Looking at architecture with humour. CAU and Focho: From the ‘ligne claire’ to the hermetic cartoon (1979-1982)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2023207437

Keywords:

Architecture, Drawing, Humour, Cartoon, CAU magazine, Focho

Abstract

The intersections between architecture and humour are numerous. As part of social reality, architecture and the architect are the subject of satire in the same media in which public opinion deals with any other event. Humour can also be found in architectural theory and practice in different ways. However, it is not so common to find cartoons in architecture magazines in a stable way. The article exposes and analyzes the little-known case of the regular collaboration of the architect Justo Isasi, known as 'Focho' for CAU magazine between 1979 and 1982. Through archive material and an interview with Focho, the article shows the changes in his drawings and proposes how looking at architecture through the prism of graphic humor takes us away from its most orthodox reading and from a perspective that, being caricatured, is nonetheless more precise and lucid about the debates of the period.

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Author Biographies

Jorge Tárrago Mingo, Universidad de Navarra

Jorge Tárrago Mingo. PhD in Architecture (University of Navarra, 2005). He teaches and collaborates in research and editorial initiatives of the Theory, Project Design and Urbanism Department of which he is Associate Professor with two six-year research periods. He is Director of the indexed journal RA, Revista de Arquitectura. He has published articles in journals such as ARQ, Future Anterior, Bauwelt, Rita, PPA, Revista 180, Arquitetura rivista, and is a regular reviewer for some others. He has participated in national and international congresses and is author, co-author or editor of several books and book chapters, the most recent being Aguinaga, Echaide, Sobrini. Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona, 2020), awarded at the XV BEAU, and together with Rubén A. Alcolea the chapter 'A Certain Praise for Drawings' in Approaching Architecture. Three Fields, One Discipline (New York & Oxon, 2023) with whom he also shares the professional practice at alcolea+tárrago arquitectos.

María Villanueva, Universidad de Navarra

María Villanueva Fernández. PhD in Architecture (University of Navarra, 2012). Associate Professor (ANECA) with one six-year research period. She teaches at the School of Architecture and the School of Communication of University of Navarra. She has focused her research on history and theory of design (XXth Century), specifically the work of Spanish architects in design and the limits of this discipline with art and architecture. She has participated in international conferences and has published book chapters and articles in journals such as EGA, Rita, PPA, VLC, Interiors, among others, and is a regular reviewer for some others. She is the author of the book (Una) Caracterización del mobiliario modern. She has been a visiting researcher at AA (London), the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles), the GSAPP Columbia University (New York), as visiting scholar, and ENSAPBX (Bordeaux).

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Published

2023-06-23

How to Cite

Tárrago Mingo, J., & Villanueva, M. (2023). Looking at architecture with humour. CAU and Focho: From the ‘ligne claire’ to the hermetic cartoon (1979-1982). ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, (20), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2023207437

Issue

No. 20 (2023): New in-sights?

Section

Topic papers