Twelfth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

This paper explores the architectural drawing and processes of John Hejduk from the mid 1980s, with a particular emphasis on the symbolic properties attributed to gold and precious metals. In the mid-1980s, Hejduk engaged in an extended body of creative work which drew directly from his own personal travel experiences, at the same time questioning important ongoing themes in regard to international capitalism. Hejduk’s interwoven projects and texts from this period reflect on the role of architecture as a luxuriant skeleton upon which aspects of both craft and labour could be interrogated. Throughout this period, Hejduk’s work is set directly against the collapse of the extended Soviet Union, parodying the increasing layers of bureaucracy and power that had subtly began to unravel and fray. What is conspicuous throughout these niave but deeply concentrated meditations is the residual traces of precious metals: predominantly gold, but also pewter, copper, silver, and sometimes lead. These recurring elements are employed symbolically but strategically to evoke the violent contrasts between momentary and eternal architectural values. While a large amount of scholarly attention had been attributed to the role of texts and drawing in Hejduk’s oeuvre, the third category of opulent detailing has been less widely appreciated, despite its relevance to a more complete understanding of Hejduk’s political and social position. The paper explores this aspect of Hejduk’s work, its relationship to geology, and its importance to the history of architectural drawing more broadly.