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Frederick Kiesler: Vision Machines

Apr. 25 – Jul. 28, 2024

This exhibition is a concise yet rich examination of Frederick John Kiesler’s (1890-1965) experimental design practice through the activities of his Laboratory for Design Correlation at Columbia University from the late 1930s to the early 1940s.

Two of Kiesler’s most essential and ambitious projects developed at the Laboratory are explored in this exhibition: the Mobile Home Library, a device proposed to radically alter domestic space, and the Vision Machine, an ambitious apparatus intended to visualize human sight—from optics and nerve stimuli to dream content and dream images. A selection of approximately 100 drawings, photographs, and research studies of these projects, as well as the never before realized construction of Kiesler’s Mobile Home Library, will illuminate his remarkable attempts to grasp human vision, record dreams, and to correlate libraries, information, images, and consciousness.

Frederick John Kiesler was born into a Jewish family in present-day Ukraine in 1890. He first studied printmaking and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts but would later gain a venerable reputation as an inventive and dynamic theater set designer. In 1923, Kiesler joined de Stijl on the invitation of Theo van Doesburg, making him the group’s youngest member. After immigrating to the United States and settling in New York City in 1926, among other projects, Kiesler designed store windows for Saks Fifth Avenue, the Guild Cinema, and Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century Gallery. He was also appointed as the director of scenic design at the Juilliard School of Music as well as director of his laboratory at Columbia University’s School of Architecture. In contrast to other European émigrés who reshaped American architecture by introducing European modernist building to America, Kiesler is perhaps best known for not building—a reputation affirmed by the American architect Philip Johnson with his 1960 assertion that Kiesler was the “greatest non-building architect of our time.” Kiesler did of course build, most notably exhibition spaces and the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. Yet he did not normalize his experimental work by positioning it as preparatory studies for future buildings; his myriad non-building projects were emphatically architectural experiments and architectural declarations.

 

In the Press
“documents Kiesler’s varied career through a wide range of 100-some objects.”
— The Wall Street Journal

Frederick Kiesler: Vision Machines is organized by guest curator Mark Wasiuta and developed with cooperation from the Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation. The exhibition is designed by Mark Wasiuta, Farah Alkhoury, and Tigran Kostandyan. Fabricated by Powerhouse Arts Makers.

Frederick Kiesler: Vision Machines is made possible by Mergentime Family Archive, Stéphane Samuel and Robert M. Rubin, the Estate of Gaby and Curtis Hereld, and other generous donors.

Additional support is provided by The Skirball Fund for American Jewish Life Exhibitions, Horace W. Goldsmith Exhibitions Endowment Fund, The Joan Rosenbaum Exhibitions Endowment, The Centennial Fund, and an anonymous gift in honor of Claudia Gould, Director Emerita.

The publication is made possible by The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Arts, and Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown.

Hand-drawn diagram in black ink showing three interconnected loops labeled 1, 2, and 3, with arrows indicating a directional flow between them. The loops are connected by curved paths forming a triangular structure. The areas labeled

Frederick Kiesler. Study for the development chart “Creation Mutation,” from the Correalism Manifesto, 1947-1950. Ballpen on paper. 10.8 x 13.9 (27.5 x 35.4 cm). © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.

Exhibition highlights

  • Collaged image of three men in suits interacting with a large, semi-circular spiral structure resembling oversized metal shelves or architectural forms. One man is standing outside, one inside, and one is seated within an open segment. Blue hand-drawn lines radiate outward from the structure, suggesting energy or motion. The background is plain white with visible tape marks on the corners.

    Frederick Kiesler. Mobile Home Library as represented in his Correalism Manifesto, 1947. © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.

  • Black-and-white photograph of an open palm facing the viewer, holding a small, abstract metal object with two circular holes. The hand is well-lit against a dark background, with high contrast emphasizing the object and the hand’s texture. The image is framed by a white border with slight wear on the edges.

    Photographer unknown. Frederick Kiesler’s Mobile Home Library hinge, 1938. Photograph, 7.97 x 5.07 in (20.2 x 12.9 cm). © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.

  • Hand-drawn sketch on aged paper depicting a desk-like piece of furniture with annotated labels. The drawing includes arrows and text describing features like

    Laboratory of Design Correlation. Shelf and Desk study (Retractable Wheels) from presentation boards for the book storage teaching project, 1937-41. Pencil on paper. 10.9 x8.5 in (27.7 x 21.7 cm). © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.

  • Hand-drawn diagram with colored pencil lines representing different labeled cycles and components, including air cycle, one cycle, spark unit, separate conductors, and me cycle. Arrows and handwritten labels mark various pathways, with text such as

    Frederick Kiesler. Detail study of the Vision Machine (Tubes), 1938. Pencil on paper. 8.46 x 10.86 in (21.5 x 27.6 cm). © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.

  • Hand-drawn sketch of a human-like figure with extended lines radiating outward from the head and body, resembling energy or field lines. Below the figure is handwritten text discussing

    Frederick Kiesler. All physical radiation (...), 1938-41. Ink on paper. 8.26 x 5.5 in (21 x 14 cm). © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.

  • Hand-drawn diagram showing a simplified human figure standing in front of a stepped platform, with dashed lines indicating visual perception paths leading to a profile view of a head on the right. The head is labeled with numbered sections related to visual processing. Below the drawing is handwritten explanatory text discussing how humans perceive space and depth.

    Frederick Kiesler. Study for Vision Machine (The Shortcoming of Human Sight). Part 1 of 2, 1938. Ink on paper. 8.4 x 10.94 in (21.4 x 27.88 cm). © Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna.