“The model : A model object ? Between art and architecture” by Marie-Ange Brayer, published by Éditions HYX

From the early 20th-century avant-garde movements, the model evolved beyond its role as a mere representational tool. Figures like Malevich and Frederick Kiesler transformed it into a fully-fledged work of art. This connection with the artistic sphere continued after World War II with the sculptural architecture movement, and later with the radical architecture of the 1960s and 1970s, which turned the model into a conceptual and performative tool.

Marie-Ange Brayer examines the model’s ability to transcend disciplines, acting as a mutable object that blurs the lines between furniture, sculpture, and architecture. Its miniaturization allows it to oscillate between a measuring instrument and a plastic object. Artists like Olafur Eliasson and Andrea Branzi reimagine the model as a means to contemplate the complexity of the world.

Marie-Ange Brayer examines the model’s ability to transcend disciplines, acting as a mutable object that blurs the lines between furniture, sculpture, and architecture. Its miniaturization allows it to oscillate between a measuring instrument and a plastic object. Artists like Olafur Eliasson and Andrea Branzi reimagine the model as a means to contemplate the complexity of the world.

The emergence and refinement of digital technologies have transformed the status of the model. Once used merely to visualize a project, it has become an evolving prototype that questions the boundary between the physical object and its representation. The author reveals the miniature universe of the model, comparable to a toy in its small scale, capturing a fragment of the world and offering a new way to approach creation at the intersection of art and architecture.