This year’s American Institute of Architects’ annual convention, held here June 17 through 19, will have a touch of guerrilla theater, courtesy of a group called CARY, as in Chicks in Architecture Refuse to Yield (to Atavistic Thinking in Design and Society), as in “caryatids.”
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That group, dedicated to offering a humorous feminist perspective on the world of modern architecture, soon grew to 70 active members, 50 women and 20 men, including architects, graphic designers, interior designers, and lighting specialists. “The nature of the installation is multimedia and therefore multidiscipline,” says Crandall.
One of the exhibits–“The Great Man Myth–Just How Big Is It?”–features models of the Sears Tower, the World Trade Center, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building suspended upside down, with a breakdown of the time contributed by all the people who constructed them. The celebrated architect who gets all the credit, suggests Crandall, is actually one of the least involved in terms of hours worked. There’s also a display, “Water Cooler Wisdom/If These Jugheads Could Talk,” that offers recordings of remarks made by male architects about their female colleagues; three-by-five cards and pencils are available for those with additional comments. Other exhibits include “The Glass Block Ceiling,” “Just Relax–You May Feel Some Discomfort” (a phrase familiar to anyone who’s ever had a Pap smear), and “Tea & Sympathy: Homemaker or Home Maker.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Paul L. Merideth.
