
rather exaggerated; with Aalto we are outside of the great tecture.’ Numerous pages, even issues, of Zodiac maga-
themes that have made the course of contemporary archi- zine were devoted to the master’s oeuvre throughout the
tecture so dramatic. The qualities of his works have mean- 1950s.
ing only as masterful distractions, not subject to reproduc- A more rationalist and technologically orientated move-
tions outside the remote reality in which they have their ment in architecture won ground in the 1960s, and the
roots’ (Tafuri and Dal Co 1986: 338). Interpreting Aalto’s popularity of Aalto’s work lost ground that has never
works through a lens of phenomenological authentic- been fully recovered. Göran Schildt’s three-part biography
ity has further limited the interest of those who believe (1984, 1986, 1991), while illuminating important aspects
that architecture – as well as the architectural experience of Aalto’s life and oeuvre, did little more than cement the
itself – always has a political and social context. Further- personality cult surrounding Aalto. It is at this time that
more, Aalto’s virtuoso-like eclecticism and the diversity of Aalto became considered an exception to the normative.
his work make him a difficult subject both for students Through rigorous formal analysis of many Aalto buildings
to study and emulate and for teachers to teach. As a side in his Sources of Modern Eclecticism: Studies on Aalto
comment, I should note that when I studied architecture Demetri Porphyrios (1982) convinces with the notion of
in Finland during the 1980s, I did not hear Aalto’s name the presence of multiple (‘heterotypic’) organizational
mentioned even once. principles, as well as conveying multiple meanings inher-
ent in Aalto’s buildings.
While the Museum of Modern Art’s 1998 centennial
exhibition and the accompanying catalog edited by Peter
* Yale University School of Architecture, US
Reed, Alvar Aalto: Between Material and Humanism (1998),
[email protected] focused mostly on Aalto’s best-known buildings, the cen-
Art. 9, page 2 of 3 Pelkonen: In Search of Aalto

tennial year also produced some information about lesser frequently resorting to Latin or French. The book thus
known aspects of Aalto’s life and oeuvre. Bruno Maurer’s provokes the prevailing question regarding most of Aalto
and Teppo Jokinen’s “Der Magus des Nordens”: Alvar Aalto scholarship: do we really need to know the author in order
und die Schweiz (1998) shed light on Aalto’s vast inter- to understand the work? Until now, our understanding
national network of friends and reminded us that Aalto of Aalto’s persona has been shaped mainly by the books
had an international career. Päivi Lukkarinen ’s Alvar Aalto by Schildt and Giedion, who both believed that, at least
in Lapland (1998) and Elina Standertskjöld’s Alvar Aalto: where Aalto is concerned, we do. Schildt, as a writer, con-
Urban Visions (1998) illuminated lesser known aspects centrated on discussing the man behind the works more
of Aalto’s oeuvre. The publication boom during the Aalto than the works themselves, while Giedion, trained as an
centenary was followed by a quieter period, but the inter- art historian, approached the problem of life and work
est in Aalto is again reawakening. The result has been a from a more methodological perspective – how indeed
continuous stream of new publications that even manage aspects of individual life are reflected in the work both
to reveal new angles.1 consciously and subconsciously. Giedion saw in Aalto, a
Harry Charrington and Vezio Nava’s recent book The charismatic and likable fellow whose life seemed to have
Mark of the Hand (2011) focuses on interviews with those been entangled with the destiny of his native Finland, as
of Aalto’s employees still alive and continues the ‘oral a prime candidate by which to mine this question, and,
history’ series probed in the book Alvar Aalto: Ex Intimo as a result, the chapter on Aalto in Giedion’s Space, Time
edited by Louna Lahti (2001). The authors are the Italian- and Architecture emphasises the persona of the archi-
born Vezio Nava, who had been an Aalto employee of tect more than those of the other masters.2 To be sure,
long-standing and who has lived in Finland for several Aalto’s larger than life persona and enormous charisma
decades, and British architect, teacher and critic Harry surely contributed to his professional and critical success
Charrington, who has published several books and articles as much as his artistic talent did. One would indeed have
about Aalto. The book emphasises an issue that already expected the authors of the present study to engage how
has been highlighted several times previously: nobody their contribution builds upon these existing Aalto narra-
does it alone. The secret with Aalto, as also with many tives beyond adding to our knowledge about ‘how Aalto
other ‘great architects’, was the ability to attract talented went about his work’ (Charrington and Nava 2011: 53).
and loyal employees. In the case of Aalto, the study dem- We now live in a continuous barrage of images and
onstrates that also his wives, Aino and Elissa, also exerted information, and in the case of Aalto, of particular interest
an influence behind the scenes; their roles included read- is the ambiguity and diversity of his works. In his book Aal-
ing the thoughts and moods of the ‘Maestro’, as well as toMANIA: Readings against Aalto? Roger Connah (1999)
interpreting and guaranteeing the ‘mark of the hand’, that provoked historians to admit that the truth can perhaps
is, the unique sensibility distinguishing his work from never be found – and that’s fine. The task of the critic is to
that of others. We learn about Kaarlo ‘Kale’ Leppänen’s create a relationship to the material and, like a detective,
observation towards the end of the book, however, which to speculate through context and comparisons. Through-
makes it clear that in Aalto’s office there was only ever one out the text he or she conjures the works to life again.
boss: ‘Although Aalto said the office is like a big family A good text discussing Aalto would in that case be like
and he’s the father figure, or it’s like an orchestra where Aalto’s curved line, a living ‘object’ forever elusive and
everyone plays his part beautifully, Aalto was certainly not continuously inspiring new interpretations and stories,
for teamwork. Teamwork diffuses ideas’ (Charrington and like those included in the book at hand.
Nava 2011: 343).
The interviews in the book focus on describing through Notes
anecdotes the atmosphere in the office during the 1970s. 1 My own book Alvar Aalto: Architecture, Modernity
The descriptions of office culture and working methods and Geopolitics (Pelkonen 2009) discusses Aalto’s in-
are interesting. Leppänen’s stories about the different ternational networking and geopolitical narratives in
stages of the Finlandia Hall are particularly memorable. his works and writings. Several books have been pub-
Unfortunately, memory is hard to control and therefore lished on Aalto’s international activities. Aalto and
the reader is left wanting more historical detail, such as America (Fenske, Anderson and Frixler 2012) contin-
people’s names and dates. Because many projects contin- ues the investigation of Aalto’s contacts and works in
ued after Aalto’s death, it would also have been interest- different countries.
ing also to read about the employees’ feelings during the 2 See my article “Reading Aalto through Baroque”
period of transition as well as about the new division of (Pelkonen 2012) for more discussion about how Gie-
labour. dion handles the work-life issue in the Aalto chapter
The numerous stories shed light on Aalto’s character are in Space, Time and Architecture.
equally interesting. We learn about Aalto’s often unpre-
dictable temperament, his generosity, notorious drink- References
ing habits, not-so-politically-correct treatment of women, Charrington, H and Nava, V (eds.) 2011 Alvo Aalto: The
and extraordinary language skills – he was famous for Mark of the Hand. Helsinki: Rakennustieto.
Pelkonen: In Search of Aalto Art. 9, page 3 of 3

Connah, R 1999 AaltoMANIA: Readings against Aalto? Pelkonen, E-L 2009 Alvar Aalto: Architecture, Modernity
Helsinki: Rakennustieto. and Geopolitics. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Fenske, G, Anderson, S and Frixler, D (eds.) 2012 Aalto Pelkonen, E-L 2012 Reading Aalto through Baroque. AA
and America. New Haven: Yale University Press. Files 65: 72-75.
Giedion, S 1949 Space, Time and Architecture: The Porphyrios, D 1982 Sources of Modern Eclecticism: Stud-
Growth of a New Tradition. Harvard: Harvard Univer- ies on Aalto. London: Academy Editions.
sity Press Reed, R (ed.) Alvar Aalto: Between Material and Human-
Lahti, L 2001 Alvar Aalto – Ex Intimo: Alvar Aalto through ism. New York: MOMA.
the Eyes of Family, Friends, and Colleagues. Helsinki: Schildt, G 1984, 1986, 1991 Alvar Aalto: The Early Years;
Rakennustieto. Alvar Aalto: The Decisive Years; Alvar Aalto: The Mature
Lukkarinen, P 1998 Aalto in Lapland: Alvar Aalto’s work Years. New York: Rizzoli.
in Lapland. Helsinki: Atena. Standertskjöld, E 1998 Alvar Aalto: Urban Visions. Hel-
Maurer, B and Jokinen, T 1998 “Magus des Nordens;” Al- sinki: Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo.
var Aalto und die Schweiz Zürich: ETH/gta. Tafuri, M and Dal Co, F 1986 Modern Architecture. New
York: Rizoli.

How to cite this article: Pelkonen, E 2013 In Search of Aalto. Architectural Histories, 1(1): 9, pp. 1-3, DOI: http://dx.doi.
org/10.5334/ah.ah

Published: 25 March 2013

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